The East Side
By Alex V. · Owner, Beach RV Pleasure Point · Updated August 2026
The short answer
Pleasure Point is the surf neighborhood on the East Side of Santa Cruz, a stretch of blufftop and beach coves along East Cliff Drive and 41st Avenue, above the breaks at The Hook and The Point. Start with the morning walk out the East Cliff parkway to the Hook, pick up coffee and a breakfast burrito on the way, and spend the afternoon at the East Side beaches. Moran Lake, just west of the Point, is a monarch overwintering site in fall and winter. Beach RV Pleasure Point sits on the edge of the neighborhood, sixteen full-hookup sites a nine-minute walk to the beach and twelve to the surf breaks at The Point and The Hook.
Pleasure Point is the surf neighborhood on the East Side of Santa Cruz, a stretch of blufftop and beach coves above famous breaks like The Hook and The Point, strung along East Cliff Drive and 41st Avenue. Coffee roasters, taquerias, and surf shops sit along those two streets.
Beach RV Pleasure Point is the only RV park in the neighborhood, and the closest RV park to the beach in all of Santa Cruz. It is nine minutes on foot to the sand and twelve to the surf breaks. We live here, so this is the neighborhood the way we use it: where we send guests for coffee, which beach works on which kind of day, and the burrito we pick up on the way out to the bluff. For what is closest to the park, see The Point. If you want a campground rather than an RV park, the nearest one is New Brighton State Beach in Capitola, covered in our Santa Cruz beach camping guide.
The morning walk from Pleasure Point to the Hook
If you have one morning, use it for this walk. From the park, head down to 30th and turn right at the 7-Eleven, then walk down toward the Point. The Point Market on East Cliff makes burritos from breakfast until dinner, and the salmon one is what we order. Carry it out to the bluff.
From there, follow the East Cliff parkway all the way to the Hook. It is a one-way road with a wide paved path along the cliff top, the ocean on one side, and stairs down to the sand every few blocks. Find a bench and watch the surfers off the point. It is a twelve-minute walk to the surf breaks and nine to the beach, so none of this needs a car.
How Pleasure Point got its name
The name goes back to Prohibition. It started appearing on maps in the 1930s, back when a roadhouse out on East Cliff Drive ran as one of the busiest speakeasies in Santa Cruz. San Francisco bootleggers dropped liquor on the beach below the cliffs to haul up later, and off-duty cops and tourists mixed upstairs. That building has been a farmhouse, a saloon, a grocery, and a surfer hangout in the years since, and the name has stuck to the whole neighborhood.
The neighborhood's other bit of history is the wetsuit. Jack O'Neill moved to Santa Cruz in 1959 and settled into a small green house on the cliff right here at Pleasure Point. The break in front of it is called Jack's. He is the man credited with making the wetsuit practical enough to change cold-water surfing, and the O'Neill shop is still up on 41st Avenue today.
Where to get coffee in Pleasure Point
The coffee is all up Portola and around 41st, a short walk or a two-minute drive from the park. Heading up Portola you reach them in this order: Firefly, then Cat & Cloud, then Coffeetopia. Dunlap's Donuts is a little further along the same street. Verve opened its very first café on 41st Avenue in 2007.
Where to eat dinner in Pleasure Point
For dinner, The Point Kitchen & Bar is about a five-minute walk over on Portola. Locals just call it The Point, and it is one of our own favorites. The kitchen is a traditional chophouse with good steaks and an excellent chicken schnitzel, and the service is reliable.
A little farther, maybe fifteen minutes on foot, Lago di Como does Northern Italian in a casual room. Reservations are a good idea, though a weekday walk-in usually works. Cole's BBQ is three minutes down Portola for barbecue and burgers.
Pleasure Point and the East Side beaches
Several beaches sit within a mile or two on the East Side.
Santa Mo's is Corcoran Lagoon Beach and the Santa Maria stretch beside it, off East Cliff at 21st. It is the wide one, with a lagoon behind the sand. 26th Avenue is smaller and usually quieter. Sunny Cove is small and pretty, but on summer weekends it is a party beach, so go early if you want it calm. Moran Lake has a free lot and restrooms right there, so it is the easiest one to park at. Pleasure Point and the Hook are where you go to watch the surf, on a rock shelf that opens into tide pools when the tide drops far enough. Capitola, five minutes away by car, has a village right on the beach.
The tide pools are only worth it on a king tide or a minus tide, when the water drops all the way off the reef. Any other day they are hit or miss, and Santa Mo's is your best bet. Check a tide chart before you plan around them.
Our guide to the best beaches in Santa Cruz has the full rundown, including where bonfires are legal, where to park, and which water is calm enough for small kids.
Moran Lake and the monarchs
Moran Lake is an easy walk just west of the Point: a small lake, a beach where it meets the ocean, and a eucalyptus grove. In fall and winter, that grove is a monarch butterfly overwintering site, one of the larger ones left in the county, where the butterflies cluster in the trees through the cold months.
Their numbers rise and fall from year to year and have been low lately, so it is never a guarantee. A still, sunny winter afternoon is the best time to look.
41st Avenue and the sunsets
41st Avenue is the neighborhood's main street. The coffee, the surf shops, the restaurants, and the everyday shopping all sit along it, which matters when you are living out of an RV for a week and running errands on foot. It runs from Portola down to the water at the Hook.
The bluff along East Cliff looks out south over Monterey Bay, so the water is in sun for most of the day and the whole bay is in view. In the evening the sun sets over the water, and people gather on the cliff top to watch. For more of what fills an afternoon or a rainy day, our things to do in Santa Cruz guide covers the rest of the county.
Know before you go
- Coffee, dinner, the surf at the Hook, and the East Side beaches are all a walk from the park. You will not need the car much.
- The surf at The Hook and The Point is about a twelve-minute walk, and the beach is nine. The park has no gate, so you can come and go on foot.
- Capitola is five minutes by car or roughly a ten-minute bike ride. The East Cliff path does not connect all the way there, so the last stretch is on the road.
- Tide pools need a minus or king tide to be worth the walk, and the monarchs at Moran Lake are a fall-and-winter thing that is never guaranteed. Do not build a day around either one.
Common questions
Where is Pleasure Point in Santa Cruz?
Pleasure Point is the surf neighborhood on the East Side of Santa Cruz, a stretch of blufftop and beach coves along East Cliff Drive and 41st Avenue, above the breaks at The Hook and The Point. It sits just east of the Santa Cruz Harbor and about five minutes from Capitola.
How did Pleasure Point get its name?
The name dates to Prohibition, when a roadhouse on East Cliff Drive ran as one of the busiest speakeasies in Santa Cruz and bootleggers used the beach below the cliffs as a liquor drop. It started showing up on maps in the 1930s and has stuck to the neighborhood ever since.
What is there to do in Pleasure Point?
Walk the East Cliff parkway to the Hook in the morning, get coffee and breakfast around 41st Avenue, and spend the afternoon at the East Side beaches. In fall and winter, look for monarchs in the eucalyptus at Moran Lake. Corcoran Lagoon, 26th Avenue, Sunny Cove and Moran Lake are all within a mile or two, and Capitola village is a five-minute drive.
Can you see monarch butterflies at Moran Lake?
Yes, in fall and winter. The eucalyptus grove at Moran Lake is a monarch overwintering site, one of the larger ones in the county. Numbers vary year to year and have been low recently, so it is never guaranteed, but a still, sunny winter afternoon is your best chance.
Is Pleasure Point good for surfing?
It is one of Santa Cruz's best-known surf neighborhoods, with famous breaks at The Hook and The Point. Jack O'Neill pioneered the modern wetsuit from a house right on the cliff here. Even if you do not surf, the blufftop path runs right above the breaks and is an easy place to watch.
About the author
Alex V. — Alex owns and runs Beach RV Pleasure Point, a sixteen-site RV park a nine-minute walk to the surf on the Santa Cruz East Side. These guides are the same advice we give guests at the office.