Wondering what tourism places to visit in Santa Cruz, California? During your stay at our
boardwalk hotel, you will find plenty of things to do in Santa Cruz, as
well as activities and tourist attractions in the Monterey Bay area. And there are more than 15 tourist attraction that we can visited, such as; The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Natural Bridges State Beach, The Mystery Spot, Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park, Wilder Ranch State Park, The Giant Dipper, The Santa Cruz Surfing Museum, The Santa Cruz Wharf, The Museum of Art and History, Mission Santa Cruz, and many more. Before we informs the tourist attraction in Santa Cruz, let we informs how the city itself.
Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2011 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 60,049. Situated on the northern edge of the Monterey Bay, about 72 mi (116 km) south of San Francisco, the city is part of the U.S. Census-designated 11-county San Francisco Bay Area Combined Statistical Area but not within the traditional 9-county definition of the San Francisco Bay Area, as it is not in a county that touches the San Francisco Bay. Santa Cruz is counted as part of the Monterey Bay region. The present-day site of Santa Cruz was the location of Spanish settlement beginning in 1791, including Mission Santa Cruz and the pueblo of Branciforte. Following the Mexican–American War of 1846–48, California became the 31st state in 1850. The City of Santa Cruz was chartered in 1866. Important early industries included lumber, gunpowder, lime and agriculture. Late in the 19th century, Santa Cruz established itself as a beach resort community. Santa Cruz is now known for its moderate climate, the natural beauty of its coastline such as at Natural Bridges State Beach, redwood forests, alternative community lifestyles, and socially liberal leanings. It is also home to the University of California, Santa Cruz, a premier research institution and educational hub, as well as the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, an oceanfront amusement park operating continuously since 1907.
1. The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is an oceanfront amusement park in Santa Cruz, California. Founded in 1907, it is California's oldest surviving amusement park and one of the few seaside parks on the West Coast of the United States. The Boardwalk extends along the coast of the Monterey Bay, from just east of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf to the mouth of the San Lorenzo River. At the western edge of the park lies a large building originally known as The Plunge, Now Neptune's Kingdom, which contains a video arcade, and indoor miniature golf course. Next to this is The Casino Fun Center which includes a laser tag arena and next to that (To the Right) is The Cocoanut Grove banquet room and conference center. A Laffing Sal automated character, from San Francisco's Playland, is viewable near the miniature golf course. East of the Casino, the boardwalk portion of the park stretches along a wide, sandy beach visitors can access easily from the park. The eastern end of the boardwalk is dominated by the Giant Dipper roller coaster, one of the best-known wooden coasters in the world and one of the most visible landmarks in Santa Cruz. The Dipper and the Looff Carousel, which still contains its original 342-pipe organ built in 1894, are both on the US National Register of Historic Places. They were, together, declared to be a National Historic Landmark in 1987 and the park is California Historical Landmark number 983.
2. Natural Bridges State Beach
Natural Bridges State Beach is a 65-acre (26 ha) California state park in Santa Cruz, California in the United States. The park features a natural bridge across a section of the beach. It is also well known as a hotspot to see monarch butterfly migrations. The Monarch Butterfly Natural Preserve is home to up to 150,000 monarch butterflies from October through early February. Natural Bridges State Beach is named for the naturally occurring mudstone bridges that were carved by the Pacific Ocean into cliff that jutted out into the sea. The arches formed over a million years ago when a combination of silt, clay and diatoms were solidified into a mixture of stone that formed the three original arches of the beach. Wave erosion carved the arches and then cut away the cliffs leaving only islands. Of the three original arches only the middle one remains. The outermost arch fell during the early 20th century and the inner arch collapsed during a storm in 1980. The middle arch is in danger of collapsing as well due to erosion by wind and waves. Visitors were formerly permitted to climb up, walk and even drive on the bridges. Now the arch is closed to public access.
3. The Mystery Spot
The Mystery Spot is a tourist attraction located near Santa Cruz, California. It opened in 1941. The Mystery Spot is a small area (150 Ft in diameter) in the coastal redwoods of Santa Cruz where laws of gravity and physics seem to be broken. Different presentations include height changes on level surfaces, compasses that cannot find true north, and momentum changes. There are many different theories as to why the strange effects of the mystery spot are occuring. However, despite thousands of visitors, university professors, and television crews there have been no conclusive results as to the true cause of the effects. Some people believe that the mystery spot lies on a convergence of the sacred geometry of the Earth's electromagnetic field. This convergence is responsible for the extreme energy levels in the area. Others believe this cite is proof of supernatural activity, or extraterrestrial interference. Some people believe that the Mystery Spot is a gravity hill. The illusion experienced by visitors results from the oddly tilted environment as well as standing on a tilted floor. Inside the tilted room of the Mystery Spot, misperceptions of the height and orientation of objects occur. Even when people are standing outside on a level ground, the slant of the building in the background causes misperceptions as we judge the height of people using the slant of the roof rather than the true horizon. These misperceptions create optical illusions, but do not completely account for the strange effects.
4. Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park is a state park of California, USA, preserving mainly forest and riparian areas in the watershed of the San Lorenzo River, including a grove of old-growth coast redwood. It is located in Santa Cruz County, primarily in the area between the cities of Santa Cruz and Scotts Valley, near the community of Felton and the University of California at Santa Cruz. The park includes a non-contiguous extension in the Fall Creek area north of Felton. The 4,623-acre (1,871 ha) park was established in 1954. The main park covers approximately 1,750 acres (7.1 km2), and the separate Fall Creek (not to be confused with the Fall Creek farther north in San Mateo County) unit contains an additional 2,390 acres (9.7 km2). The park lies within the southern end of the Northern California coastal forests ecoregion. In the numerous stream canyons live large populations of coast redwood, coast Douglas fir, California bay laurel, tanbark oak, California hazelnut, bigleaf maple and many other native species.
5. Wilder Ranch State Park
Wilder Ranch State Park is a California State Park on the Pacific Ocean coast north of Santa Cruz, California. The park was formerly a dairy ranch, established in the late 19th century by the Wilder family and operated until 1969. The dairy ranch, in turn, was originally part of Rancho Refugio, a Mexican land grant of 1839. Historic buildings include part of the rancho adobe, the 1897 Victorian farm house and other structures. Many of these have been restored for use as a museum. There are no campgrounds; a day-use parking lot provides access to the museum. Dogs are prohibited on the trails, but many trails allow bikes or horses. The long trails and ocean views make the area a favorite of hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers.
6. The Giant Dipper
The Giant Dipper is a historic wooden roller coaster located at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, an amusement park in Santa Cruz, California. It took 47 days to build at a cost of $50,000. It opened on May 17, 1924 and replaced the Thompson's Scenic Railway. With a height of 70 feet (21 m) and a speed of 55 miles per hour (89 km/h), it is one of the most popular wooden roller coasters in the world. As of 2012, over 60 million people have ridden the Giant Dipper since its opening. The ride has received several awards such as being named a National Historic Landmark, a Golden Age Coaster award, and a Coaster Landmark award; it has been ranked annually in Mitch Hawker's Best Wooden roller coaster poll.
7. The Santa Cruz Surfing Museum
The Santa Cruz Surfing Museum is a museum which was established in May 1986 to document the history of surfing. With collections dating back to the earliest years of surfing on mainland United States, the museum houses a historical account of surfing in Santa Cruz, California. Located in the Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse at Lighthouse Point on West Cliff Drive, the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum opened its doors in June 1986 as the first surfing museum in the world. The lighthouse was built in 1967 as a memorial to surfer Mark Abott, who died while surfing at the nearby Pleasure Point surf break. Overlooking the Steamer Lane surfing hotspot, this little museum features photographs, surfboards, and videos tracing over 100 years of surfing history in Santa Cruz. After funding cuts in 2009, the Santa Cruz Surfing Club Preservation Society and private donations kept the museum open.
8. The Santa Cruz Wharf
The Santa Cruz Wharf is a wharf in Santa Cruz, California, USA, known for fishing, boat tours, viewing sea lions, dining, and gift shops. The current wharf was built in 1914, the last of six built on the site, and is operated by the City of Santa Cruz Parks and Recreation Office. With a length of 2,745 feet (836.68 m), it is the longest pier on the West Coast of the United States. A fish market on the wharf is featured in scenes from the film Sudden Impact.
9. The Museum of Art and History
The Museum of Art and History, also known as the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, is a non-profit educational institution in Santa Cruz, California. It is located at the downtown McPherson Center. Its aim is to promote a greater understanding of contemporary art and the history of Santa Cruz County.
10. Mission Santa Cruz
Mission Santa Cruz was a Spanish mission founded by the Franciscan order in present-day Santa Cruz, California. The mission was founded in 1791 and named for the feast of the Exultation of the Cross, the name that the explorer Gaspar de Portolà gave to the area when he camped on the banks of the San Lorenzo River on October 17, 1769, and erected a wooden cross. As with the other California missions, Mission Santa Cruz served as a site for ecclesiastical conversion of natives, first the Ohlone, the original inhabitants of the region, and later the Yokuts from the east. The settlement was the site of the first autopsy in Alta California. The current Holy Cross Church was built on the site of the original mission church in 1889, and it remains an active parish of the Diocese of Monterey. A half-size replica of the original mission church was built near the mission site in the 1930s and functions as a chapel of Holy Cross Church. Today's Plaza Park occupies the same location as the original plaza, at the center of the former Mission complex. The complex at one time included as many as 32 buildings. The only surviving mission building, a dormitory for native acolytes, has been restored to its original appearance and functions as a museum of the Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park.
