The Best 1 Hour Walk in Santa Cruz

If you are an RVer cruising on the PCH near Santa Cruz this is a must walk/bike/jog. If you’re not an RVer and are looking for the most scenic walk/bike/jog near Santa Cruz, this is also for you.

Make your way to West Cliff Drive. Natural Bridges State Beach is the place to start. From here head south down the coast on W Cliff Drive 3 miles to Cowell.  I saw RVers that pull their RV up for the day in one of the parking spots; then they walk, surf or do whatever activities they enjoy.

1779832_1502540026666135_9124189402073685762_n

Fishing spots don’t get much more scenic than this. 10704063_1502540103332794_3355580417424593072_n

Walk along until you hit  dog friendly Mitchells Cove Beach. There were a lot of dogs running, swimming and chasing balls on this beach. A few of the surfers and bodyboarders ventured out in the waters. The Traveling Pomeranian and I should have surfed here rather than Cowell. For the video of us surfing less than a mile away at world famous Cowell Beach click here.

524142_1502540393332765_8840177349198759791_n

This lady was getting in her daily exercise with her hula hoop.   10670188_1502540236666114_7734439621476540227_n

I first found out about this alternative way to get into the water while surfing Santa Cruz five months ago. I was in around sunrise hitting some waves when I saw a surfer up on the cliff. He threw his board in and jumped in. Then just started surfing. It was awesome! I wouldn’t try this if I wasn’t a local and knew when and where to jump in at. Over 60 people have died at this famous surf site. 10369693_1502540769999394_8483092910095051001_n1377276_1502540439999427_7592796618819418997_n 10734019_1502540206666117_2146043286151185502_n

Want to see some butterflies? Head away from the beach in Lighthouse Field State Beach. Towards the end of October Millions of butterflies flock to this area.

15802_1502542359999235_6244702232197146210_n

Walk across the street to Point Santa Cruz to watch the Surfers. These surfers jump off the cliff on Seal Rock. They surf right next to the rocks on the cliff.

1374368_1502541143332690_8966929469412494321_n 1610826_1502543039999167_4484888418771341979_n 1797581_1502540869999384_6947641382515552515_n

BMC Project Dirt is a group of professional mountain bikers. I happened to run into them surfing in Santa Cruz.

10426293_1502542439999227_767449870049813732_n

This mom and young son really caught my attention. As they walked by they had a great conversation educating the son about the ocean. Then they leaped off the cliff to surf aggressively. I watched both of them catch waves and they really know how to ride. 10356313_1502541193332685_7716355670594002461_n

The view of Monterey Bay from Santa Cruz is incredible. It was really neat my end point of the entire walk is at the end of the pier just left of the sailboat.10390030_1502540829999388_7271336196748020738_n

There is a little dog on this Paddle Board at Cowell Beach.

10610690_1502542453332559_4334143027940959025_n 10407652_1502541006666037_9074766413992815448_n 10410269_1502541453332659_6576979555809887507_n

It’s so relaxing to sit back on the rock and watch the surfers. 10420172_1502540846666053_4620398757928727218_n 10422015_1502541043332700_4597318220498067548_n 10685604_1502542979999173_1209479030171702729_n

Stroll down till you hit the pier at Cowell Beach. This is a famous Pier with a bunch of great restaurants. We ate for happy hour at IDEAL Bar & Grill. They had excellent Calamari and a fantastic outside area to enjoy the sunset overlooking Monterey Bay.

1374368_1502542906665847_3370947545757747037_n10734262_1502542586665879_5268407356875583779_n10347226_1502542579999213_6876404753609851644_n1932409_1502542676665870_5248487721939462092_n

I ran into these guys shooting a video for a clothing company Shalom. The skate boarder had incredible skills.

10389660_1502543056665832_6178421183704592813_n

There are a lot of restaurants on the pier. After happy hour at Ideal we ventured to the end of the pier to have some supper.

1925249_1502542706665867_8947598499104983815_n247165_1502542809999190_3405752715571953065_n

4 Comments on “The Best 1 Hour Walk in Santa Cruz

  1. Pingback: Dog Surfing in Santa Cruz | Shore Looks Nice

  2. Pingback: Surfing Pomeranian in Santa Cruz | Shore Looks Nice

  3. Pingback: Surfing Pomeranian | The Traveling Pomeranian

  4. Pingback: Top 25 RV Adventures of 2014 | Shore Looks Nice

Leave a Reply

%d bloggers like this: