Scotts Valley and the Santa Cruz Area

Located just six miles from Santa Cruz and the Monterey Bay coastline, Scotts Valley is nestled in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. A few minutes away, Santa Cruz and its neighboring communities stretch southward along the Monterey Bay. With excellent weather year round, Santa Cruz has a special charm, with its picturesque downtown and beautiful beaches.

Santa Cruz is a university town, and the vibrant presence of both UCSC and Cabrillo College manifests itself in the bookstores, coffee shops, and the incredible variety of great restaurants catering to every taste. Both institutions, as well as the city of Santa Cruz itself, put on concerts, theatrical performances, and exciting multicultural programs all year round. The annual Shakespeare Santa Cruz festival, for example, has gained world-wide recognition for its novel and adventurous interpretations of Shakespeare's works. The Cabrillo Music Festival and the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival both attract renowned performers from around the world each year. UCSC and Cabrillo College both offer a wide variety of extension programs for professional and personal growth.

The Santa Cruz area offers many opportunities for outside activities - its great weather and stunning coastline have made it a popular beach resort, and water sports such as sailing, surfing, sailboarding, scuba-diving, ocean kayaking, and fishing are available all year round. For kids of all ages the city offers a variety of organized sports and recreational programs.

The mountain communities around Santa Cruz - Felton, Boulder Creek, Ben Lomond, and Bonny Doon - are rural retreats where residents can get away from it all amid the peaceful tranquility of the coastal redwoods, often with breathtaking vistas over mountains and ocean.

Santa Cruz is ideally situated as a base for day trips. San Francisco, just 90 minutes away to the north, offers first-class shopping and cultural and entertainment opportunities second to none. Forty minutes to the south lies Monterey, with its world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row, and Fisherman's Wharf. Just 30 minutes further south you will be in Big Sur, with its atmospheric coastline and bohemian local culture. The Sierras, just 5 hours away to the east, provide excellent skiing and snowboarding in the winter and great hiking in the summer. Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park, and Kings Canyon Sequoia National Park are all within easy reach for weekend trips.

To learn more about the Santa Cruz/ Scotts Valley area check out the following links:

Santa Cruz County Check out Santa Cruz County on the Web.

University of California, Santa Cruz UCSC is famous for its natural beauty and emphasis on undergraduate education. The campus offers a wealth of lectures, concerts, and theater productions open to the public, including the renowned Santa Cruz Shakespeare festival.