best time to be here just after sunrise and during golden hours. so beautiful and amazing to see the surfers and waves. read more

Five stars for the point and three stars for the museum (since it's unclear which this refers to) Since 1986, this little museum has housed artifacts honoring the more than 100 years of surfing history in Santa Cruz. It also gives credit to the birthplace of modern surfing: Hawaii. It's a fun 10 mins. BTW, when I say little, I mean tiny -- there's room for 6-8 people at once. You're visiting internationally renowned surfing hotspot Steamer Lane. This is the epicenter of a World Surfing Reserve: from Natural Bridges to Opal Cliffs just east of Pleasure Point. Santa Cruz is one of only four such sites: Malibu in SoCal, Ericeira in Portugal, and Manly Beach in Australia. The museum may be 10 mins but you can spend hours watching the surfers, the sea lions, and the waves. Bring your dog or even a picnic -- just no alcohol. read more

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Giving 5 stars for what it is. A tiny surf museum in a lighthouse room. Nothing more - nothing less. I grew up here and visit frequently. I have only seen this place open a handful of times. Lots of history and things to see in this small museum. A nice stop to watch the surfers and walk on West Cliff Drive. read more

Surfing Museum Lighthouse Point - December 2023 - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

This museum is tiny and cramped if there's more than a few people inside, but there's seating outside the entrance if you're waiting to enter. Lots of surfing memorabilia, photos and commentary on the evolution of surfing in Santa Cruz in the 20th century, along with documentation of its hawaiian connection and history, newspaper clippings of noteworthy accomplishments and events in the surfing community over the past 15-20 years, and some cool retro surfboards set up in a sandy beach display. The museum opened 30 minutes later than the listed hours of operation this past Monday, so after conveniently parking in the lot across the street, we enjoyed the scenic views at the edge of the cliff nearby, as well as surfers riding the waves and adorable sea otters playing in the water... time well spent before checking out the museum. I appreciate the free admission, but reliability also matters, part of the reason I'm not giving 5 stars, despite the interesting exhibits and beautiful lighthouse located along the ocean. read more

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The first surfing museum. Small museum w/ memorabilia of the history of surfing in a Santa Cruz, some of the greats. Free to check out. Great pics outside. read more

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I've been to the Surfer's museum, a handful of times, and this particular Saturday there was a surfing competition with DJs, and everything lined up along the pier/edge of the wharf! Well, whatever you call E. Cliff Dr.! Lol I've never seen a surf competition in person, so this was very interesting for us, and our puppies were very interested as well! The museum itself has an eclectic Amount of items as well as a number of surfboards from maybe 100 years ago? I love history and reading about everything in the community so the Surfer's museum is very interesting to me. They also have a great area nearby that's called the "toilet bowl "as the high tide comes in, the waves ricochet off one side of another and it literally looks like a giant toilet bowl is exploding off cliffs! Lol great dog beach nearby also!! read more

Surfing Museum Lighthouse Point - Surfer competition - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

We arrived before the museum opened. The grounds well kept. Dog friendly. The views were phenomenal. Surfers were certainly enjoying the day. Nice place to stop, relax and reflect. read more

Surfing Museum Lighthouse Point - The museum. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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If you have any interest in surfing you will appreciate this spot. One can take 15-20 minutes to go through and read the exhibits. Yes, it is small but rather informative. They do have a small selection of gifts for those seeking beanies, shirts and hoodies, posters, mugs and post cards. read more

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***************************** 1404 *************************** Surfing Museum Lighthouse Point is a cool place if you love the beach and surfers as much as I do. If you would like to know how the surf got started here in Santa Cruz, check it out. You will see a lot memorabilia, history and fun facts. I personally love all the pictures. You can see the surfboards evolution has changed over the last few decades. I find it very educational and I learn to appreciate this historical surf town a whole lot more. read more

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This was just part of a really fun day trip we took. Although the museum is really small, being housed in a lighthouse has it's limitations, the history and memorabilia that's presented is great in amount. Learning that it was Hawaiian princes that brought the sport over was a fun fact. Great photo op's all around the structure. There is a little rest area outside and it's on the surf front. If you have a couple of minutes or an hour, make this one of your "have to" stops while in Santa Cruz. read more

The surf museum lies overlooking Steamer's Lane, a pretty nice stretch of surf, and you paddle into this line up, you better be damn good or your gonna hear about it. Within this converted light house lies a museum that fully displays the history of surfing and how it has become ingrained within Santa Cruz. They even have a small collection of boards, from a solid wood long board which should really be described as a hefty 90+ lbs. log to a foam and fiber-glassed board that has had a run in with a white. It's a small little museum to go in and check out and warm up on those cold windy days, stop on my and check out the origins of the Santa Cruz surf culture and while admission is free, leave a little donation to show your support! They have a few trinkets and souvenirs in there as well! read more

Surfing Museum Lighthouse Point - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

For a tiny museum, the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum packs a serious punch! The SCSM is housed in the old lighthouse on W. Cliff Drive. It contains a cool collection of old school surf boards and a complete history of surfing in Santa Cruz for the past 100 or so years. I was surprised and amazed at the depth of the museum - especially for such a small place. The Surfing Museum is a MUST visit while in Santa Cruz...added bonus - walk outside and watch the surfers in action on the waves below Lighthouse Point. 4.5 stars! read more

Surfing Museum Lighthouse Point - Pic says it all... - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Yes, this museum is very small, but it sure provides a lot of history behind local surfing. It won't take up so much of your time visiting Santa Cruz. Outside of the musuem, there are spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean and Lighthouse Field State Beach. You can even see some surfers in the water. read more

It's everything you could want from a little museum located on West Cliff drive in SC. Perfectly placed as Steamer Lane is literally foot steps away. I mean really, this is freakin' sweet. read more

Surfing Museum Lighthouse Point - Surfing museum seen on the left. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

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This is probably the smallest museum you'll ever visit that is jam packed with info about local (And not so local) history. Today when I stopped in I watched a film about the Mark Foo tragedy at Maverick's. Not exactly local (Though it is NorCal) but a very compelling story about the contest that year all the same. Be sure to read everything, study the pictures and look closely at the boards they have here and you'll be richly rewarded. It won't take too much of a time investment and you'll be glad you did. The admission is free but it would really help them to donate or buy something at the gift shop. The City of Santa Cruz doesn't want to foot the 20g a year bill it takes to run the museum and they're threatening to close it down unless the tab can be picked up by private funds. It would be a shame to lose this display of history from the original Surf City. read more

The view this museum has is incomparable. Rather than just providing you with a collection of surf memorabilia, you can see living, breathing specimens right off the ledge. Surfers climb down the cliffs and take on the massive waves, doing flips and speeding through the tubes as on-lookers ooh and aah. Watching the phenomenal waves crash on the rocks below makes for quite a show in itself. Sunset is also pretty damn beautiful. read more

Many a good time has been had here - people, surfer, and dog watching, bike ride through the grass, jumping the fence to get closer to the waves, the perfect sunset watching spot and pick-up spot, friendly neighborhood vibes. Perfect for drum circles and picnics, little parties and gatherings. I miss this spot more than most others since I moved from the West side up to Berkeley. My sister wants to get married here. 'nuff said. read more

Tried going twice, despite it saying it was open on both voicemail and the website, but closed both times. Annoying. Should update if not going to be open. read more

This museum is probably the smallest museum you will ever visit. It is really fun to go see the huge old fashioned surfboards (up to 80 pounds!), surf paraphernalia from all eras and the board with a shark bite taken out of it. Plus, the museum sits in a pretty spot in Santa Cruz where you can see nice views up and down the coast and watch the surfers in Steamer Lane below you. Definitely worth a visit. read more

Surfing Museum Lighthouse Point - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Great place to stop! All sorts of surfing memorabilia and history. Very cool to see the sport eveolve so much over the years. Also check out the haircuts from the 60s, 70s, and 80's...LOL. Right outside is a popular surfing area, you can exit this place and find surfers in the water. Great place to watch and bring the dogs! read more

Visiting the surf museum is a really good way to get some education about surfing history and culture. It is a pretty small museum - it takes about half an hour to read literally everything there, but it gave me a really good sense of the origins of surfing in California and the directions it has taken over the past fifty years. From Cowell Beach or the Boardwalk, the museum is about a fifteen minute walk up the cliff. I recommend the walk because the views from along the cliff are absolutely gorgeous, plus you can watch surfers on the way. Oh yeah, and admission is FREE! But remember to leave a donation on your way out. read more

Pretty cool spot to visit in Santa Cruz. We decided to take a walk to the museum. The walk was beautiful and worth it. The museum was tiny, a small room packed with tons of information and history on surfing. They had some things you could buy to support the museum, either for yourself or gifts for others. I would have gave 5 stars if I could have seen the blocked off part of the museum that leads to the light/tower. read more

The surfing museum is a great place to learn some real Santa Cruz History. And if you are really lucky, you will find one of the original surfers there like Harry Mayo, who can tell you what is was really like in the early days of surfing. He was one of the ones who made his surf board out of redwood in Junior High shop class. He's Great! read more

Surfing Museum Lighthouse Point - Another Beautiful view - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - Santa Cruz, California

Even if you don't get to see much of anything else, the sunset here definitely worth the drive! read more

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Absolutely the best place to watch the surf, the seals, and especially the surfers. It's crazy how they jump the fence, climb down the rocky crags and leap into the sea with their boards. Even on a warm day the wind can be extreme so dress in layers or pack a wind breaker. The point makes for a nice starting place if you'd like to walk down to the pier. Parking in the lot and on the street is free-yay! If you're just into people watching you can hang out here, spend absolutely nothing, and be thoroughly entertained. read more

Park is free which is amazing! There's beach access right by (dog friendly beach) and the views are perfect. Cute little museum!

What is up with all these wrong addresses for places in SC on yelp? The one on this is actually downtown. The real one is 701 west cliff drive. The view is amazing and breathtaking. Gotta get something from the shop or donate so great places like these with free admissions remain open to the public. Its windy though so bring a jacket. Free parking! read more

If you have an interest or curiosity about California surf culture especially in Santa Cruz it's a must see. It's a tiny museum, but fun to check out while watching surfers line up at the Slot and Middle Peak. Like Chris said, it's a great place to get out of the cold and the break is not for beginners. ( If you're beginning then you should hit up Cowell's Beach just down the road). read more

This is a lot of information on the history of surfing in a teeny, tiny little place! The views of the coastline, ocean, surfers, sea lions and seabirds outside are really cool too. This made for a great little quick stop on our road trip. read more

Seems to be on surfing time and never opened on time. Views are great and local surfers are always putting on a show.....nice brief history of the local surf. read more

We really enjoyed the tour. It was small but really informative and the docents appeared to really enjoy their work. This is a great location to bring the family as you are touring the coast. read more

Gorgeous place to watch the sunset and local surfers looking for one great wave before he end of the day. Lighthouse stamp here but didn't notice a tour. read more