The Santa Cruz Boardwalk
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The boardwalk in Santa Cruz is a festival of overstimulation. Noise, lights, action, commotion, junk food and kids everywhere-and it’s been that way for 101 Years!
No visit to Santa Cruz, California is complete without a stroll down the boardwalk with soft serve ice cream or cotton candy or some other nutritionally outlawed yummy that you’d never eat anywhere else. But, hey, how often do you get here? Live it up!
They have some great free shows on the beach stage. This summer
(2008), it was the Amazing Chinese Acrobats performing at least a couple of times a day, occasional visits by skydivers landing on the beach and thrilling high divers plunging from an 80 foot tower.
On Friday evenings during the summer, they have free concerts on the beach with lovable old timers, like Herman’s Hermits and Blue Oyster Cult, and more modern groups, like the Gin Blossoms. Other special events include fireworks, local’s nights, kite festivals and beach soccer tournaments.
Many of the rides are kid-sized versions, which is awesome, especially when they allow adults to accompany the really little ones.
The Santa Cruz Boardwalk is one of the last great seaside amusement parks and is designated as a California Historic Landmark. Two of the nostalgic rides, a wooden roller coaster built in 1924 and a classic 1911 carousel, are National Historic Landmarks. So, consider a visit here as an educational field trip and let the fun begin!
I had so much fun on the boardwalk, that I never even made it down onto the beach, but maybe that’s a good thing, since it looks like there’s no fun allowed.
Welcome back!