Santa Cruz is a popular coastal town on California’s Central Coast. It is largely known for its surfing culture. It is an artist friendly location where much of the state’s counterculture has evolved.
What to do: One look at Santa Cruz’s pristine coastline, and you’ll understand why it’s one of the best weekend getaways. For some fun in the sun, play at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, where you can charge down the 1924 Giant Dipper wooden roller coaster and devour some chocolate covered bacon.
See Monterey Bay up close with Kayak Connection, which offers guided tours and kayak rentals from the city’s main harbor.
Next, get a glimpse of what’s under the waves at Seymour Marine Discovery Center, a petite aquarium and educational center operated by UC Santa Cruz’s Long Marine Laboratory, near Natural Bridges.
Within ten minutes of Natural Bridges, you can be up in the redwoods at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. In fact, if it’s a cold day at the beach, you can go up to the redwoods and it will be sunny, and you’ll be in giant, 1,000-year-old trees.
What not to miss: Exploring the seaside at Capitola Village. Slip into the surf shops, make time for a little wine tasting, or simply bask on the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
