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Craig and Nancy's Real Estate Website
Areas of Santa Cruz County
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Read Coastal Homes Magazine online.
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Welcome to Santa Cruz County – you have found an incredible place to live! Our county is one of
California's smallest, but arguably one of the prettiest and most diverse. You can hike in a redwood forest and
10 minutes later be at the beach. Our county stretches from the ocean to the mountains, with Monterey Bay
as our backdrop, and Silicon Valley, Carmel, Big Sur, and San Francisco our close neighbors. If you like warm
days and cool evenings, our climate is perfect.
Santa Cruz County Beach Communities
From the middle of Monterey Bay (part of a National Marine Sanctuary) and heading north, there are a number of beach
communities.
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Pajaro Dunes offers condominiums and architecturally distinctive homes nestled in the high dunes of a gated
community.
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La Selva Beach and Manresa Beach provide village living by the sea.
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Seascape adds a golf course and a major resort hotel with oceanside dining.
Seacliff offers fine views
from the bluffs above the Bay, and a State Beach with RV facilities.
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In Rio Del Mar take a long walk on the beach; and as the sun sets, amble into a beach side cafe for fish and
chips and fine local wines.
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Capitola by the Sea has a quaint village of boutique shops right up to the seawall, and in another part of town,
a major shopping mall. Don't miss the Capitola Art and Wine Festival in mid-September.
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Santa Cruz comes next at mid-county, where the coast transitions from Monterey Bay to the open Pacific
Ocean. Santa Cruz has many beaches, a boardwalk with a wonderful old wooden roller coaster, redwood forests,
UCSC, a yacht harbor, a drive-on Municipal Wharf with shops, and a bustling downtown with innumerable music
venues, restaurants, and pubs.
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North of Santa Cruz, undeveloped farm land continues for 11 miles to the little town of Davenport. Farther
north is San Mateo County where Elephant Seals go through their yearly cycle near the town of Año Nuevo.
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Santa Cruz County Inland Communities
Beginning again in the south and traveling north, a series of inland communities parallel their coastal counterparts.
Watsonville is the anchor city at the south end of the county. Currently surrounded by farmland,
Watsonville is our fastest growing city. Our county's number 1 crop, strawberries, is in abundance here.
Just south into Monterey County is Castroville, the "Artichoke Capital" of the world; and just over the mountains is
Gilroy, the "Garlic Capital" of the world.
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Larkin Valley offers country living with valley and mountain views.
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Corralitos is home to the Corralitos Market, famed for their sausages and meats. Horse and country
properties surround in all directions.
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Aptos has a village centered around the old Bay View Hotel. Nearby are the excellent Café Sparrow and Gina's
Aptos Haircut Co. Aptos has properties of all sizes and shapes in the surrounding countryside.
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Soquel boasts a town of antique shops. East of town, valley and ridge-top homes extend up and into the
Santa Cruz Mountains.
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North of Santa Cruz, is Pasatiempo with its fine golf course and surrounding homes. The technology
companies along Highway 17 in Scotts Valley let you know your are leaving Silicon Beach and heading toward
Silicon Valley.
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Northwest from Santa Cruz is the rustic San Lorenzo Valley. Towns such as Felton, Glen Arbor,
Ben Lomond, Brookdale, and Boulder Creek are found along Highway 9 as it follows the meandering
San Lorenzo River into the Santa Cruz Mountains. The San Lorenzo Valley roots go back to the logging and
railroading activities of the 1800's and the summer vacation homes of the 1900's. You can escape the summer heat
in the cool hills and redwood forests of this beautiful valley. You can ride a narrow gauge steam train back into
the logging camps or take a standard gauge passenger train out to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (see Roaring Camp
Railroad under Local Information).
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Felton sits in a wide open valley with mountains all around. Roads connect to Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, Ben
Lomond, and Bonny Doon. Felton is blessed with a variety of good restaurants. You can hike or ride your
horse among the giant redwoods in Henry Cowell State Park, or take the Roaring Camp Railroad up into the mountains or
out to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (see Local Information). You can buy a home right on the river or up into
the foothills and mountains.
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Heading north on Route 9 from Felton toward Ben Lomond you pass by Glen Arbor and the Highlands County
Park, home of the annual Scottish Games. Speaking of "Scottish", just outside of Ben Lomond is Loch
Lomond where you can rent a rowboat or fish. While there is no Scottish restaurant, there is an Italian and a
German restaurant. Homes are available along the highway, along the river, and on the shaded western slope or
sunny eastern slope of the valley. Quail Hollow to the east offers some fine horse properties.
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Brookdale is the home of the "world famous" Brookdale Lodge. You can have dinner in the Brookroom,
so-named for the brook that runs through it. Ask someone about the ghosts – there is a fascinating history here.
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Boulder Creek is the gateway to California's first State Park, Big Basin, founded to protect wonderful stands of
the State Tree, Sequoia Sempervirens or the Coastal Redwood. Many people commute to Silicon Valley from Boulder
Creek. There are homes along the cool river banks, up on the sunny hilltops to the east, and along Big Basin Way
that follows "Boulder Creek" past the Boulder Creek Country Club (GOLF) and on to Big Basin State Park.
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On the western side of the San Lorenzo Valley is a ridge road that takes you from Santa Cruz, through the Great
Meadow at UCSC (University of California at Santa Cruz), and on to Bonny Doon. Bonny Doon has 1100
households, most with an acre or more of land. There are many fine view properties, and horse properties with access
to horse trails in Fall Creek State Park or Wilder Ranch on the coast.
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