Cowell's Beach

Cowell's Beach, located on Beach Street, Santa Cruz, CA, is just to the right of the Municipal Pier and features miles sandy beaches. Its friendly waves provide reportedly one of the best places to learn how to surf. During summer, the Boardwalk sponsors free concerts on the beach.

For other diversions, Cowell's Beach is within walking distance to the famous Santa Cruz Boardwalk, downtown, Santa Cruz Surfing Museum, and the wharf.

The Santa Cruz Boardwalk is an amusement park founded in 1907 and is California's oldest surviving amusement park. It provides old fashioned carnival games, a video arcade, miniature golf, laser tag, the Giant Dipper roller coaster and the Looff Carousel.

The Santa Cruz Wharf features fishing, boat tours, sea lion watching, kayaks and boat rentals, as well as several restaurants and gift shops.

The downtown area is known for its local artist shops, bookstores and independent theaters. There is a host of restaurants and a variety of street performers as well.

Other nearby outdoor locations includes Seabright Beach, Lighthouse Field State Beach, Carbonera Creek, the Isbel Grove and the Lorenzo River, which provides rapids for rafting.

Santa Cruz is about75 miles south of San Francisco on the northern end of Monterey Bay.