Scenic/ Historic Walking Areas in Santa Cruz

THE BEST Santa Cruz Scenic Walking Areas

Scenic Walking Areas in Santa Cruz

  • Traveler favorites
    Things to do ranked using Tripadvisor data including reviews, ratings, photos, and popularity.
  • Traveler ranking
    Highest rated attractions on Tripadvisor, based on traveler reviews.
Types of Attractions
Sights & Landmarks
Sights & Landmarks
Traveler rating
Good for
4 places sorted by traveler favorites

What travelers are saying

  • Margaret H
    Los Angeles, CA2 contributions
    Cliff drive is a must, it’s a spectacularly beautiful drive showcase a gorgeous stretch of California coastline. Plenty of places to pull over to get out and take photos and soak in the scenery.
    Written June 26, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Michael K
    929 contributions
    This is a very nice neighborhood park accented by a pond that gives the park its namesake. The pond/lake is not very big but it is quite scenic and walking around the lake to enjoy the view is a must. Certain sections of the trail is in the shade; otherwise it is fully exposed to the sun but since Santa Cruz is never too hot, it is not a problem.
    Written August 20, 2021
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • A Sun
    Santa Cruz, CA100 contributions
    This is located next to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. You can walk across the river on the new and improved train tarsal that crosses the San Lorenzo River.
    Written July 31, 2019
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • mini
    Fremont, CA176,137 contributions
    We were in Santa Cruz mid week and took a walk on the San Lorenzo River Parkway. It is both a walking path and bike path.
    Written October 8, 2020
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Frequently Asked Questions about Santa Cruz


See what travelers are asking

Forum posts were selected by looking for forum titles asking specific questions and taking the top showtopic page by total pageviews as the optimal topic.
So I havent seen this post recently. Debating the merits of staying in Santa Cruz vs Capitola.

We are are a sports team of 15- 16 yr old boys traveling from Orange County ,ca to the area in end of July. Games can range from being in Sc, Aptos, cabrillo and San Lorenzo. We will be in the area for four days with some down time in the evenings.

Hotels are expensive in both areas. Looking into the Fairfield inn in Capitola (rates ave ~$300 but with breakfast & bocci ball court) with some of chain restaurants like chipotle & mall nearby.

The other option to to get a hotel in SC possibly Hotel Paradox in the higher end (~$330 but no breakfast) or Holiday Inn or Hyatt place same price as FI.

Pls lmk your thoughts of what would be a better city SC or C?

Would like a hotel where parents & kids have a nice common area to congregate during down time.

Also would like to have the boys have access to fun things to do during down time & have access to good food options since 16 yrs old boys playing sports are always hungry.

Will the team with 30+ people be frustrated trying to get into a non chain restaurant in Sc?

Hotel P is off the beaten path & expensive but has nicer facilities like pool area with nice lounge area. Is the hotel worth the extra $?

Any appreciate suggestions on the hotel I mentioned or any others that I have may have overlooked.

Thank you for your advice.
Answer: There is not much for boys that age in Capitola. Its core is a small village with boutique shopping. The hotel itself is on busy 41st Avenue, not very near the village. The mall you speak of is considering going out of business and turning into something else. It has a couple of semi-fast food restaurants. It is not something the boys could walk to from the Fairfield Inn, or has anything of interest to them, IMO.

The Holiday Inn Express in Santa Cruz is not near anything for the boys except Denny's :~). It is on Ocean Street as you come into the town. The Paradox is a new remake of a Holiday Inn and it screams 'businessmen'. It is also on Ocean Avenue, but further down and just across San Lorenzo Park (about two or three blocks) from the main street of town, Pacific Avenue, with lots of restaurants of various kinds, two movie theaters, ice cream parlors, a cookie company, pizza, etc.

Have you looked into the Dream Inn? This is of the same quality as, or better than, the others but near the Wharf and a block from the Boardwalk, an old fashioned historic amusement park with no admission charge.

The hotel has a pool and faces a beach. Surfing lessons happen there. There are volleyball nets set up on part of the beach near the Boardwalk. During the summer there are free movies and concerts and aerial acts at various times on the main beach there. Of your choices, I really think this is the best. It is not inexpensive, but I think it might be in the same ballpark as the Paradox. The boys *could* walk to Pacific Avenue from here, but it is about 8 or 9 blocks to the main area .

The Hyatt is new and I know nothing about it except its location. It is on the west side and not really convenient to activities for the boys.

I am going to give you a link to a traveler article on Santa Cruz. Trip Advisor has stopped supporting these, so there is a disclaimer that the information may be outdated. The information in this article is not outdated. I will be re-writing it to put in my own files.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g33048-c133677/Santa-Cruz:California:Santa.Cruz.Sights.And.Activities.html

Good luck and let me know if I can be of help....

Edit. The Paradox is not in a "shady area of town". Yes, homeless people do hang out in San Lorenzo Park, but there is no reason for the boys to go there. If you should pick that hotel they can walk on city streets, quite safely, to get to Pacific Avenue...
Note that forum content are individual perspectives of forum posters and not the opinion of Tripadvisor