Me and my dog absolutely love coming here. It is my first choice for a dog park because of the…read morespacious area and the fact I can run with him for so long. I'll personally love it. The trails around the area are great too.

Best park in the tri-county area. Super large area for larger dogs with shade, lots of seating,…read morepoo bags, and water. Arrived around 5:00 pm and there were so many friendly chill people with their friendly chill dogs. Wish is closer to our home but we will visit again when in that area.

This park is workable but without grass it's a little less than fantastic. I know, we're in a…read moredrought and I should just be happy with their cedar chip laden hamster habitat... but I'm not.It is the case that this park has more Corgi per square inch than there are wooks Burning Man tickets. This dog park is chock-a-block with Shiba Inu Doge too. This review was helpful. Is it any wonder I've been voted "Yelp Elite" since 2014. That what I thought.

Very new and spacious dog park and separating small dogs (up to 20 lbs) and big dogs area. Our two…read morepups enjoyed the space and the environment around it. There is parking lot, public restrooms and some picnic tables as well.

Mitchell's Cove Beach is the only off-leash beach for pups in Santa Cruz! Yay for that this exists…read more Long story short: it's a short stretch of beach along the cove. And it has potential but when we visited in September, it was covered in seaweed with seaweed flies/kelp flies all over, making it difficult to navigate and enjoy. Hopefully it was a time of year or time of day issue...or maybe it's the nature of the cove. We read a handful of other reviews about the seaweed too (I get it, it's the ocean. But still, we've been to many other off-leash beaches that feel cleaner). We'll give it another try when we visit Santa Cruz again. Location: It's about 1.0-1.5 mile from the boardwalk/pier. We walked over and it was a pleasant walk through the neighborhoods. Parking: I believe that there are a few spots on West Cliff Drive. Entrance: You walk down a few steep flights of steps to get there from West Cliff Drive.

Shout out to Adam (parking meter guy) from the City of Santa Cruz for directing me to a beach where…read moreI could take my dog. Located about a mile and a half from the Boardwalk, Michell's Cove Beach is accessible from highway 1. It's a moderately steep walk down the stairs to the beach so consider the shape you and your dog are in to get back up to the road. Mugdha K is correct the beach is filled with seaweed, but we found an area that was clean and clear of seaweed. This was Lola's second time to a dog beach, and she had a blast digging holes in the sand, rolling in the sand and chasing the waves. I live 48 miles from the beach, so this is a special treat to bring my dog Lola to Santa Cruz and find a place for dogs on the beach.

Seacliff State Beach is a nice and chill beach in Aptos. We visited b/c we like the ocean and need…read moreto get away from the drab of the valley every once in awhile, haha. I enjoyed seeing the ocean and my kids love playing on the beach, but I wanted to highlight the Visitor Center. So Seacliff State Beach has a nice little visitor center/museum, it's small, but it's actually full of great info, and it's free. It gave me a whole new appreciation for that boat wreck (the SS Palo Alto) at the end of the dilapidated pier out there right on the beach. There was a ton of historical artifacts, documents, and pictures all providing great info on what happened, why, and how it all went down w/the SS Palo Alto. They even had a video about S.S. Palo Alto and you can look at it through the telescope. Pretty cool stuff. There were also excellent exhibits on the geology and wildlife in the Monterey Bay ecosystem in general and at Sea Cliff Beach in particular. So much to learn from this little place, my kids had a blast b/c a lot of the small exhibits were hands on. They also got a kick out of the "stuffed animals" i.e. the taxidermy of local bird which were well done and really allowed for literal close-up looks at the birds in this marine region. Neat for those of us who like science generally and marine biology and animals specifically. Finally, there's a gift shop in there too, if you want to pick up a book about this region, some souvenirs, or send a friend a postcard from your trip here and the prices were all reasonable. People who worked here were friendly, informative, and helpful. We'll plan to visit again, hopefully soon.

What a beautiful magical beach with a ship wreck peeking out of the ocean not to far from the…read moreshoreline. Plenty of beautiful rocks and sea glass. My girlfriend found two fossilized great white shark teeth so that is cool and she found a natural sea marble just beautiful. Stayed for the sunset it was amazing. You have to come. Plenty of parking it was a 10$ fee but worth every dollar. There are restrooms. And shower

Found this park by accident. It's a nice small park with some picnic tables and a community…read morecenter. This park allows dogs and has a decent grass area for dogs to run around and play. The park is tucked away from major road, so it's nice to let the dog run around without worrying about cars. If there's an event going on, parking could be a challenge. Remove one star for the bathroom that's super old and dirty.

First time I've been here , and it so peaceful and beautiful !!! This is for sure my favorite place…read morethat I shared with family .

Love this park- there's a lot of grass to walk your dog in/around and the separation for big and…read moresmall dogs is much appreciated. Only thing is there is a LOT of bird poop in the nearby grass so be careful if your dog likes to roll around. There are also a lot of gophers here, which the dogs often fixate on so be aware so that your dog doesn't get bitten or scratched! This dog park is a little less lively compared to some parks up north, so sometimes we just stay for a short while. This dog park definitely has a small town feel to it- it seems like most of the community members here know each other, and they are usually friendly and inclusive. Interesting note though- on a couple occasions, I've talked with dog owners who suddenly get into politics unprompted and I found that to be a bit awkward lol Most people are good about watching their dogs here and picking up after them, and it seems generally well-maintained.

Haven't been down here for a while. Was glad to see that the grass is still green. This is still…read morethe best dog park in the county. Plenty of friendly dogs to play with. Parking can be a problem,with the addition of the pickle ball courts more people come in the weekends.

Go on a weekday; the parking areas fill up quickly on weekends. It's $8 to park, and it's best to…read morebring exact change. The redwoods are not as magestic as the ones at Henry Cowell, but it's just as relaxing. There are a lot of loop trails around the ranger station. You can hike next to the stream going north, and cross at various points. You will find bridges, as well as clusters of rocks that are crossable. There is poison ivy that intrudes into the pathway; take precautions. Also treat your shoes with tick-repellent.

Off the Marks…read more 10k-acre State Park located in the Santa Cruz Mountains and is named after the mother of the family who donated the land to the state, and was a passionate nature lover. The Good: *Over forty(!) miles of hiking trails, that range from easy to strenuous. *Bikes ok (check maps & signage for appropriate trails) *Picnic tables in the parking lot and along certain trails (check map) *Restrooms in parking lot *Camping (reservations required check website) *Leashed dogs allowed along certain trails (check website, maps, and/or signage) *Another great place to see Redwoods *This park was at the epicenter of the 6.9 (cackle) '89 Loma Prieta earthquake *Waterfalls! The Meh: *$8 entry fee The Ugly: *While there's a lot of Redwoods here, they're mostly second- and third-growth, with only a scant few old-growth. Which isn't a knock on the park but a realization of how badly this area was forested at one time. Conclusion: Great place for a hike and see some Redwoods!

This is a ok neighborhood dog park. There's only street parking available. Thay have a large and…read moresmall dog side. There's a public bathroom available on the other side of the park. The large dog side is really big compared to the small dog side. They have water available but no poopie bags. A decent amount of shade for the dogs to hide from the sun. My dogs are small to medium so I usually go to the large dog side. Since it wasn't to crowded we decided to give it a try. Nobody said a thing. My dogs got a decent playtime and tired themselves out

Weird location, but great place for your dog to just do it's thing for a quick fast-and-easy outing.read more

Beautiful state beach for either spending the day or overnight in one of the campsites!…read more We stopped in on a Sunday around 1pm and wasn't crowded at all. Since we paid $10 at Seacliff state beach a few miles away it was free to enter with our receipt. We asked about the overnight camp sites and were told book in advance on www.parks.ca.gov. They did have some open sites although premium ocean view sites which I believe have hookups go quickly as are only around 9 of those. They are on the top of a tall bluff so do not have easy access to the beach. The beach is a further walk or drive to a separate area of the park. The beach area is pretty and would be a chill spot to enjoy the afternoon away from a ton of people. We enjoyed our time here.

One of my favorite beaches and campgrounds. Gets very narrow when the tide is in. Has interesting…read morefossil cliffs on the western end. Waves are gentle and relatively safe. Not the most accessible, however. Very steep concrete steps at one end, lower steps at the other, both in moderate disrepair. Wildlife includes sea otters, sea lions, various seabirds. Staff at the kiosk were friendly, helpful, and welcoming.

Such a cool neighborhood park with 3 different sets of slides and some shade. One set of slides is…read morea long run, old school metal with several dips and generally there is cardboard at the bottom you can use to help you get more lift. There is a kiddie playground, too. And there is a basketball half court. Benches and picnic tables for snacks. Nice views of the Santa Cruz Boardwalk in the distance.

A beautiful spot to sit in the shade and read, shoot hoops,or just gaze at the Boardwalk and ocean…read more Street parking only (including two handicapped spots), so try to come on a weekday. Several benches, but we take our folding chairs. Bring the dog -- they can be unleashed in part of the park. A functional restroom with two unisex stalls near the entrance -- an outside sink and soap dispenser complete the facility. I'm experiencing a profound sense of peace, despite the occasional screams from people on the rides at the Boardwalk.