Museums in Santa Cruz

THE 10 BEST Santa Cruz Museums

Museums 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.
Museums
Traveler rating
Good for
16 places sorted by traveler favorites

What travelers are saying

  • akat411
    San Francisco, CA138 contributions
    Worth a visit if you're in the area and want to see some ocean research exhibits. It's not very big but there are a number of tanks to see different animals. There is a touch pool to touch sea stars and the best thing was the chance to touch a swell shark. Very cool! We went as a big family group and the kids were engaged. The site is cliff side with a pretty walking path and beautiful view. Would recommend.
    Written June 27, 2022
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • laura g
    Nottingham, UK50 contributions
    We stopped at the Surfing museum as we arrived in Santa Cruz, it was such a novel place and we really enjoyed, glad to have stopped in. There was some very cool memorabilia and stories of the surfers and of surfing. A 'must do' if you are in Santa Cruz
    Written October 17, 2022
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Morgan
    Aptos, CA28 contributions
    This place is so cool I’m a local person and I haven’t been here in 30 years, and I absolutely love it. We went for the mastodon tooth to look at it and view it and I was pleasantly surprised with everything else.
    Written June 5, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Deb
    Bethany Beach, DE15 contributions
    What a great place showcasing the local area. I really enjoyed the movie about octopi. Good gift shop, too. Close to the Wharf and free on Sundays!
    Written April 23, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • oldjgw
    Berkeley150 contributions
    Well kept and interesting local museum. Right on Front street, downtown. Could have used more in-indepth displays of Santa Cruz local history
    Written January 23, 2022
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Mark
    Lelystad, The Netherlands1 contribution
    A trip down memory lane! The legendary Santa Cruz /Independent skateboard and trucks factory and museum. If you love skateboarding this has to be on your Bucketlist! Great to see all the history!
    Written July 24, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • cymbidian
    San Rafael, CA145 contributions
    We had a lovely visit to this museum space. there are three floors with different sorts of things on each floor. We loved the rooftop sculpture garden and the history room.
    Written June 2, 2019
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • jaseaton
    Silver Spring, MD2,544 contributions
    If you've been to the Lawrence Hall of Science, you've seen a better version of this "museum" filled with fun activities for kids 10 and under. There's a mix of science fun and just plain slides and things (over-sized blocks and numerous interactive activities). My grandson (3 yrs old) enjoyed racing plastic cars down a chute and playing in the sand box. We adults joined in.and stood around. It made for a 90-minute slot in a lively afternoon. The location inside a mall seemed curious.
    Written December 22, 2019
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Dominika
    10 contributions
    Peaceful, terrific, charming! We renamed it for Om(g) gallery. Really liked it, mostly the jewelry section :)
    Written February 5, 2020
    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 went to Tannery Art Center. This is also an area where people live. There is a cafe called Bistro One Twelve. There were a variety of studios - most were open when we were there.

    We enjoyed seeing the art. There are interesting large art work outside such as Spirit Nest - artist Jayson Fann. Its interesting to watch the artists at work.

    There is a performance hall which has shows. its a pleasant place to go if one enjoys the arts.

    The name Tannery is as it used to be a leather making facility. There are some historic pieces to see on site such as the dry mill.

    We also watched people enjoying the exercise facility on site. They offer a variety of exercise and dance classes.
    Written February 28, 2020
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • parnelli96
    Mountain View, CA2 contributions
    I took my 11yo niece here who is an avid skateboarder. Learn about the history and innovations that took place at Santa Cruz Skateboards, Independent Trucks and more. Fascinating to learn about how they came up with that famous Santa Cruz Skateboard logo and how the skateboard and trucks came to be. Plus, you get to see a part of the manufacturing facility. If you have a family member who loved/loves to skate, this place can't be missed on you to-do list in Santa Cruz.
    Written August 2, 2019
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Mike S
    Oro Valley, AZ117 contributions
    David Salazar has been blowing glass for decades and is a talented artist. Watch him work with glass in his small shop and pick up a really cool work of art you aren't likely to find anywhere else. It's a just a fun, unique thing to do + David is a really nice, fun guy.
    Written January 20, 2020
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Tuberose1
    7 contributions
    Really like to visit Santa Cruz and now one more excuse to go. Really enjoyed this atelier with all the nice artist! Will go again in visit!
    Written September 20, 2016
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • An0nyMs
    Tucson, Arizona1,397 contributions
    The Santa Cruz Art League offers classes, concerts, and art exhibitions. The gallery is fairly small, housed in a medium-sized room with most work along the outer walls, I was there to see "Members Exhibition A-Z", a show by local artists.

    I travel a lot and see lots of art. Exhibitions by local/regional artists can have works by artists who are just getting started, and most of the works in this show were just that. I spent about ten minutes here. (I also left a donation because I support local art.) I found much better art at Pajaro Valley Arts, a local/regional museum about half an hour away in Watsonville.

    The Art League's website lists two other shows: a high school art exhibition and "Planet Pulse—A National Art Exhibition". You might want to check the website before you go.
    Written February 14, 2022
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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