Hyatt Place Santa Cruz

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is recognized as the best seaside park in the world. Our vibrant, bustling amusement park is renowned for its great rides, remarkable history, spectacular beach setting, and friendly attitude.

This park and beach is an excellent vantage point for viewing shore birds, migrating whales, as well as seals and otters playing offshore. Further along the beach, public access tidepools offer a glimpse of life beneath the sea. Low tides reveal sea stars, shore crabs, sea anemones, and other colorful ocean life. The park also includes a large area of coastal scrub and grasslands, with bright native wildflowers in the spring. Moore Creek flows through the park, forming freshwater wetlands and a salt marsh before it reaches the sea. The park's Monarch Grove provides a temporary home for up to 100,000 Monarchs each winter. From roughly mid-October through mid-February, the Monarchs form a "city in the trees." The area's mild ocean air and eucalyptus grove provide a safe roost until spring. In the spring and summer, the butterflies live in the valley regions west of the Rocky Mountains where milkweed, the only plant a Monarch caterpillar eats, is plentiful. Monarch migration is variable, and numbers vary each year. Before you visit, you may want to call the park for current information on the population.

The Santa Cruz Wharf offers the best in seaside shopping, dining and recreation. You'll find everything from handmade arts & crafts to beach apparel, outdoor fresh fish markets to fine dining, whale watching, fishing trips and kayaking.

The Santa Cruz coastline awaits discovery on Wilder Ranch State Park’s 7,000 acres. From the crest of Ben Lomond Mountain, the landscape rolls down ancient wave-cut terraces through the marsh lands of a nature preserve to the seashore. Step back in time to the late 1800's and visit an early dairy ranch. You can explore California's early ranching history by visiting an 1897 Victorian home, or experience a 1896 water-powered machine shop. Bring a picnic to enjoy on the front lawn, and visit the farm animals. With more than 35 miles of trail, you can adventure into the Santa Cruz Mountains or walk along the coastal bluffs.

Open 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Closed Mondays and holidays. Visitors are provided an inside look at what marine scientists are doing at this U.C.S.C. research facility. Features include aquariums, tidepool touch tanks, a 85-foot blue whale skeleton and marine mammals.

Travel over trestles, through towering redwood groves and up a winding narrow-gauge grade to the summit of Bear Mountain as conductors narrate the history of Roaring Camp, the railroad and the forest. In the 1880s, narrow-gauge steam locomotives were used to haul giant redwood logs out of the mountains. Roaring Camp’s steam engines date from 1890 and are among the oldest and most authentically preserved narrow-gauge steam engines providing regularly scheduled passenger service in America.

A different kind of museum, one that focuses on building community here in Santa Cruz County. We build community through exhibitions, events, and projects that connect people to art, history, ideas, and each other. We believe that art and history are for everyone, and we work hard to offer experiences that connect people from many walks of life: across generations, ethnicity, and background. That means multi-cultural festivals, exhibitions filled with wonder, partnerships throughout the county, and surprising, fun connections with people and ideas across our community.

IT’S NOT A WELL-KEPT SECRET At least not among Santa Cruz locals. Welcome to DeLaveaga – perched just above town in the idyllic foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. With ocean views and a top-ranked golf course, along with an award-winning restaurant and two bars, all nestled in the center of miles of striking natural beauty. Make a tee time, or just plan some leisure time, to appreciate DeLaveaga.