Westcliff Drive and Lighthouse Field State Beach

701 West Cliff Drive
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

Description

Along Westcliff Drive in Santa Cruz, this beach and bike path along the cliffs forms the northern boundary of the Monterey Bay. Surfers, tourists and wintering monarch butterflies are drawn to this area. Sea lions populate the offshore rocks.

Below the cliffs, Steamer Lane is a famous surfing location. There are four parts of Steamer Lane: Indicators, Middle Peak, The Slot and The Point. Santa Cruz hosts several surf contests drawing international participants each year, including the O'Neill Cold Water Classic, the International Longboard Association contest and many others.

The lighthouse is home to California's first surfing museum and is the location each Christmas for "Caroling under the Stars," a Santa Cruz tradition which attracts hundreds of locals and visitors. Overlooking the local surfing hotspot, this museum has photographs, surfboards and other interesting items tracing over 100 years of surfing history in Santa Cruz.