Capitola in the morning, West Cliff at sunset, and the cable car down to dinner
14 playbooks shared · added to 36 trips
- 8:15 am1Breakfast at Gayle's, ordered at the backCapitola
Two queues and everybody joins the wrong one. Pastries and coffee are the front counter; the hot case at the back is where the actual breakfast is, and it moves faster.
5 min walk · 350 m - 9:30 am2Capitola Village and the wharfCapitola
The wharf reopened after a long rebuild — the storm that took the middle out of it in 2023 is why the timber is two colours. Walk to the end for the only view that puts the pastel Venetian cottages and the cliffs in one frame.
3 min walk · 250 m - 10:45 am3Swim at Capitola BeachCapitola
The genuinely useful fact about this coast: Capitola sits in a south-facing pocket, so the water is several degrees warmer and the wind is far softer than anywhere on the open coast. This is the swim that is actually pleasant without a wetsuit.
3 min walk · 150 m - 12:30 pm4Lunch on the sand at Zelda'sCapitola
Right on the sand and priced for it. If the wait is over twenty minutes, walk two doors to Pete's and eat sooner for less.
13 min by train or taxi · 7.9 km - 2:15 pm5Drive West Cliff, park at Lighthouse PointSanta Cruz
Ten minutes up the coast. Do the drive rather than the Boardwalk unless you have children with you — West Cliff is the reason people live here and the Boardwalk is a car park with a rollercoaster attached.
14 min walk · 1.0 km - 2:45 pm6Steamer Lane from the cliffSanta Cruz
You watch this one from above, which is rare and is what makes it worth the stop — the cliff at Lighthouse Point puts you directly over the takeoff. The Surfing Museum in the lighthouse itself is one room and twenty minutes.
8 min by train or taxi · 2.8 km - 4:30 pm7Natural Bridges at golden hourSanta Cruz
$10 a vehicle. Between October and January the eucalyptus grove behind the beach holds an overwintering monarch colony, which is a completely different reason to come and is signposted from the car park.
15 min by train or taxi · 9.4 km - 7 pm8Dinner at Shadowbrook, down the cable carCapitola
Open since 1947, and you descend to it in a hillside funicular through a garden — which sounds like a gimmick and is the best twenty seconds of the evening. Book the cable-car level rather than the Rock Room. If you are staying within three miles they will send a 1966 Checker cab for you.