Patch Picks: Staycations for Spring Break

Patch Picks is a weekly feature highlighting editor and reader picks of great local businesses, destinations, services, organizations, ways to spend a day off and more.

You’ll find useful lists to help you, your family, friends and significant others find the best places for everything from Sunday brunch to New Year’s Eve celebrations, pumpkin patches, date-night destinations, florists, girlfriend nights out, kids party places, parks and more.

Staycations for Spring Break

With the price of gas and other costs going up, traveling can be expensive—especially if you’re bringing the entire family. Luckily, we live in a place that offers plenty of fun activities. So why not be a tourist in your own town and experience what people travel from all over the world to enjoy? Here are five great staycation ideas for the upcoming spring break.

This is the ultimate Santa Cruz experience, and rides are back in weekend operation after our very wet winter. Starting Saturday, rides will operate daily for the rest of the season. Get a thrill on the Giant Dipper, play in the arcade, eat a corn dog or take a walk on the beach. From April 20-22, the Boardwalk celebrates spring break with live music, celebrities (like SpongeBob SquarePants) and beach competitions. Admission to the Boardwalk is always free.

This is a great outing for the entire family. Part of UC Santa Cruz, the center provides wonderful information and exhibits showcasing our local mammals, fish and vegetation found in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. And during the month of April, you and your kids can take part in a variety of special activities including Sunday crafts, docent-led tours of Younger Lagoon Reserve and Marine Mammal Discovery Tour—a behind-the-scenes look at how scientists study dolphins, seals, sea lions and whales.

Roaring Camp

All aboard for an exciting excursion into the Santa Cruz redwoods, either to the top of Bear Mountain or down to town and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Ride the open-car steam train and hand over your ticket to the kindly conductor. View the amazing, towering redwoods and learn the history of the area. If you take the route to Santa Cruz, you’ll pass through a tunnel and the side streets of downtown before stopping at the Boardwalk. Enjoy an hour or two of rides, games and snacks, and then head back up to the woods.

Museums

Spend part of your spring break visiting some of our wonderful local museums. Make a day of it by museum hopping and a meal out—Santa Cruz is jam-packed with wonderful restaurants, many with . At the you can explore a variety of habitats including the woodlands, chaparral, grasslands and marine environments. Explore the history of Santa Cruz and get a dose of culture at the Museum of Art and History. You’ll see fun artifacts from the early days in Santa Cruz, and exhibits through April include Big Creek Pottery, paintings by Cabrillo fine arts instructor Ron Milhoan and ceramics by local artists. Get a taste of the surfer’s world at the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum where you’ll learn about local surfing history, view boards the athlete’s used to surf on and check out old photographs and other surfing memorabilia dating back to the 1930s.

A Day at the Park

Fill up the cooler with drinks and lunch or dinner goodies, bring the family and friends, and head out for a day at one of our wonderful parks. Many of the parks such as Frederick Street Park have barbecues and picnic areas. Frederick also has a play area for kids and stairs that take you down to the Yacht Harbor for a leisurely stroll to view the water, boats and birds. Bring out the bats and balls for a baseball game at Harvey West Park. Ocean View Park is another great choice, with a half-basketball court, a play area and picnic tables. Check out all the parks on the city’s website.