Articles: Enjoying the Great Outdoors Santa Cruz Style

Whether you're an outdoors sports enthusiast or an enthusiastic spectator, Santa Cruz County delivers a jammed packed game plan. The question is where to start…

In the place nicknamed "Surf City," you'll definitely want to dip into the Santa Cruz surf scene. Cowell Beach next to the Santa Cruz Wharf is undeniably the best place to learn to surf. A sheltered point break provides long, gentle waves in shallow waters with a soft, sandy ocean floor. Surf school instructors will outfit you with wetsuits and surfboards and get you up on the waves.

If you're not ready to take to the waves, stay dry and hang loose at Lighthouse Point. The point overlooks Steamer Lane, where talented riders shoot the curl at Santa Cruz's legendary surfing spot.

Steamer Lane is also home to the famed O'Neill Cold Water Classic surf competition each fall, where fearless wave riders from around the world compete for top prizes. In the classic spirit of surfing, hundreds of longboard riders gather each May for the Santa Cruz Longboard Invitational off Lighthouse Point. In October, female surfers of all ages and abilities compete at the Capitola Women's Longboard Surf Fest, Women on Waves.

A surfboard isn't the only way to enjoy all the waves coming through Santa Cruz. From skim boards to boogie boards and surf kayaking to kiteboarding, there is something for everyone. Skim boards and boogie boards are available at most surf shops and are a fun initiation to the waves. Surf kayaking is an exhilarating sport gaining in popularity with Santa Cruz hosting the World Surf Kayaking Championships at Steamer Lane each spring. Kiteboarding is a relatively new sport that combines the best of windsurfing and wakeboarding with kites designed to get gigantic air.

Waddell Beach, north of Santa Cruz, has become the hot spot for this adrenaline-packed sport with top riders grabbing as much as 40 feet of air off the waves. Spectators get stoked just watching!

Beginning as a rebellious surfing spin-off, skateboarding has been part of local culture since the early 1960s. Visiting skaters can grind at four area skateboard parks: the Ken Wormhoudt Skate Park at Mike Fox Park in Santa Cruz, Ramsay Park in Watsonville, the Jim Keefe Skate Park at Highlands County Park in Ben Lomond, and the Tim Brauch Memorial Park at Skypark in Scotts Valley.

While surf and skate tend to define Santa Cruz County's sporting reputation, the county has also become a mecca for mountain bikers. With an enviable number of parks, Santa Cruz County has countless trails and fire roads geared for mountain biking. From winding single tracks through shaded redwoods to zigzagging trails across rolling hills to climbing with stunning vistas of the Monterey Bay, Santa Cruz County provides mountain bikers with a full range of trails for all skill levels. Several bike shops around town rent bikes and helmets to visiting riders.

Those who want to keep two feet on the ground can explore the hundreds of miles of hiking trails along coastal terraces, mountain meadows and majestic redwood groves. One popular path is the Skyline to the Sea Trail at Big Basin Redwoods State Park. The trail threads its way along a lush, riparian corridor from the mountains to Waddell Beach.

Birders will enjoy the meandering trails of the Wetlands of Watsonville and Elkhorn Slough to the south, some of the few undisturbed coastal wetlands remining in California. Located along the globally significant Pacific Flyway, the wetlands are one of the largest remaining freshwater marshes along California's Central Coast. Serving as a year-around habitat for over 200 species of waterfowl, raptors and songbirds, the Wetlands of Watsonville provides a resting stop for birds on their migratory journeys. A variety of birds can also be spotted in the county's many state parks.

A different kind of green space can be found at Santa Cruz County's golf courses. Designed by the golf world's beloved Alister MacKenzie, the Pasatiempo Golf Course is ranked among the nation's top 100 courses. The PGA-rated Seascape Golf Course in Aptos has attracted its own share of champions. And, up in the San Lorenzo Valley, the Boulder Creek Golf and Country Club is the place to give your favorite set of irons a good workout--all amidst a forested piece of paradise.

Even the area's public courses rate a visit by serious duffers. DeLaveaga in Santa Cruz is a championship par-72 course known for its natural beauty and challenging layout. Spring Hills Golf Club in Watsonville offers enjoyment for all levels of golfers, while Valley Gardens in Scotts Valley, is a challenging, executive 9-hole golf course.

The quick-paced should run over and sign up for any one of Santa Cruz County's annual footraces. The Wharf-to-Wharf Race is undoubtedly the most famous. Each July, thousands of sneakers thunder through the coastal neighborhoods between the Santa Cruz Wharf and the Capitola Wharf as throngs of festive spectators and bands line the route to cheer the runners on. Some of the top competitors come from as far away as Africa just to strut their stuff. While others who rarely run, roll out of bed on race day to join in the fun.

For a two-and-a-half-mile jaunt without the competition, head north from the Santa Cruz Wharf along West Cliff Drive on foot, by blade or by bike for a casual coastal excursion.

Fishermen lured to the sea can rent a skiff or take a chartered excursion from the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor to fish for salmon, halibut, cod and albacore. For fresh-water fishing from March to September, head up to the Loch Lomond Recreation Area in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Bring a picnic, rent a boat and spend a lazy afternoon drifting around Loch Lomond's picturesque lake with a fishing pole.

The Aloha Celebrity Outrigger Canoe Races is another great way to get out on the water. Part of the Santa Cruz Wharf's Polynesian Festival each August, the races are designed for novice paddlers. Simply gather four friends, and the event provides the outrigger and two experienced paddlers. Hawaiian shirts are optional, but enthusiasm is a definite requirement.

Santa Cruz's most relaxing sporting event happens each Wednesday evening, April through October. It's known as the "Wednesday Night Sailboat Races", and there's no course, no finish line, and no winner--unless you count who shows up first at the Crow's Nest for dinner afterwards. Talk your way onto a pick-up crew by 5:30 p.m., or just settle down on your beach blanket to watch the colorful regattas illuminated against the sunset.

With these and many more sporting options awaiting you, make a game plan to take in Santa Cruz County's great outdoors.