Santa Cruz Boardwalk - The Fantastic Beach Boardwalk

Not just any boardwalk, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is an amusement park located on the oceanfront on Santa Cruz, California.  The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk was founded in 1907 by Santa Cruz Seaside Company, and is considered the oldest operating amusement parks on the West Coast of the United States.  The amusement park is one of two West Coast seaside amusement parks.  There have been other ocean front parks that have rivaled the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk from time to time, such as The Pike and Playland-at-the-Beach, but both have since closed leaving the Boardwalk as a reminder of just how sensational a seafront amusement park can be.  The Boardwalk is a California State Historic Landmark, meaning that the park really has been able to stand the test of time.

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is expanse, stretching from the coast of Monterey Bay from just East of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf to the mouth of the San Lorenzo River.  To the West of the park lies a land mark in the form of a big building known as the Casino that offers no real gambling, but offers video arcade, indoor miniature golf, a state of the art laser tag arena, and the Cocoanut Grove conference center and banquet room.  To the East of the Casino lies the boardwalk portion of the park. The boardwalk is on the backdrop of a very wide, sandy beach that offers easy access from the park.  The Eastern most portion of the boardwalk is the location of the Giant Dipper, which is a very well known wooden roller coaster.  The Giant Dipper is one of the most well known roller coasters in the United States and is also the most visible landmarks in Santa Cruz, California.  The Dipper and the Looff Carousel are also very well known and are both of the United States National Register of Historic Places.  The Looff Carousel still has its original 342 pipe organ, which was built in 1894.

Not only does the Boardwalk offer a setting that is unique, it offers a unique take on the whole theme park atmosphere.  Instead of all the super modern games and such, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk offers old-fashioned carnival games and snack booths.  These elements are scattered about the park offering the chance to play fun games or snack when the mood hits them.  The Boardwalk doesn’t offer upscale shopping or restaurants, making the environment totally family friendly and affordable.  The atmosphere is far different from the newer type of theme parks such as Disney, Universal, and Six Flags.  Not that these newer parks don’t offer something great as well, but the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk offers something different, more old fashioned such as Coney Island on the East Coast.

Santa Cruz CA Beach Boardwalk Information

The history of the Boardwalk is quite interesting as the whole venture was started by a businessman by the name of Fred Swanton.  This gentleman wanted to build a Coney Island type of park for the West Coast.  Swanton began the whole project in 1904 with the Casino building mentioned above.  Unfortunately, this building was partially destroyed less than two years after it was built by a fire that started in the kitchen of the building.  Luckily, there were resources to rebuild the building.  During the same time there was work done on the Boardwalk and the pier so that the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk opened in 1907.

In 1911 Charles Looff built the Looff Carousel. His son Arthur suggested that the park also needed a true thrill ride and began building a roller coaster.  This roller coaster would open in 1924 and is the Giant Dipper, one of the most well known roller coasters in the United States.  Though the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk seemed to have all of the elements of success, business definitely slowed during the Great Depression as well as during World War II.  Even though the business slowed, the Cocoanut Grove ballroom was still quite popular as it attracted names such as Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, and even Lawrence Welk, which could always draw a crowd.  Luckily, as times changed and travel became easier and even more affordable, all theme parks, including The Boardwalk attracted people from all over the country. 

Though the park has remained remarkably unchanged, the increase in visitors prompted The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk to undergo major renovations to improve the park and make it more attractive to a wider range of people.  Luckily, the park didn’t do away with the simple pleasures such as carnival games, classic amusement park rides, and a quality atmosphere that simply attracts families and people of all ages.  By the early 80s it was obvious that The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk had not only survived but also managed to thrive during the last several decades. New attractions, proper planning, and a vision of a truly great park have allowed the park to compete with the bigger, and more modern theme parks all around the United States. Things such as the Casino Arcade, Neptune’s Kingdom, the Boardwalk Bowl, and other attractions make The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk a great place to be anytime even if you aren’t into rides.

There are several ways to gain admittance to the park.  The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk has set up several passes to make the experience not only more enjoyable, but more affordable.  There is the Endless Summer Season Pass that costs just $58.95 that allows you to ride as often as you want, any operating day, all year long.  You can buy an all day unlimited ride plus package for $34.95 and this allows you to ride as often as you want plus choose two attractions to visit as well without any extra cost!  Then, there is the all day unlimited rides wristband for just $26.95 that allows you to ride as often as you want all day.  Next there is the 60 Ticket Strip for $32.95 that will be good for 10-20 rides.  If none of these are attractive deals to you, you can always buy tickets for individual rides.  Each ticket is 65 cents, which will mean you’ll pay up to $3.90 per ride depending on which rides you want to go on.

If you are wondering where you should stay, you should definite give the Sand and Sea Inn or the Carousel Motel a call for reservations.  Either of these will be comfortable and affordable and will simply compliment your visit The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.