Unusual Gilroy Gardens is a nonprofit family-oriented theme park focused on food and plants rather than Disney-esque cartoon characters. You’ve got to really love flowers, fruit and veggies to get your money’s worth, though. Most rides like the ‘Mushroom Swing’ are tame. Buy tickets online to save. From Hwy 101, follow Hwy 152 west; parking is $12.
Gilroy Gardens
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
21.74 MILES
The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk has been an Americana classic like few others for over a century. Now as in 1907 when the amusement park first opened, the…
22.62 MILES
This museum will interest almost anyone, even if you don't know anything about Salinas’ Nobel Prize–winning native son, John Steinbeck (1902–68), a…
Seymour Marine Discovery Center
24.49 MILES
This educational center is part of UCSC’s Long Marine Laboratory. Interactive natural-science exhibits include tidal touch pools and aquariums, while…
28.04 MILES
This ridiculous yet fascinating Victorian mansion is filled with 160 mostly non-utilitarian rooms with dead-end hallways and a staircase that runs up to a…
University of California, Santa Cruz
23.84 MILES
Check it: the school mascot is a banana slug! Established in 1965 in the hills above town, UCSC is known for its creative, liberal bent. The rural campus…
20.76 MILES
A kitschy, old-fashioned tourist trap, Santa Cruz's Mystery Spot has scarcely changed since it opened in 1940. On a steeply sloping hillside, compasses…
24.07 MILES
Great for sunsets, this sandy beach fronted by a natural sandstone bridge is a family favorite and tops for wildlife viewing. Scan the bay for whales,…
26.8 MILES
Opposite Plaza de Cesar Chavez, San Jose's excellent technology museum examines subjects from robotics to space exploration, and genetics to virtual…
Nearby attractions
12.07 MILES
Founded in 1797, this mission claims the largest church among California’s original 21 missions. Unknowingly built directly atop the San Andreas Fault,…
2. San Juan Bautista State Historic Park
12.14 MILES
Buildings around the old Spanish plaza opposite the mission anchor this small historical park. Cavernous stables hint at San Juan Bautista in its 1860s…
13.61 MILES
Heading east from Gilroy on Hwy 152 toward I-5, Casa de Fruta is a commercialized farm stand with an old-fashioned carousel and choo-choo train rides for…
13.92 MILES
Near Watsonville, the La Selva Beach exit off Hwy 1 leads here to this sparsely populated beach.
13.94 MILES
The La Selva Beach exit off Hwy 1, near Watsonville, brings you here, where you can have miles of sand and surf almost all to yourself.
6. Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve
15.02 MILES
Rent a kayak from outfitters on Hwy 1 and paddle past harbor seals into Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, or take a guided weekend hike…
7. Forest of Nisene Marks State Park
15.48 MILES
Just north the Santa Cruz seaside suburb of Aptos, this State park offers ipcnic spots and the opportunity to hike, jog, or bike on 30 miles of trails in…
15.98 MILES
Seacliff State Beach harbors a ‘cement boat,’ a quixotic freighter built of concrete that floated OK, but ended up here as a coastal fishing pier. During…