beaches lists
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.
For mapping this great
location, use 400 Beach Street, Santa Cruz, California as your look-up
address. That's the address for the BoardWalk, one of several anchors to
Main Beach. Another anchor is the Santa Cruz Wharf.
