Share |
Print Article
Family Travel Files Ezine Family Vacations Resource
California: Santa Cruz Family Vacation Ideas – Surf Camp, Fossil Digs, and an Awesome Beach Boardwalk.Santa Cruz Boardwalk Combine majestic redwood forests, miles of great family-friendly beaches, lighthearted people, and an array of fun activities – your next family vacation is ready made.

Here’s the scoop. I like the Santa Cruz area for all of the reasons mentioned above plus the weather, terrific market fresh food options, and wine. So in my opinion it is one of America’s best beach communities and ideal for families. Then add to the list the fact that Santa Cruz County also has 14 state parks (hello Mother Nature!), and a classic Boardwalk for atmosphere. We have assembled a short list of family vacation choices to support our “Best Family Beach Community” claim.
 
Ride the "Giant Dipper" at the Boardwalk. For almost a century the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk has been providing families with carnival rides, seaside fun, and entertainment. In 1924 "Giant Dipper" launched its first thrilling wooden roller coaster run – updated for safety it is still providing thrills for visitors. Less thrilling and more artistic, the 70 hand-carved horses on the Looff Carousel still provide entertainment and music from the original 342-pipe organ.  This is the site of the annual Clam Chowder Cookoff and a launching spot for plenty of day adventures including sailing excursions. Bonus points: Take your beach chairs - every Friday night from the end of June to the end of August and enjoy “Bands on the Beach” free concerts. (Santa Cruz Boardwalk 400 Beach Street, Santa Cruz, 95060. (831) 423-5590 or www.beachboardwalk.com) 

Discover how the sea works. Just look for Ms. Blue, the awesome 87- foot blue whale skeleton and you will know you are in the right place for discoveries. Located on the west side of Santa Cruz, Seymour Marine Discovery Center at Long Marine Lab replicates the atmosphere of a working marine laboratory including visitors in daily activities using the everyday tools of scientific exploration. The bayside complex is an accredited research facility which offers opportunities for families to engage in touch tank marine exhibits, search seawater tables, view aquariums, and participate in family programs. Take a docent-led tour behind-the-scenes and see the lab’s facilities and Younger Lagoon Natural Reserve. Bonus points: New for 2011 a shark and ray pool that provides visitors with a chance to see and touch. (Seymour Marine Discovery Center 100 Shaffer Rd., Santa Cruz, 95060. (831)459-3800 or http://ims.ucsc.edu/seymour.html) Santa California Cruz Surfing Lessons

Visit famous “Steamer Lane”. With the popularity of surfing in the area it is not surprising that it is also the home of Santa Cruz Surfing Museum. Located at the Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse the museum displays redwood-plank surf boards from the earliest days of the sport to modern high-tech designs, early wetsuits. Bonus points: Just off the point from the lighthouse is the internationally recognized surfing site “Steamer Lane”. Watch surfers or surf yourself – if you dare.  (Santa Cruz Surfing Museum 701 West Cliff Drive Santa Cruz, 95060 or www.santacruzsurfingmuseum.org)
 
Catch a wave. Santa Cruz is the home of Club Ed International Surf School and one of the best places in California for families with teens to learn to surf together. According to experts the area is popular because the sea serves up consistent waves with a wide variety of surf breaks. Club Ed offers wide variety surfing programs from first-time daily lessons for individuals to Surf Camps. Just as the lessons vary by skill set, the locations vary because of wind and tides. Each season they conduct All-Ages Summer Surf Camp along Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary.Santa Cruz Beach Surf Lessons Bonus points: Participants get the chance to surf with seals, sea otters, and curios dolphins. (Club Ed International Surf School on Cowell's Beach, Santa Cruz. (831)464- 0177, toll-free 1-800-287-7873 or www.club-ed.com)  

Dig for fossils or watch honey bees. At the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History more than 100 years of the area’s unique history is displayed and explained. From its earliest residents and the founding of the city to its strong connections to the land and sea there are stories to be discovered. A large mural provides a backdrop to an Ohlone village depicting life before Europeans. Real mortar and pestles are provided to visitors wishing to try their skills at grinding acorns for a meal typical of early residents. Museum also has exhibits representing the ecosystems and animal life the region. Watch a working honeybee hive; observe "chocolate phase" king snake; listen to local songbird’s calls; see the recreated skull of a mastodon or investigate sea creatures in the touch pool. Bonus points:  Dig for 10 million year old sand dollars in the fossil dig onsite.  (Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History 1305 East Cliff Drive Santa Cruz, CA 95062. (831) 420-6115 or www.santacruzmuseums.org)

Ride the rails or tromp the forest. Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton runs 90-minute steam train excursions through awesome redwood forests to the top of Bear Mountain. The Beach Train takes riders on three-hour tours of redwood forests, across a century-old steel bridge, and through an 1875 tunnel. Roaring Camp Railroad lets visitors take a nostalgic ride aboard 110-year-old steam locomotives. And a museum in FeltonSanta Cruz Watsonvile Wetlands houses a collection of factoids arguing the existence of Bigfoot. Bonus points: In addition to a steam train excursion it is also possible to have an eco adventure. With Bear Mountain Cycling Adventure ride the steam train and enjoy a guided cycle back to Roaring Camp. With Norman’s Trail Nature Walk ride the steam train and enjoy a 90-minute guided nature walk with a nature scavenger hunt and nature project once returning to Roaring Camp. (Roaring Camp Railroads Felton, 95018. (831)335-4484 or www.roaringcamp.com)

Go on a pontoon safari. Located just a little north of Santa Cruz, Elkhorn Slough is one of California's largest wetlands and part of a National Estuarine Reserve.  Truly wet and wild, the slough weaves inland more than seven miles making a safari by pontoon boat easy. Along the route passengers will see energetic sea otters, docile harbor seals and hundreds of species of waterfowl and migratory shorebirds. The two- hour boat cruises include a naturalist guide with plenty of facts and stories to share. The boat tour is ideal for families providing special activities for children onboard. (Elkhorn Slough Safari at Moss Landing) 
 
Eat your mushrooms. While most people think of the beach and boardwalk when I think of Santa Cruz, I think of mushrooms. Where else can you sample luscious yellow foot chanterelles? Yup, in Santa Cruz and it is never too early to expand a child’s palette.  Therefore I am mentioning a terrific annual event (held each spring) - the Fungus Festival kid-friendly and parent-friendly at the same time. Take their Mushroom 101 class with your teen or forage through the forest with a guide - best of all sample, sample, and sample. Bonus points: During the weekend festivities you will find a range of hands-on activities for young children including clay mushroom building, face painting, storytelling, fungi explorations, and how to dye silk with mushrooms  (For details (831) 684-2275 or  www.scfungusfair.org)
 
Make it happen. For more information on the area Santa Cruz County Conference and Visitors Council 303 Water Street, Suite 100 Santa Cruz, CA 95060. Toll-free 1-800-833-3494, (831) 429-7281 or www.SantaCruz.org

Content researched and written by FTF staff. Comments by Nancy Nelson-Duac, Editor FTF. Images provided by Santa Cruz Tourism and Club Ed International Surf School. Copyright 2011.
Share |
RELATED ARTICLES
California: Best Beach Spots for a Family Vacation.
Just as no two families are alike, no two California beaches match the perfect beach formula. Except for sand, sun and water with an occasional fish or seabird which are fairly standard, the options for fun remain varied.
California: San Francisco, CityPASS Family Vacation Ideas - Cable Cars, Sea Lions, and the Golden Gate Bridge.
Northern California provides oodles of positive energy and San Francisco maximizes the energy from every angle. It is just naturally a fun place to enjoy sun, sea and city all in the same day.
California: Sacramento to Bodega Bay -| A California Family Road Trip.
Rachael Ekeroth shares the best parts of her summer family road trip from Sacramento to Sonoma including railroad museum, the governor's office, awesome Bodega Bay, and the mission at Carmel.
California: Monterey, Monterey Bay Aquarium – Families Explore the Deep Blue Sea.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium is the best aquarium for kids in the United States, according to Parents Magazine and is ranked as the best aquarium (and third best family attraction in the United States) by the Zagat Survey U.S. Family Travel Guide, so it definitely deserves a place on any family’s “to-do” list.
California: Santa Cruz / Monterey, KOA – Campfires, Beach Time and a Mechanical Surfboard.
California’s Central Coast has miles of beaches and is world famous for its surfing at the surf spot known as “Steamer Lane”. Not just for the surfing crowd, the area also offers forests, farm land and wineries as well as exceptional spots for hiking, biking, camping, and birding.  

Read More Articles

FAMILY VACATION IDEAS
Best Western Brookside Inn

Stay with us and create your own family vacation fun in awesome Silicon Valley. [Read More]
Hampton Inn & Suites Lathrop

Reasonably priced and oh-so-very comfortable. [Read More]
W Silicon Valley

East Bay Area luxury hotel retreat – stylish and hip. [Read More]
California Farm & Ranch Stays - Free Range Family Fun.

Unplug, Relax, and reconnect with your family. [Read More]
Best Western Plus El Rancho Inn & Suites

Just 15 miles from San Francisco and family fun. [Read More]

Related Article Related Article

Crowne Plaza Foster City – Stay & Celebrate

Free transportation to and from the airport. [Read More]
Crowne Plaza Foster City - Dream Weddings

Creativity, cuisine, and service are our claim to fame. [Read More]
Comfort Inn Monterey Bay

We are affordable and a pet friendly hotel in Monterey. [Read More]
Palm Garden Hotel

Family Vacation Recreational Package. Create your own adventure. [Read More]

Related Article Related Article

Maple Tree Inn

Check out our Sunnyvale Vacation Packages, perfect for families. [Read More]
Biltmore Hotel & Suite

Great America Vacation Package family fun. [Read More]
Corporate Inn Sunnyvale

A family vacation base in the heart of Silicon Valley. [Read More]

Related Article Related Article

Winchester Mystery House Double Barrel Family Fun

Visit San Jose and share the mystery. [Read More]
Sunset Inn

Monterey Bay Whale Watching Package. Save and share an exceptional family adventure. [Read More]
Quality Inn Palo Alto

An unbeatable value for your next family vacation in the Bay Area. Hiking Package available. [Read More]
Ramada Silicon Valley

Two family packages to choose from. [Read More]
Fairfield Inn And Suites Santa Rosa

Fairfield Inn & Suites An unbeatable combination of luxury and value. [Read More]
Comfort Inn Mountain View

Great America California Park & Hotel Package Deal. [Read More]
River Terrace Inn

Napa Valley Wine & River Adventure Tour Package. [Read More]
Holiday Inn Express Salinas

Close to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. [Read More]

See More Family Vacation Ideas


Use of Travel Communications, Inc., websites constitutes acceptance of the Terms of Use.
Site designed and hosted by Tempest Technologies, LLC