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
Where can you legally park an RV overnight in Santa Cruz?
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 — a local's guide
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 Santa Cruz: beaches, 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
The best beaches in Santa Cruz — a local's guide
From the coves locals actually swim to the three beaches where bonfires are legal — every stretch of Santa Cruz sand worth your towel.
Read the guide →Hikes & Trails
The 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: routes & drive times
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 (and the Truth About Fog)
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 →Road Trips
Pacific Coast Highway in a Rental: Where Santa Cruz Fits
Santa Cruz is day one of the San Francisco to Los Angeles coast drive: how long to stop and the rental campervan logistics European visitors ask about.
Read the guide →Getting Around
Getting Around Santa Cruz Without a Car
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 →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.