Guides
Straight answers for RV travelers heading to Santa Cruz — from the people who run the park.
Local Know-How
Planning a Santa Cruz RV trip
Handpicked answers to the questions we actually get at the office — the kind that are hard to find anywhere else.
Planning Your Trip
RV parking in Santa Cruz: overnight and long-term stays
Santa Cruz limits overnight RV parking on its streets and at the beaches. Here are the legal options — including the one a short walk from the surf.
Read the guide →Things to Do
Things to do in Santa Cruz: Boardwalk, redwoods, beaches
The classics that earn the crowds, the East Side spots that don't, and what's changed in 2026 — from the Boardwalk to the bluffs.
Read the guide →Traveling With Your Dog
Dog-friendly beaches in Santa Cruz, plus trails and patios
Where dogs are actually allowed — the leashed East Side beaches, the one off-leash cove, the trail exceptions, and the bans that cost real money.
Read the guide →Beaches
Best beaches in Santa Cruz: where to swim and where to park
From the coves locals actually swim to the state beaches with fire rings — every stretch of Santa Cruz sand worth your towel.
Read the guide →Hikes & Trails
Best hikes in Santa Cruz: redwoods, bluffs, and what's open
Old-growth redwoods, ocean-bluff loops, and the county's newest trails — with the closures, fees, and dog rules the big sites never update.
Read the guide →Getting Here
San Francisco to Santa Cruz: 75 miles, 1–2 hours by car
Two ways over from the city: fast, twisty Highway 17 or slow, scenic Highway 1. Which to pick for your rig, plus drive times, the bus, and arriving from SFO.
Read the guide →Seasonal & Weather
Best time to visit Santa Cruz: weather and water by month
A month-by-month decision guide to Santa Cruz weather, the June-gloom marine layer and when it clears, ocean temps, crowds, and exactly what to pack.
Read the guide →Getting Around
Getting around Santa Cruz without a car: bus, bike, walk
Once you're parked on Portola Drive, you barely need to move the rig. How to get around Santa Cruz on foot, by bike, and by bus from the East Side.
Read the guide →Road Trips
Highway 1 in a rental RV or campervan: where Santa Cruz fits
The rental side of a Highway 1 trip in an RV or campervan: one-way drop fees, mileage terms, the paperwork European visitors need, and what size rig fits Big Sur.
Read the guide →Road Trips
California coast RV road trip on Highway 1: SF to LA
The full Highway 1 RV road trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles, laid out stop by stop, with a verified coastal RV park at each one and Santa Cruz set up as a two-to-three-night base rather than a one-night pass-through.
Read the guide →The East Side
Pleasure Point, Santa Cruz: beaches, surf, and where to eat
The East Side surf neighborhood on foot — the morning walk to the Hook, coffee and dinner around Portola and 41st, the East Side coves, and the monarchs at Moran Lake.
Read the guide →RV Logistics
RV dump stations near Santa Cruz: open, closed, and fees
The two RV dump stations near Santa Cruz that actually work — New Brighton and Steve's 76 — plus the call-ahead Watsonville options and a correction on closed Seacliff and no-dump Sunset.
Read the guide →Beaches
Tide pools in Santa Cruz: where to go and which tide
The reef a short walk from the park, Natural Bridges on the West side, and how to read a tide chart so you show up on a minus tide when the pools are actually open.
Read the guide →Beaches
Santa Cruz beaches that allow bonfires: where the rings are
A plain guide to where beach fires are actually allowed in Santa Cruz, the fire-ring rules, and how to grab a ring on a busy weekend.
Read the guide →Beaches
Capitola Beach: where to park, the village, and the wharf
Where to actually park, the colorful village and swimming cove, the rebuilt wharf, and when to go — Santa Cruz's closest big draw, five minutes from the park.
Read the guide →Beach Camping
Santa Cruz beach camping: every coastal option
No campground in Santa Cruz County is on the sand. The ocean-view options are the bluff-top state beaches, all reservation-only, capped at 31 to 36 feet, and none has a full-hookup site. New Brighton's 11 hookup sites are electricity only, and Manresa Uplands takes no RVs.
Read the guide →Families
Family campgrounds in Santa Cruz: which one fits your trip
Pools and cabins sit inland, tent sites sit at the state beaches, and the coastal state beaches cap rigs at 31 to 36 feet. This guide names which one fits, including the families we are wrong for.
Read the guide →Ready when you are
Sixteen sites, a short walk to the surf
Beach RV Pleasure Point — the only RV park in Pleasure Point. Full hookups, owners on-site.