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Craig and Nancy's Real Estate Website
Area Picture Tour
 
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Read Coastal Homes Magazine online.
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Welcome to Santa Cruz County - you have found an incredible place to live! Our county is one of
California's smallest, but arguably one of the prettiest and most diverse. You can hike in a redwood
forest and 10 minutes later be at the beach. Our county stretches from the ocean to the mountains, with
Monterey Bay as our backdrop, and Silicon Valley, Carmel, Big Sur, and San Francisco our close
neighbors. If you like warm days and cool evenings, our climate is perfect.
Santa Cruz County Beach Communities
From the middle of Monterey Bay (part of a National Marine Sanctuary) and heading north, there are a number
of beach communities.
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Pajaro Dunes offers condominiums and architecturally distinctive homes nestled in the high dunes of a
gated community.
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La Selva Beach and Manresa Beach provide village living by the sea.
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Seascape adds a golf course and a major resort hotel with oceanside dining.
Seacliff offers
fine views from the bluffs above the Bay, and a State Beach with RV facilities.
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In Rio Del Mar take a long walk on the beach; and as the sun sets, amble into a beach side cafe for
fish and chips and fine local wines.
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Capitola by the Sea has a quaint village of boutique shops right up to the seawall, and in another
part of town, a major shopping mall. Don't miss the Capitola Art and Wine Festival in mid-September.
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Santa Cruz comes next at mid-county, where the coast transitions from Monterey Bay to the open Pacific
Ocean. Santa Cruz has many beaches, a boardwalk with a wonderful old wooden roller coaster, redwood
forests, UCSC, a yacht harbor, a drive-on Municipal Wharf with shops, and a bustling downtown with
innumerable music venues, restaurants, and pubs.
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North of Santa Cruz, undeveloped farm land continues for 11 miles to the little town of
Davenport. Farther north is San Mateo County where Elephant Seals go through their yearly cycle
near the town of Año Nuevo.
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Santa Cruz County Inland Communities
Beginning again in the south and traveling north, a series of inland communities parallel their coastal
counterparts.
Watsonville is the anchor city at the south end of the county. Currently surrounded by farmland,
Watsonville is our fastest growing city. Our county's number 1 crop, strawberries, is in abundance
here. Just south into Monterey County is Castroville, the "Artichoke Capital" of the world; and just
over the mountains is Gilroy, the "Garlic Capital" of the world.
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Larkin Valley offers country living with valley and mountain views.
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Corralitos is home to the Corralitos Market, famed for their sausages and meats. Horse and
country properties surround in all directions.
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Aptos has a village centered around the old Bay View Hotel. Nearby are the excellent Café Sparrow and
Gina's Aptos Haircut Co. Aptos has properties of all sizes and shapes in the surrounding countryside.
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Soquel boasts a town of antique shops. East of town, valley and ridge-top homes extend up and
into the Santa Cruz Mountains.
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North of Santa Cruz, is Pasatiempo with its fine golf course and surrounding homes. The
technology companies along Highway 17 in Scotts Valley let you know your are leaving Silicon Beach and
heading toward Silicon Valley.
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Northwest from Santa Cruz is the rustic San Lorenzo Valley. Towns such as Felton, Glen
Arbor, Ben Lomond, Brookdale, and Boulder Creek are found along Highway 9 as it
follows the meandering San Lorenzo River into the Santa Cruz Mountains. The San Lorenzo Valley roots go
back to the logging and railroading activities of the 1800's and the summer vacation homes of the
1900's. You can escape the summer heat in the cool hills and redwood forests of this beautiful
valley. You can ride a narrow gauge steam train back into the logging camps or take a standard gauge
passenger train out to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (see Roaring Camp Railroad under Local Information).
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Felton sits in a wide open valley with mountains all around. Roads connect to Santa Cruz, Scotts
Valley, Ben Lomond, and Bonny Doon. Felton is blessed with a variety of good restaurants. You can
hike or ride your horse among the giant redwoods in Henry Cowell State Park, or take the Roaring Camp
Railroad up into the mountains or out to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (see Local Information). You
can buy a home right on the river or up into the foothills and mountains.
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Heading north on Route 9 from Felton toward Ben Lomond you pass by Glen Arbor and the Highlands
County Park, home of the annual Scottish Games. Speaking of "Scottish", just outside of Ben
Lomond is Loch Lomond where you can rent a rowboat or fish. While there is no Scottish
restaurant, there is an Italian and a German restaurant. Homes are available along the highway, along
the river, and on the shaded western slope or sunny eastern slope of the valley. Quail Hollow to
the east offers some fine horse properties.
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Brookdale is the home of the "world famous" Brookdale Lodge. You can have dinner in the
Brookroom,
so-named for the brook that runs through it. Ask someone about the ghosts - there is a fascinating
history here.
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Boulder Creek is the gateway to California's first State Park, Big Basin, founded to protect wonderful
stands of the State Tree, Sequoia Sempervirens or the Coastal Redwood. Many people commute to Silicon
Valley from Boulder Creek. There are homes along the cool river banks, up on the sunny hilltops to the
east, and along Big Basin Way that follows "Boulder Creek" past the Boulder Creek Country Club (GOLF) and on
to Big Basin State Park.
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On the western side of the San Lorenzo Valley is a ridge road that takes you from Santa Cruz, through the
Great Meadow at UCSC (University of California at Santa Cruz), and on to Bonny Doon.
Bonny Doon has 1100 households, most with an acre or more of land. There are many fine view properties, and
horse properties with access to horse trails in Fall Creek State Park or Wilder Ranch on the coast.
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