Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk 400 Beach St.

Santa Cruz, CA 95060

831-426-7433 or831-423-5590 (boardwalk calendar)

Open daily Memorial Day through Labor Day, weekends fall through spring.

Admission Free to boardwalk, Admission Charged for rides. California's oldest amusement park is about as original--and memorable--as boardwalks come. The park has two national landmarks -- a 1924 wooden Giant Dipper roller coaster, a 1911 carousel with hand-carved wooden horses, and a 342-pipe organ band. The only major seaside amusement park on the Pacific Coast, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk blends old-time nostalgia with modern thrills. You can buy a bag of salt-water taffy, get your fortune told in the old-style arcade, take a road rage-releasing ride on the bumper cars, or test your mettle on the giant wood-framed roller coaster, The Giant Dipper, whose unforgettable dips rival any extreme adventure in new theme parks. The Santa Cruz Boardwalk features a carousel and little cars and airplanes for the kiddies as well. Bring a swimsuit and a towel, as you'll be steps from a sandy, beautiful Santa Cruz beach.

Neptune's Kingdom

400 Beach St. on the Boardwalk

Santa Cruz, CA

831-423-5590

Grand Arcades opens at 11am and stays open late every day except December 25th.

Admission Free, Charges apply for golf, arcade games and other activities.

Neptune’s Kingdom is a nautical-themed indoor family recreation and entertainment center located on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk whose main feature is a two-story miniature golf course. Test your skills inside Smuggler's Arcade playing video games and pinball. Visit the Captain's Game Deck upstairs for more fun and games including eight pool tables, air hockey, fosse ball, snacks, and beer. Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf

Intersection of West Cliff Dr. and Beach St.

Santa Cruz, CA

831-420-5273

Open daily 5 am–2 am

Admission Charged

Enjoy interpretive displays along this half-mile pier, including an aquarium.

On weekends, watch the sea lions, and stop by the Sanctuary office at 55-D, Upper Level.

You can also crab and fish from the wharf. 

Santa Cruz Mystery Spot 465 Mystery Spot Rd., off Branciforte Dr.

Santa Cruz, CA

831-423-8897

Hours: Summer: 9:00am to last tour @7:00 pm, Winter: 9:00am to last tour @ 5:00pm, (After Labor Day up to Memorial Day)

Admission Charged.

The Mystery Spot is an area about 150 feet in diameter located in the redwood forests just outside of Santa Cruz, California. Within the Mystery Spot you will be baffled as the laws of physics and gravity cease to exist; balls roll uphill, chairs sit on walls and people lean over so far they can't see their shoes, yet they don't fall down. Discovered in 1939 and opened to the public in 1940, the Mystery Spot has amazed and perplexed hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world. Many return again to experience the puzzling variations in gravity, perspective, height and more.

Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History 1305 East Cliff Drive

Santa Cruz CA;

831-420-6115

Open Tuesday-Sunday 10am to 5pm

Admission Charged, Youth under 18 free Tour the many habitats of Santa Cruz simply with a stroll through the exhibit area; visit woodlands, chaparral, grasslands, and a variety of marine environments. Pound acorns the Ohlone way, excavate sand dollars, tickle a sea star, or get up close and personal with a living bee hive. Great for all ages, although the children particularly enjoy climbing on the cement whale which is located on the front lawn.

Seymour Marine Discovery Center

Long Marine Laboratory, 100 Shaffer Rd., at the northwest end of Delaware Avenue

Santa Cruz, CA

831-459-3800

Hours: Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 5pm, and Sunday from noon to 5pm

Admission Charged.