At the time I originally wrote this, we were living in Monterey, CA. We had never been to Santa Cruz and with it being only about an hour North, this was a great day to go. We figured we’d just make a day trip out of it since the ride home wouldn’t be too long. After researching things to do in Santa Cruz, here is how we decided to structure our day:

Byrne-Milliron Forest: Why did we choose this place? We were between this and the Forest of Nisene Marks and the decision was made because of the cost and the amount of time we’d be spending hiking! The Byrne-Milliron Forest is a little hidden gem that was quite unpopulated. It is owned and managed by the Land Trust and when the website says it takes pride it making it available to members and the public, it was very clear to see. Hiking provided very nice forest and some excellent views from the top. I thought the coolest part was the bathtub.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk: This was a must-see in coming to Santa Cruz for the day. It has everything a tourist could ask for with a theme park, shopping, restaurants, mini-golf, an arcade, and plenty more. Not to mention, it runs along the coast so if you need a break from the crowds, step right off and head over to the beach. That’s what we did with our burritos!

Santa Cruz Wharf: The wharf is right next to the boardwalk so we walked to the end of the beach to it. [There were public bathrooms at the start of the wharf, too!] We walked to the end of the wharf and there were more stops for shopping and eating. Lots of folks fishing. At the end, there were many sea lions barking away. This was a nice spot to walk along to end the time in this area. By this point, it was about 2pm and we had one more outdoorsy stop before going to get some beer.

Natural Bridges State Beach: In my opinion, this beach was a little over-rated. At the time we went at least, it was very crowded and it’s very small. Don’t get me wrong – it’s nice. And the natural bridge that it is named after is pretty cool. We didn’t spend a lot of time here…just enough time for me to get a photo of the bridge (that didn’t turn out into anything special). Okay, now it’s time for some beer.

Humble Sea Brewing: There are a lot of breweries in Santa Cruz but we chose this one because of its unique concept. On their website (at least in 2017), they stated they “brew small, experimental batches of beer and new recipes weekly. The best way to check out current lineup is on our Instagram.” Go check them out! I ordered a Saison and Leslie went with a watermelon-mint cider. I was very impressed and definitely enjoyed my Saison. It was a fun time!

Cliff Drive Vista Point: This ended up being the last stop before heading home. It gave us another perspective of the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and also a great view from a distance of the Walton Lighthouse. We hung out here for a bit as the sun was going down and the evening chill started coming in.

That was it for our day. After that spot, we drove back home. We came very close to going to New Bohemia Brewery from 7-9p for free live music and to try their Pineapple Express Hefeweizen but we were just ready to crash by that point. It was a long day.

Feel free to contact me at traveltrachs@gmail.com if you’d like to chat about your trip up the Santa Cruz!

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Castle Rock Coffee: From where we lived, this place was about a 2 minute drive and we had been driving by it every day heading to work and wanted to try it. It’s a nice little coffee shop with indoor and outdoor and patio seating and a typical menu of coffee, lattes, cappuccinos, chai’s, etc. We typically go for the Chai’s for Leslie and I’ll go for a latte. Being autumn, I pumpkin spiced it up and both drinks were delicious!

Santa Cruz Ale Works: I’m always a sucker for a place with the name “Ale Works” in the name. Unfortunately, it looks like this placed permanently closed a while ago but this was where we had dinner and it was a good choice. We knew they closed early (6pm) going in so we got there about 5:15. They had really good and reasonably priced sandwiches. I went with the Rueben and ordered the wheat beer and was happy with the selections. It’s a small place, a little out of the way from downtown but it was nice to get away from the crowds.