SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, CA – Santa Cruz County looks forward to welcoming visitors back for a “summer restart” in 2021, following state and local guidelines to ensure a safe and healthy visit. Summertime is when this iconic California beach town shines – literally, with over 300 days of sunshine a year.  The summer months bring a revival of classic west coast experiences, with 29 miles of windswept beaches, redwood forests, boutique wineries, public art, and more. Here are the top seven new things to experience in summer 2021:

Walk the Walk:  Experience the Santa Cruz Public Art Walking Tour

Public art in Santa Cruz is taking shape five ways this summer, using concrete, traffic signal cabinets, public walls, and planter boxes to showcase local creations. This roundup of artwork is available as a public art walking tour, using a map, or virtually from the Santa Cruz City Arts Commission.  SculpTOUR, Graphic Traffic, Architectural Art, Permanent Sculptures, and City Murals are the latest installments making public spaces more vibrant.  Santa Cruz’s SculpTOUR is a curated rotating art exhibit that spans the raised planter boxes on Pacific Avenue in Downtown Santa Cruz. Sculptures made from metal, concrete, wood, and other mediums are displayed on this pedestrian-friendly street, bringing the work of local artists to residents and visitors. Graphic Traffic showcases artwork on traffic signal cabinets throughout the city. Whimsical portraits, paintings of local points of interest, and other subjects transform the mundane into eye-catching inspiration. Architectural Art integrated into larger construction efforts like streetlight posts, skate park tiles, and railings on public walkways. Permanent Sculptures on display throughout town were gifted to the city or selected by a public vote in the rebuild efforts following the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. Samples include 1976’s Hypercube, a modernist approach to minimal surface structures. Murals of various shapes and sizes around the city grace on outdoor walls located in prominent places and tucked-away on sides of buildings.

Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing Unveils Taproom Renovation

Fresh on the heels of its 15th anniversary this year, Santa Cruz Mountain Brewing has renovated its taproom. Located on Santa Cruz’s westside in a redeveloped warehouse setting, the Swift Street Courtyard is home to wine tasting rooms, boutique shops, a bakery, candy shop, specialty grocery store, and restaurants. This lively neighborhood spot has fostered a strong connection with local lovers of suds, pup-friendly people, and families wanting to enjoy a Santa Cruz IPA while people watching on a roomy outdoor patio. Inside, the newly designed taproom features an abundance of natural light, fresh plants, and twinkle lights – surrounded by bright white walls that show off the beauty of natural wood highlights.  

New “Skateable Art” Skatepark Opens in Seacliff

Skateboarding has been part of Santa Cruz-area culture for nearly half a century. This season, there’s a new spot to grind: just a block off Highway 1 in Aptos at Seacliff Village Park, Seacliff Skate Park features “skateable art,” a view of the Monterey Bay and the topography of the park references the SS Palo Alto, Aptos’ famed “concrete ship”, which graces the end of the pier at Seacliff State Beach, a 10-minute walk away. The 1.25-acre Seacliff Village Park boasts drought-resistant foliage and street trees, and a 15,000-square-foot center area landscaped with drought-resistant turf. Several local artists created design features throughout the park.

Dragon Archway Pays Tribute to Founding Chinese Community 

A colorful concrete gateway at an entryway to San Lorenzo Park in Santa Cruz honors the final Chinatown in the city and the legions of ethnic Chinese who helped pave the way when the city was in its nascent stages in the early days of the old west. The final Chinatown in Santa Cruz once thrived in what is now San Lorenzo Park. The gateway – dubbed the Dragon Archway - will also feature poems in Chinese characters in stainless steel plaques powder coated in red in addition to brass plaques that will read in Chinese script: Chinatown Santa Cruz. The lettering will be lit by solar-powered Chinese-style lanterns. Historically, the City of Santa Cruz was home to four distinct Chinatowns in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, all of which were located on the periphery of the city’s downtown economic center. Mainly bachelor communities, many of the men worked as servants for upper-middle-class families residing in the city’s stately Victorian homes. Others worked in laundries and in vegetable gardens scattered around the city; still, others developed the region’s commercial fishing and agricultural industries; while a handful operated small businesses and retail stores, importing mercantile items from China. The gateway arch is the second tribute in the city to this ethnic group; a vibrant memorial Chinese gate is located in the historic Evergreen Cemetery, which is overseen by the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History.

Chaminade Resort & Spa Unveils Renovations 

Once a private home and later a Catholic boys school, the Chaminade Resort and Spa is honoring its history with its current renovation. Built-in 1930, tucked in the Santa Cruz Mountains overlooking breathtaking views of the Monterey Bay, Chaminade Resort and Spa formed the ideal canvas for a fresh design. The foundation of the renovations was to maintain the integrity of the iconic Spanish Revival architecture by connecting the interior design to the architectural heritage in a Spanish-modern style, while also embracing the stunning natural surroundings of the property. A new entry, lobby, restaurant, event and meeting spaces, and outdoor social spaces were refreshed with a modern perspective, ensuring that the interiors meld harmoniously with the exterior. The onsite restaurant - The View - maximizes views of the sweeping horizon, and a new fireside lounge invites guests to relax in built-in banquettes around an iconic fireplace, designed to be reminiscent of a traditional Hacienda-style home. The dining space maximizes guests’ view of the sweeping horizon, while still enjoying the dining atmosphere long after the sun has set. The View’s terrace is an outdoor patio accented with bistro lighting, sleek high top stools, and enhanced bar-like seating combined with comfortably-spaced tables, all facing towering treetops and showcasing spectacular views of Monterey Bay.

Commemorative Plaque at Cowell Beach Honors Santa Cruz Surf Club

Santa Cruz, California has long been recognized as the historical birthplace of mainland surfing in the United States, when in 1885, three Hawaiian princes who were attending a military academy in what is now Silicon Valley came to Santa Cruz and surfed the beaches here on redwood boards crafted from a local lumber mill. The latest historical addition to the area where surfing began is a commemorative plaque honoring the Santa Cruz Surfing Club.  Established in 1936, the club began when a group of 27 surfers joined together to hold regular meetings, elect officers, and share their knowledge of this fledgling sport. These pioneers of the waves are credited with helping to cultivate the sport at the local level. Designed locally and made of 12,000 pounds of concrete, the bronze relief shows the group’s clubhouse and includes the names of the original club members.  The plaque overlooks Cowell Beach and is a tribute to those whose talent helped foster the sport of surfing in Santa Cruz.

“World’s Smallest Bowling Museum” Opens in Santa Cruz  

A diminutive exhibit - curated by an archivist at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk – has opened in Santa Cruz. The exhibit showcases the history of bowling by the beach with a display of bowling artifacts, photographs, and memorabilia from the Boardwalk's Archives and is housed inside the Boardwalk Bowl, adjacent to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Bowling has a long history in the Santa Cruz beach area beginning in 1909. However, 1930 marked the last year of bowling on the Boardwalk, although duckpin alleys emerged throughout the first half of the 1940s. A set of antique duckpins is on display in the new exhibit. The Santa Cruz bowling community also shared their own stories and memorabilia. The unique items in the exhibit tell the story of bowling in the Santa Cruz beach area and the people who have played integral roles in creating that history. 

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Getting There:

Located along the Central Coast, Santa Cruz County, California is approximately 70 miles/113 km south of San Francisco and 349 miles/562 km from Los Angeles. Many visitors choose to take scenic Highway 1 along the California coastline to Santa Cruz, or Highway 17 through the Santa Cruz Mountains. Visitors can also choose to fly into San Francisco International Airport, Oakland International Airport, or Mineta/San Jose International Airport

About VSCC: A private, non-profit corporation, Visit Santa Cruz County (VSCC) exists to enhance tourism and the economy by positioning Santa Cruz County as a visitor, conference, and film destination. For more information, contact VSCC at +1.831.425.1234. Or visit VSCC’s website at www.VisitSantaCruz.org