Gardens in Santa Cruz

THE BEST Santa Cruz Gardens

Gardens in Santa Cruz

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Types of Attractions
Nature & Parks
Nature & Parks
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What travelers are saying

  • johnmodesto
    Modesto, CA670 contributions
    Large arboretum with excellent display of Australian and South African plants. The arboretum has its own entrance off of Empire Grade/High Street. There is a large free parking area. You can buy admission tickets online or at the gift shop, if it happens to be open. If not you can stuff money into a metal tube, which is what we did. The gardens for Australia and South Africa are large, with many diverse trees, bushes, succulents, and other plants. The setting is beautiful, though casual--nobody would accuse UC Santa Cruz of having formal gardens. Squirrels and rabbits wander here and there, and useful signage tells you about the plants and their normal environment. There is a New Zealand section, we didn't visit that but looking through the fence it appeared to be a picturesque meadow with wooden sculptures.
    Written February 13, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Bret W
    Santa Cruz, CA48 contributions
    There are a number of slides to enjoy here. Nine including the little ones on the junior play structure. Long open slides, enclosed tubular slides. Also swings and play structures. Restroom facilites, basketball court, picnic tables, large grass area with, as the name suggests, an ocean view.
    Written July 9, 2019
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Rob A
    Tucson, AZ59 contributions
    I visited this Arboretum on a Saturday and there were almost no people there. It is actually quite large and has plants and trees from New Zealand, South Africa and Australia. There is a succulent garden and an aroma Garden as well. The cost is a $5 donation. I would like to come back and visit anytime.
    Written March 19, 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


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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...
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