santa cruz harbor beach

Our family loves this beach...it's usually not overcrowded, the kids love to climb the rocks and comb the beach. It is perfect to sit and read, play frisbee and have a picnic lunch. Beautiful views and great food close by.

Had a great time here with friends. Came to a party on the end of one of the boat docks where a friend of a friend has a fishing boat. Great lighted boat parade. Everybody went to a lot of trouble and effort to decorate and light up their boats.

Great restaurant, The Crows Nest. It's not a fish food locale so go ahead and order the Hawaiian Hamburger with sweet onions! Good service, can eat indoors, outdoors, along the picture windows if inside, or upstairs for faster food such as sandwiches. Then take a brief walk out to the lighthouse

This is a popular beach to have a beach fire at in Santa Cruz. We have enjoyed it and since one can have a fire, its a good place to see the sun set and then continue into the evening.Its by the harbor area where there are a number of restaurants (Crow's Nest Restaurant as an example).Its a fun family beach, with sand volleyball, and has good views of the Pacific Ocean.

Santa Cruz is not complete without a trip to the Santa Cruz Harbor Beach. Saturday mornings you will find a group of ukulele enthusiasts playing a full range of oldies but goodies. Restaurants offer great food - and OBTW, there is a free harbor shuttle to the other side of the harbor during the summer. Check out the boats - everything from old fishing vessels to yachts are moored in the harbor.

As we live about 300 yards from this beach we are there almost every day and enjoy it as much as first time users.The fire pits are a nice added benefit that most beaches don't offer

Great little beach with fun volleyball courses and good (but cold) swimming. We are often in Santa Cruz and this is our proffered beach for sun and watching the water.

I loved being on this beach watching the dolphins, sea otters and seals play along the coast and in the kelp beds. Lots of paddle boarders braving the cold ocean water. The sand is nice and there are lots of interesting tidal pools. Great place to spend the day.

Cafe El Palomar "Food is amazing. Service totally ... Location is great... right on the beach by the harbor, so good views, nice breeze.

Take your dog and sit on the outside deck at Aldo's for lunch, and watch the boats go in and out of the harbor. On Saturday mornings on the beach in front of the Crow's Nest restaurant you can hear a large group of ukelele enthusiasts play together for fun. IN the summer there is a ferry that takes you across the harbor for free. A fairly new lighthouse has been installed and you can walk out to it.

Face it, you are too old for the roller coaster, surfing looks cool but it will take years of falling till you're hanging ten. So what's in Santa Cruz, that will get your heart pumping while breaking a sweat. Whether you have an hour, an afternoon or all day, there's great scenic rides around Santa Cruz. Whether you haven't been on a bicycle since you acquired a driver license or you regularly pedal centuries, there's something to suit your level and time constraints. There are at least four bicycle rentals in Santa Cruz, they seem to cater to different audiences. Pacific Ave Cycles rents mostly beach cruisers (single speed) and some mountain bikes to folks who mostly cruise around town. It seems another outfit caters to road bikes, and still the other outfits cater to more serious mountain bikers. Figure out your interest, and go with the appropriate bike rental. I rented a mountain bike from Pacific Ave Cycles, 318 Pacific Ave, 831-471-2453. The folks were friendly, helpful, and efficient. It cost $20 for a two+ hour rental including the helmet. The equipment was in great shape, disk brakes work really well. I meter parked in front of their store, (you'll need quarters) rode northwest along the coast. West Cliff Drive starts a few blocks from the store, within a few minutes you are overlooking the Monterey Bay bluffs; rolling passed, surfers, waves crashing into the mostly rocky shore. There's lots of pedestrian traffic on the bicycle path, so I spent quite a bit of time on the road, cars drive slowly through this stretch. West Cliff runs for maybe 3 miles. I made a right on Swanton, a left onto Delaware, a right onto Natural Bridges, and a left at the T. This road empties into a bicycle path that parallels Route 1 for another 3 miles or so to Wilder Ranch State Park. The bike path has a patches with sand and debris, so it's best to be on a mountain bike. Once the road ends at Wilder Ranch, you will need a mountain bike to ride the trails, I rode the trail along the shore, (head wind was brutal). If I had a little more time, I would have returned via the high trail through Wilder. The trails are not particularly well marked. http://www.everytrail.com/guide/pacific-to-redwoods-loop-at-wilder-ranch-state-park/mapYou will come back hungry and thristy, there's no shortage of eateries. I was solo, but this is also a good way to spend the afternoon with your teens.

Walking from one end of the Boardwalk and back is an experience in itself. Great rides, food and views make this a very special place.

Spent the entire day walking through this area, and treated to close up views of Sea Lions! Beach is very clean and easily accessed.

We (a group of 6) spent an afternoon at this beach. The beach is close to Kayak Connection where you can rent SUP, kayaks and boogie board with wet suits. My daughter, 8 yo, had a fun time boogie-boarding. With the wet suit, it was not too cold for her. My friends were doing standup-paddling in the harbor (not far from the beach). Just let you know, you are not supposed to SUP or kayak in the Harbor Beach area. To our surprise, dolphins were seen from the beach. You can spend the whole day there. It is quite relaxing for the whole family.

The beach was great, clean and not too crowded. Water was cool but not cold.Large beach with a lot of room to play.