Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is an attraction in Santa Cruz, CA, part of the San Francisco Bay Area guide. Cost: free.

400 Beach St · Santa Cruz, CA

Why you should go…

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk opened in 1907 and is California's oldest surviving amusement park. It is free to walk in, and you pay only for the rides you choose, using tickets or a day wristband. The Giant Dipper wooden coaster from 1924 and the Looff Carousel from 1911, whose band organ dates to 1894, are together a National Historic Landmark. Arcades, game booths and snack stands line the walk, and Main Beach is steps away.

#amusement park
#roller coaster
#beach boardwalk
#arcade
#carousel

What's around here?

The closest stops to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

Stay
Courtyard by Marriott Santa Cruz
$50+
A 151-room Marriott hotel on Riverside Avenue, two blocks from the beach and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
Steps awaySwitch it up: Stay
Shopping
Local Gem
Far West Fungi
Free
Mushroom store and cafe selling fresh, dried and cultivated fungi, grow kits, and mushroom snacks.
0.6 mi awaySwitch it up: Shopping
Sightseeing
Local Gem
Downtown Santa Cruz
Free
Santa Cruz's walkable downtown shopping and dining district along Pacific Avenue.
0.6 mi awaySwitch it up: Sightseeing
Attractions
Quirky Fun
Mystery Spot
Under $25
Take a guided tour of a tilted cabin in the redwoods where balls seem to roll uphill and people lean at odd angles.
3.5 mi awayMore like this
Attractions
Family Favorite
Roaring Camp Railroads
$25–$50
Narrow-gauge steam train rides through redwood groves to the summit of Bear Mountain, from a recreated 1880s logging town in Felton.
6.1 mi awayMore like this
Attractions
Iconic
Winchester Mystery House
$25–$50
A sprawling, architecturally bizarre Victorian mansion built by firearm heiress Sarah Winchester, open for guided tours.
25 mi awayMore like this