The quintessential Santa Cruz beach. Activities here range from sunbathing, walking along the waves on the long flat beach, collecting seashells, watching surfers, or braving the cold water to swim. The length of the beach varies significantly with tide, but the side near the wharf is always there (unless it's the rainy season when there's a large river that runs through it). There can sometimes be a lot of stinky seaweed on the beach too, but that's part of the experience. Parking is also hard because there are so many tourist attractions around, but there's a shuttle that brings people from the downtown parking garage to the beach during the summer, so that's helpful.