West Cliff

Northern California hosts some of the most breathtaking views on the west coast. Big Sur, Montecito, and Capitola manage to capture the perfect dichotomy between the energetic forces of nature that are land and sea. One place on the west side of Santa Cruz county offers a tantalizing location in which to be present to the beauty around you and the beauty simultaneously within you. It is a place where sandy ocean cliffs barricade tropical blue waters. Flowering shrubs border walkways available for running, dog walking, or beach cruising. Local surfers offer kind smiles as they plunge into the ocean feet-first, eluding a challenging paddle-out with a cliff-jump straight into the deep blue. Dogs run off leash at the beach known to locals as “It’s Beach,” relieved to discover that they, like their human counterparts, are provided drinking fountains on higher ground. This is the Lighthouse Field State Beach of Santa Cruz, California (also known as Steamer Lane on West Cliff), and it is the most sacred space I’ve experienced in 2015. Introduced to its lush green hills and steep staircases to the water by a friend, the colors of Steamer Lane overwhelm to my senses. With the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk far off in the periphery of my vision, the rich blue of the ocean overtakes me every time I visit (as do the Eucalyptus trees, monarch butterflies, and quiet presence of the locals). The air is rife with relaxation as we stroll the seaside, watching surfers and dogs and sea lions alike. Fibonacci-spiral snails litter the rocks that are exposed by low tide. Don’t be fooled by the masses going to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, this beach offers cliffs, flowers, and less foot traffic. Manmade noise amongst this quaint, hillside, beach is quieted by the roaring ocean waves below. Mental chatter of life seems to seep out of your pores when you are here, catching the dance of the wind as it propels a wide variety of native birds in flight. Parking is ample, with street options on West Cliff, parking lots along the nature preserve, or in the charming neighborhoods of some of the highest valued homes in Santa Cruz. Bring your dog, your running shoes, or your bike to these vast viewpoints or settle in with your back against the cliffs into which art designs have been etched over the past few decades. Pay your respects to the surfers who have left this life at the hands of the undertow, whose names you can read on your way to the some 150 square foot Santa Cruz Surf Museum.