When I sat down to plan what places we’d visit during our Northern California trip there was one place that was a must for me – the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (SCBB). I’ve been visiting boardwalk/beach parks up and down the East Coast of the United States since I was a little kid. I’ve always loved the atmosphere, the smells, the sounds, and obviously, the rides. There was no way that I was going to be this close to the SCBB and not go. Plus, I had never done a boardwalk park that didn’t border the Atlantic Ocean (not counting Indiana Beach or Cedar Point).
A Historic Coaster on My 47th Birthday
As our plans were put into place the SCBB worked its way into the week and happened to fall on my birthday. After spending last year’s birthday at Six Flags St. Louis (SFSL), I liked the idea of doing a smaller park at the beach this time around. It would be a totally different vibe.
Sam has come to appreciate boardwalk parks too, although I still need to get her out to a bunch of them. So far we’ve managed to do Morey’s Piers, Gillian’s Wonderland, Playland’s Castaway Cove, and Family Kingdom, if you want to count that. It’s kind of close to the beach.
Giant Dipper
It should go without saying that the main draw of this park’s ride line up is Giant Dipper. It’s not every day you get a chance to ride a wooden coaster with this much history. Built in 1924, this coaster is 102 years old and honestly, runs better and smoother than a lot of wooden coasters even one-quarter its age or younger. SCBB is clearly taking very good care of this ride, as well as many others in its line up. This is not a dumpy beachside park at all.
One thing I loved about this ride is all the attention given to its history before you even get inside. Out on the boardwalk and on the walls outside you can find countless plaques, signage, and storytelling items that fill you in on the ride’s legacy. I took photos of most of them and you can find them in the gallery below.
The only thing I regret about this visit was that we only got to ride Giant Dipper twice. They ran one train on the coaster throughout the day and the line backed outside of the building from open to close. We probably could have rode it again had we not went out and walked the beach, but I wanted touch the Pacific Ocean and grab some photos of the park from the sand.
Haunted Castle, Cave Train Adventure, & Ghost Blasters
I love dark rides and when I saw this park had three in its line up, I was so excited. All three are vastly different too, so I recommend doing all of them. The wristband is worth it when you add these in with the coasters, no doubt.
The Haunted Castle offers scares and in the classic style of rides from decades past. It’s surely one of the better ones I’ve done. The ride felt long too.
Cave Train Adventure reminds me of a whacky dark ride like Monster Mansion at Six Flags Over Georgia (SFOG). It’s not at all scary, but more weird and kooky. This ride also had some length to it.
Ghost Blasters is the shortest of the three and is more of your standard shooting dark ride. It reminds me of the Boo Blaster rides you could find at the former Cedar Fair parks. Still, a fun time.
Sky Glider
If you’ve ever been to the Seaside Heights boardwalk, or Casino Pier in New Jersey, you have seen the Sky Ride that takes you along its boardwalk. Well, SCBB has one too and it runs right over and alongside all the rides. There was no way I was going to skip this while I had my camera. I allowed me to get so many great shots, especially of Giant Dipper.
One thing I also liked about this ride is they had some of the characters from the Cave Train Adventure in a couple of the gondolas. You could spot them riding overhead, or on the return trip next to you. Check out the photo below of gondola 10 to see what I’m talking about.
Final Ride Counts
Cave Train Adventure (1)
Ghost Blasters (1)
Giant Dipper (2)
Haunted Castle (1)
Sea Serpent (1)
Sky Glider (1)
Undertow (1)
One of My Favorite Boardwalk Parks
There is no doubt that the SCBB ranks up there among my favorite boardwalk parks. I’m so glad we had the chance to visit. We had a great time riding the rides, eating some food, and buying WAY too much merch at the various shops. I came away with a bunch of pins too, which I wasn’t sure I’d find at a park like this.
If you decide to take a trip out to Northern California, do yourself a favor and include SCBB in your plans. Also, if you’re a film nerd you might want to stop by for this location’s many movie tie-ins alone. Films like “The Lost Boys” and “Us” featured a lot of scenes from SCBB. It was another reason I wanted to go. So yeah, there’s a bunch of reasons to come here. I’ll definitely go back if I have the chance.
Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk Photo Gallery - June 2, 2026
If you would like to use any of the images in the gallery above for your commercial and/or non-commercial projects, feel free to do so. I ask that you credit We Were Inverted whenever they’re used. I also ask that you do not alter the image or remove the watermarks. If you need any images/video resized or without the watermarks, please contact me directly.
CREW MANIFEST
The following flight crew members attended this park, & earned the respective credits below:
Patrick
CAG
New Credit(s): Giant Dipper, Sea Serpent, Undertow
Sam
Admiral
New Credit(s): Giant Dipper, Sea Serpent, Undertow