48 Hours in SANTA CRUZ California: What to See, Do, & Eat

48 Hours of family fun in Santa Cruz, California! We packed our weekend with the best sights, activities, and food this amazing beach town has to offer. From the Boardwalk thrills to coastal walks and tasty local bites, this is your fast guide to an epic Santa Cruz getaway. See what we did, where we ate, and get inspired for your own trip!

Table of contents:
00:00 48 Hours in Santa Cruz 2025
00:30 Day 1 - Downtown Santa Cruz
02:01 Mad Yolks in Santa Cruz
03:27 Roaring Camp Steam Train in Santa Cruz
04:21 Bear Mountain in Santa Cruz
05:35 Returning to the Roaring Camp Steam Train in Santa Cruz
06:00 Henry Cowell Redwood State Park in Santa Cruz
07:05 Redwood Grove Loop Trail in Santa Cruz
07:47 The Giant in Santa Cruz
08:10 River Trail in Santa Cruz
09:21 Going Back to the Car
09:53 Scenic Drive on Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz
10:05 Santa Cruz Wharf & Boardwalk
12:15 Laffing Sal in Santa Cruz
12:43 Pacific Cookie Company in Santa Cruz
12:53 Pizza My Heart in Santa Cruz
14:04 Hyatt Place Santa Cruz
14:39 Day 2 - Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz
16:31 Mystery Spot Tour in Santa Cruz
17:20 Marianne's Ice Cream in Santa Cruz
17:49 Verve Coffee in Santa Cruz
18:04 Mad Yolks Round Two in Santa Cruz
18:30 Hammock Cafe in Santa Cruz
18:41 Capitola by the Sea Scenic Walk in Santa Cruz
19:43 Shadowbrook Restaurant in Santa Cruz
22:13 Capitola Beach & Village in Santa Cruz
24:06 Gayle's Bakery & Rosticceria in Santa Cruz
24:32 Los Primos Taqueria in Santa Cruz
25:12 Day 3 - Checked out of Hyatt Place Santa Cruz
25:37 Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve
27:46 Koi Palace Contempo in Cupertino
28:59 Wanpo Tea Shop in Main Street Cupertino
29:18 Salt Pond at Alviso Marina County Park

💡 Yellow Productions on Social Media:

💡 Meet the Yellow Productions Team:

😀 Yellow Productions Merchandise:

📢 Check out my blog:

🚀 My travel video gear:

[Anointed-qe]

Nice i wanna go there one day just because of the movie US😂❤

[jenzhou]

I take living in Santa Cruz for granted! Thanks for visiting, your family is absolutely lovely

[Guppy]

I live here and I take it for granted because I’m always taking vacations to Florida

[annelim]

Awesome vlog! Thank you so much! Your Princess is soo adorable! 🥰

[DiJourne]

Your little girl is just so precious. Please keep featuring her! ❤🩷

[jessejames]

I’m from the Bay Area. This is one of my favorite places to go in the summer the best boardwalk we have in Norcal❤❤❤❤❤❤

[johnpolese]

I lived in Santa Cruz County for five years and miss it every day. Such a beautiful and unique area.

[mrs.d]

Thank you for the great Santa Cruz visit! We love this beautiful beach town.

[debragarza]

I live in Boulder Creek and I love mountain life more than anything. Having Santa Cruz right next-door is wonderful for my grandkids.

[maxsmiley]

from San Jose, always look forward to going to this wonderful place, also my daughter graduated from UC Santa Cruz, an incredible campus

[greenclos]

Great video. During the summer the boardwalk shows movies on the beach, every Friday.

[crc]

Santa Cruz is my second home! So excited to watch this video 😍😍

[coolauntiejoyce]

WOW!!! You really packed a lot of fun things into your getaway!💛

[jambaman]

I am literally going to Santa Cruz next month with my family (3 little kids). This video was so helpful! Thank you for the great ideas!

[cocotiger]

Pacific cookie company is so yummy, I'll drive from San Francisco just to get there cookies 🍪 I love Santa Cruz 💕

[Star-utl]

Such a lovely family, it is so nice you let your little one explore!

[terribellettini]

Both my girls were born in Santa Cruz. Lived there for years, also lived in Boulder Creek, miss it. Shadow Brook, love that restaurant went there with my high school boyfriend for our one year anniversary in 1982. Wow blast from the past.

[NostalgiaMan]

Hey Chris!!! They featured your video on MSN news today. We just saw it!!!! So Awesome

[caroleann]

Great video. Thx for taking us along. Very enjoyable.

[lilspringgirl]

We are going in July so this video is just perfect 🎉