

On Fridays, at night, there are free concerts on the beach.

There are two arcades, a two-story, 18-hole, miniature golf course, and even a family bowling center. Rides aren’t the only things to do at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The music is provided by an organ that was built in 1894. The 73 exquisitely carved horses, each unique, feature real horse hair tails. The Carousel is the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s oldest ride.
#Directions to santa cruz beach boardwalk full
Probably best not take the ride on a full stomach because, at one point, it rises to 70 feet and dips to 65 feet at a rate of 55 mph! It’s the longest roller coaster in the country. In fact, the Giant Dipper, which was built in 1924, is celebrating its 95th anniversary this year. Two of their rides, The Carousel and the wooden roller coaster, The Giant Dipper, are national landmarks. The amusement park was built in 1907, and is also referred to as the Coney Island of the West. The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is the most legendary spot in Santa Cruz, and it’s nothing but pure fun. It’s one of the best things to do in Santa Cruz, California.Īddress: 100 McAllister Way, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA 2. If you’re planning a trip to Santa Cruz, this is one of the attractions you won’t want to miss. The rest of the year they are closed on Mondays. In the months of July and August, they’re open daily from 10 AM to 5 PM.

Sundays at the Seymour Marine Discovery Center are especially dedicated to families who want to take part in activities together, doing fun arts and crafts projects. There are nice, short tours lasting about 30 minutes that start at 11 AM for families with toddlers and small children. There are huge aquariums dedicated to showing off the majestic life in the ocean’s depths. If you’ve always wanted to scuba dive to experience the immense beauty of the depths of the sea but couldn’t muster the nerve to do it, you can experience it here in the Seymour Marine Discovery Center without even getting wet. Their interactive format allows you to do things you never imagined doing, like touching a shark. The fascinating exhibits and displays will give you a newly found respect for the sea and sea-life creatures, and their vital importance in the ecosystem. The visitor center in Santa Cruz covers a 20,000 square foot space. We love Santa Cruz and probably will never stop going there, but we are looking for other places to enjoy without the chaos of bum wars.Put on your walking shoes and take the family on a day trip to the Seymour Marine Discovery Center. The horror on families faces is what gets me. But still there were yelling homeless walking around. The last time we came was during peak season, which I assume they make more of an effort to keep the streets clean. When we got home I tried to find online where I could contact the county somehow regarding the situation, but lost patience with that. They fought constantly, yelling profanities all day and all night. It was just out of control, there was (no exaggeration) 15 of them living by the restrooms. We got to watch the cops and ambulance waste their time on a drunken elbow scrape. The cops came one time, and only because one of them fell and scraped his elbow. We heard the homeless fighting, the entire 4 days that we were there. We spent the Thanksgiving vacation there last year, and we Stayed at the Casa Blanca on the beach just so we could have our room right on the beach and listen to the waves. But the last 3-4 times we have been there, we have been overwhelmed with the amount of homeless, and not just there presence, but their obnoxiousness. But reason being is the homeless activity. As much as we love coming here, the past couple times we have agreed that we wont be coming back. I love Capitola, but shops and stores are all shutting down around 6. Most coastal towns close down really early. We like that we can enjoy the beach during the day, and then still have something to do at night. It has the beach, the food, downtown, and it doesn't all close down at 6PM. It holds a bit of sentimentality for us, as well as just being a nice place to go all around.
