California's Best Trips 2 - Full PDF eBook

and History Center

(%831-427-2288; 3600 Hwy

1, Davenport; admission free;

hnoon-4pm Sat & Sun; c)^

has two kid-friendly

nature trails, both

open daily, through the

marshlands behind the

beach.

The Drive » Hwy 1 begins

slowly moving away from the

rocky shoreline as the coast’s

limestone and sandstone cliffs

regularly shed chunks into the

white-capped waters below.

Motor past roadside farmstands

and barns and more pocket

beaches before rolling into

Santa Cruz after 15 miles.

8 Santa Cruz

SoCal beach culture

meets NorCal

counterculture in Santa

Cruz. Witness the old-

school radical and freak-

show weirdness along

Pacific Ave, downtown’s

main drag. Tumble

downhill to the West

Coast’s oldest oceanfront

amusement park, Santa

Cruz Beach Boardwalk

(%831-423-5590; http://www.

beachboardwalk.com; 400

Beach St; admission free, rides

$3-5; hseasonal hr vary; c),

where the smell of cotton

candy mixes with the salt

air. Continue up W Cliff

Dr, which winds for a

mile to Lighthouse Point.

Join the gawkers on the

cliffs peering down at

the floating kelp beds,

hulking sea lions, playful

sea otters and black

wet-suit-clad surfers

riding Steamers Lane

surf break. Inside the

1960s-era lighthouse is

the memorabilia-packed

Surfing Museum (www.

santacruzsurfingmuseum.

org; 701 W Cliff Dr; admission

by donation; hnoon-4pm

Thu-Mon early Sep-early Jul,

10am-5pm Wed-Mon early Jul-

early Sep). Almost 2 miles

further west, W Cliff Dr

dead-ends at Natural

Bridges State Beach

(www.parks.ca.gov; per car

$10; h8am-sunset; c),

named for its sea arches.

Starfish, anemones, crabs

and more inhabit myriad

tidepools carved into the

limestone rocks. Find

out about sea creatures

both great (look at that

blue-whale skeleton!)

and small at the nearby

Seymour Marine

Discovery Center (http://

seymourcenter.ucsc.edu; 100

Shaffer Rd; adult/child $6/4;

h10am-5pm Tue-Sat, noon-

5pm Sun; c).

54 p167

TRIP HIGHLIGHT

Start: 8 Santa Cruz

Hwy 9 is a sun-dappled backwoods byway into the Santa Cruz Mountains, passing

towering redwood forests and a few fog-blessed vineyards (estate-bottled Pinot

Noir is a specialty). Seven miles north of Santa Cruz, Henry Cowell Redwoods

State Park (www.parks.ca.gov; 101 N Big Trees Park Rd; per car $10; hsunrise-sunset) has

hiking trails through old-growth redwood trees. Nearby in Felton, Roaring Camp

Railroads (%831-335-4484; http://www.roaringcamp.com; 5401 Graham Hill Rd; adult/child from

$24/17, parking $8; hcall for schedules) operates narrow-gauge steam trains up into the

redwoods. It’s another 7 miles up to Boulder Creek, a tiny mountain town with a

brewpub. Take Hwy 236 northwest for 10 more twisty miles to Big Basin Redwoods

State Park (www.bigbasin.org, http://www.parks.ca.gov; 21600 Big Basin Way; per car $10), where

misty nature trails loop past skyscraping redwoods.

SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS

DETOUR:

CENTRAL.CALIFORNIA

14

(^) ALONG HIGHWAY 1 TO SANTA CRUz