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Spot: Steamer Lane, CA
36°57′07″N, 122°01′30″W
Places to stay
There isn’t a lot of camping inside Santa Cruz and you have to go a few miles north, east or west to find a camp spot. But there are worse things than sleeping in the trees at Henry Cowell or Big Basin in the Santa Cruz Mountains, or along the north coast, or south of town along the beaches at Sunset State Beach, Manresa State Beach and New Brighton.
There is a nice youth hostel at Pigeon Point, about 45 minutes north of town where you can sit and wait for a white shark to attack some. In town, The Santa Cruz Hostel downtown charges $20 - $25 for a bed in a dorm, to $55 for a private room, and that is a pretty good deal in a town where hotel rooms are pricey.
Food
Too many to name. Paula’s Café on the east side is where Wingnut and the other elite meet to eat. Pizza My Heart has outlets downtown and in Capitola, but beware, it’s addicting. Seabright Brewery in mid-town is a popular place to rage. Lots of coffee shops, Mexican places, bakeries, etc. People from all over come to Santa Cruz for surf or school or whatever, and many stay in Santa Cruz and that gives it a wide variety of possibilities for being such a small town.
Parking
There are metered parking spots from Cowells up to Lighthouse Point, but they are popular. The parking lot at Steamer Lane is divided into local and outsider parking, so be careful whose spot you take.
Access and Directions
Follow West Cliff Drive, look for the lighthouse, and you can’t miss it. There is metered-parking along West Cliff Drive from the pier up to the end of Lighthouse Point, and there is also non-metered parking in the side streets of the West Side, although some of that parking requires a permit.
Surf Shops
Arrow Surf and Sport (West Side), 2322 Mission St., Santa Cruz, 831-423-8286
Arrow Surf and Sport (East Side), 312 Capitola Ave., Capitola, 831-475-8960
Cowell's Beach N Bikini Surf Shop, 30 Front St., Santa Cruz, 831-427-2355
Davenport Surfsail Repair and Equipment, 10 Marine View Ave., Davenport, 831-429-6051
Freeline Design Surfboards, 821 41st Ave., Santa Cruz, 831-476-2950
Haut Surf and Sailboards, 345 Swift St., Santa Cruz, 831-426-7874
La Selva Beach Surf Shop, 308 Playa Blvd., Watsonville, 831-684-0774
Nolands Sun and Surf, Municipal Wharf, Santa Cruz, 831-423-5500
O'Neill Surf Shop, 1149 41st Ave., Capitola, 831-475-4151
O'Neill at the Boardwalk, 400 Beach St., Santa Cruz, 831-459-9230
O'Neill Beach at the Yacht Harbor, 2222 East Cliff Dr., Santa Cruz, 831-476-5200
Pacific Wave, 1502 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 831-458-9283
Paradise Surf Shop, 3961 Portola Dr,, Santa Cruz, 831-462-3880 or
Patagonia Santa Cruz, 415 River St. #C, Santa Cruz, 831-469-1945
Santa Cruz Surf Shop, 753 41st Ave., Santa Cruz, 831-464-3233 or
Attractions
The Santa Cruz Surfing Museum is right there in the lighthouse at the end of the point, to give you some back story to all you are experiencing. Check it out, buy a shirt, make a donation. Learn something.
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, it’s for swimming and surfing, too. Family fun, for everyone. For you, and you. The Boardwalk is one of the last of a dying breed, but it’s going strong. A fun place to wait for the wind to die or the tide to change, especially if you like pinball or Skee Ball, or Fascination. Or roller coasters.
If you are a people watcher, or a shopper, or both, the Pacific Garden Mall is a fun place to hang out and watch a bizarre array of humanity go by. Santa Cruz has lots of movie theaters showing everything from main stream movie to indies to foreign films to retro features. Unfortunately, they are tearing down the Skyview Drive Inn to build a hospital or something, and that is just a tragedy because it was a good place to watch four movies at the same time
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