Santa Cruz Beach Communities
Just south of San Jose and 90 minutes from San Francisco sits the lovely city of Santa Cruz on central California’s coast. If you are looking for a fun beach town that offers soft sands, amazing people, friendly beaches, and gorgeous views, Santa Cruz, California may be the perfect place for you.
While you may be aware of Santa Cruz and may have even visited you may not realize there are tons of beaches, all offering different and fun things. Let’s take a look at what you might see at a few of Santa Cruz County’s great beaches.
Capitola Beach
East of central Santa Cruz, on the north end of Monterey Bay, sits Capitola Beach, a popular destination that offers swimming, gentle surfing, and tons of fun shops. This California beach has a lot to offer, not only with great views of the ocean the fun, colorful surrounding neighborhood but also the long fishing pier and the calm waters of the Soquel Cove. The location and fun activities mean this place is jam-packed on a sunny weekend.
Seabright State Beach
Stretching out for more than half a mile, the Seabright State Beach that is in between the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and the Santa Cruz Harbor has a lot of space for families to come to enjoy a fun, sunny day. One of the main attractions of Seabright State Beach is the sailboat races that take place from Spring through October on Wednesday nights. If you’re looking for a fun event for the entire family, take them down here, check out the sunset and stay for the sailboat races.
Santa Cruz Beach
The Santa Cruz Main Beach is one of the biggest and most popular in the area. The beach offers a lot of fun activities to watch and participate in. Not only is the surfing amazing here, but the great views and local shops are all fun to check out as well. This doesn’t even count the full amusement park that they have nearby complete with a rollercoaster. Again, if you are looking for some family fun, Santa Cruz Beach may be perfect for you.
Bonny Doon Beach
Backed by sand dunes, Bonny Doon Beach is an amazing location surrounded by a beautiful cliffside landscape. Located between Davenport and Santa Cruz, Bonny Doon is a great, sprawling beach separated by rock formations that people can explore and sunbathe in.
It is worth noting that Bonny Doon is a clothing-optional beach, so it may be best to leave the kids home for this one.
Natural Bridges State Beach
Natural Bridges State Beach is actually a state park that has a lot of amazing views and even has a marine reserve and tide pool location, allowing visitors to see some amazing wildlife and nature during their time. It is important to note that because it is a state park there are vehicle fees and it can be closed down at certain parts of the year or for certain events so make sure to call ahead.
Seacliff State Beach
With its amazing boardwalk and picnic areas, Seacliff State Beach has some great offerings. Not only is it a fun spot to bring the family for a nice and easy day in the sun and picnicking, there are also fishing zones and hiking trails. Along with these things, there is a bit of history at this park with the display built for the SS Palo Alto, a concrete ship built in the early 1900s.
Pleasure Point
While it doesn’t boast a huge beach, Pleasure Point is still a popular surfing spot. That said, the community surrounding the beach is what really sells this location, with its fun shops and great eateries, anyone looking to visit a fun beach town should look to Pleasure Point.
Learn More About Santa Cruz with Silicon Valley and Beyond
These are just some of the amazing beaches in Santa Cruz, but the list goes on and on. This doesn’t even include the amazing lighthouse views you’ll get at Lighthouse Field State Beach, or the mile-long shoreline that is Twin Lakes State Beach.
If you are wanting to learn more about Santa Cruz and are interested in buying a house in the area, contact our team at Silicon Valley and Beyond to learn more.
