Santa Cruz Main Beach - Santa Cruz, CA
Posted by: 
saopaulo1
N 36° 57.858 W 122° 00.968
10S E 587582 N 4091364
Santa Cruz's main beach, and home of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
Waymark Code: WM51MK
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 10/26/2008
Published By: Q10
Views: 26
"Santa Cruz Main Beach describes this Santa Cruz County beach aptly as the primary or main beach located in the heart of Santa Cruz. This is where tourists flock more swiftly than hungry seagulls at the wharf seeking scraps of food. Santa Cruz Main Beach is the most popular beach family vacations in the San Francisco Bay area. California’s oldest amusement beach theme park (100 years old in 2007) is located at Main Beach. The Boardwalk is a State Historic Landmark that routinely receives accolades for its family and kid oriented arcade games and amusement rides.
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Arcade is one of the top video game arcades in the country, chosen for its 300 plus arcade games including Dance Dance Revolution and SkyTarget Flight Simulator. Dance Dance Revolution has recently received national attention because of the potential health benefits of active video exertainment games. Players must dance in time to the beat of a song, hitting squares on a special floor pad. In addition to new release games, laser tag, ping-pong, air hockey, foosball, and miniature golf have held spots in the arcade for decades. National Historic Landmarks at Main Beach's Santa Cruz Boardwalk include a 1911 Looff Carousel and 1924 Giant Dipper roller coaster.
At the beach, it's common to see tourists from the hotels across the street, students from UC Santa Cruz and locals who frequent the beach to enjoy free summer concerts, local events, dining and shopping. Volleyball nets are located at Main Beach in Santa Cruz and on our visit, we noticed kites flying and lots of people enjoying the cool Pacific Ocean on a hot summer day.
While the weather seldom rises above 85 degrees, our visit included one of those rare 95 degree days. We took a cool ride through the redwood forests to the beach on the Beach Train. It deposited us at a back entry gate to the Boardwalk and beach where we strolled and watched people rinse their feet at a foot washing station.
If you visit Santa Cruz, be sure to make Main Beach one of your first stops in beach exploration. Colorful, constantly in motion and changing with the daytime sun and nightfall as the Boardwalk lights reflect on the ocean, the scene is magical." (
visit link)
Visit Instructions:Give the date and description of your visit, adding any additional information that you may have about the beach. Additional photos of the beach are highly encouraged. We want to hear about your experience!