Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Founded in 1907, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is California's oldest surviving amusement park, stretching along the sand with the iconic Giant Dipper wooden coaster as its centerpiece. The Boardwalk's Free Friday Night Bands on the Beach series, launched in 1988 after a seven-year ban on live music, has become a summer institution drawing thousands for nostalgia-act headliners from Santana to The Tubes to Gin Blossoms. The open-air beach bandstand offers a concert experience unlike any club, with the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop. Evenings on the Colonnade and other seasonal programming keep live entertainment running throughout the summer months.