Santa Cruz Family Vacations

Looking for a California family vacation where you'll be surrounded by the beaches and all around natural beauty this state is known for, but spared the big city crowds? Consider making Santa Cruz your destination.

This little city of about 60,000 really is the quintessential beach town, offering some 29 miles of beaches in town and surrounding areas, an average of 300 days of sunshine a year, and a relaxed, laid-back atmosphere that is pure California.

There is also a Redwood forest in Santa Cruz and the city's location 80 miles south of San Francisco on the north side of the Monterey Peninsula makes it an ideal location for taking in so many of the region's other popular sites like the quaint seaside towns of Carmel, Monterey and Capitola. Californians hailing from San Francisco or Los Angeles will be transformed by a getaway to Santa Cruz and families planning a California visit from another state might enjoy making Santa Cruz their focus point, especially if they want to take in a lot of natural scenery.

First settled by the Spanish in 1791, Santa Cruz has over the years suffered a couple of devastating earthquakes that destroyed much of its mission-era architecture, although a replica of the original Mission Santa Cruz that erected after the ruins from the original structure were carried off offers families some sense of the city's past. More recent history can be found right on the beach. Hawaii's earliest surfers introduced their beloved sport to the mainland via Santa Cruz, and Santa Cruz takes the honor seriously. In addition to several surfing schools and clubs, the city houses a Surfing Museum that pays homage to those 1940s-era surfers.