SANTA CRUZ

Santa Cruz is one of earth's most beautiful places, where mountains, rivers and redwood forests meet the sea in a fanfare of dazzling beaches.  Perched at the northern tip of Monterey Bay, it lies mid-way between San Francisco and the magnificent Big Sur coast on California's scenic Pacific Coast Highway.  The city enjoys an ideal Mediterranean climate with low humidity and sunshine 300 days a year.  Major industries include agriculture, tourism, and high tech firms.

Buffered from the buzz of nearby Silicon Valley by the forested Santa Cruz Mountains, this beach town of about 55,000 residents has long claimed for itself the laid-back title of "Surf City".  But thanks to the presence of the University of California Santa Cruz, and the nearby wealth of Santa Clara Valley, the secluded coastal resort has a surprisingly vibrant cultural and arts scene.  During the summer it hosts two world-class festivals, Shakespeare Santa Cruz and the Cabrillo Music Festival, as well as many homegrown and multicultural celebrations such as the Clam Chowder Cook-off and the Aloha Celebrity Outrigger Races & Polynesian Festival.

All year long, one enjoys a lively atmosphere of cosmopolitan cafes, great independent bookshops and art galleries, top-notch wineries, and many fine restaurants specializing in locally-grown, organic "slow food" as well as an array of international and fusion cuisine.  The outdoor Pacific Garden Mall is the heart of downtown, lined with eclectic, one-of-a-kind shops, bohemian street performers, and music clubs where nationally-known acts often perform before or after headlining in San Francisco venues.  Santa Cruz has become a haven for creative sorts, who glory in the town's uniqueness.

It's a city where dogs have their own beach and field to run free, where hate and discrimination have been outlawed.  Santa Cruz elected one of the first openly gay mayors in the U.S. back in the early 1980s, and was officially decreed a Nuclear Free Zone by its liberal city council.  There's a museum of surfing and a festival that celebrates the annual return of the monarch butterfly migration.  The venerable Beach Boardwalk, only remaining seaside amusement park on the West Coast, celebrates its centennial this year with a summer-long visit by the Moscow Circus.

Yet Santa Cruz is most of all a place where you can still see the Milky Way on dark nights, and relax to the sound of the ocean waves along the loveliest coastline imaginable. 

BEACH HILL

Two blocks above the city's main beach, Santa Cruz's Beach Hill rises just high enough to provide breath-taking views and a cooling breeze.  Its historic mansions are preserved from the winter waves that sometimes pummel the beach flats, sitting well above the San Lorenzo River flood plain that meanders through the downtown business district just below.  To the north, Beach Hill looks out across the city to the terraces and foothills which rise into the curving range of the Santa Cruz Mountains.  Early on it was the chosen refuge of the Ohlone Indians; today it remains a peaceful neighborhood within easy walking distance to both the coast and the city center, an unparalleled site from which to enjoy sunset views over the Pacific.

THE SANTA CRUZ COAST

At the foot of Beach Hill, the city's main beach stretches between the San Lorenzo River and the Santa Cruz municipal wharf, with its many shops, seafood restaurants and large population of seals and pelicans. 

The Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor lies just a short walk to the east.  In the other direction, scenic West Cliff Drive, with its accompanying walking path and bike trail, meanders several miles out of town, skirting internationally renowned surfing spots, as well as many uncrowded beaches and secluded coves where you often see otters at play, along with the occasional dolphin.  Gray and humpback whales also visit the area. 

At the edge of town lies Natural Bridges State Park, with its superb, protected bathing beach, dramatically sculpted rock, and intriguing tide pools. Adjacent is Long Marine Laboratory and the Seymour Marine Discovery Center, a public education facility that focuses on interpreting marine science.  Just a mile further on, another state park preserves an historic ranch and offers miles of hiking and mountain bike trails. 

Santa Cruz is surrounded by the 5,322 square mile Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, one of the world's most diverse ecosystems.  Opportunities to enjoy the Sanctuary abound here, including kayaking, whale watching, fishing, sailing, surfing, scuba diving and much more.

The 1.5 hour drive north towards San Francisco travels along a remarkably preserved coastline dotted with many pristine beaches.  Here you will find Año Nuevo Reserve, home of the largest mainland breeding colony of the northern elephant seal.  It is a little-populated, primarily agricultural area of startling beauty, a magnificent setting for the crown jewel of Santa Cruz.