Santa Cruz Bucket List

Santa Cruz Bucket List A Santa Cruz native’s list of must see places and must do activities. This is the official page for the Instagram account!

Check out this page for a photographic exploration of the Santa Cruz area.

09/06/2026

Best Beach Bites 🌊
🐝 Part 5: Busy Bees + Privates Beach

📍 Busy Bees | Busy Bees Cafe & Catering
Just a few blocks from the coast, Busy Bees is one of the best stops for grabbing breakfast or lunch before a beach day. Go for the breakfast burritos, viral biscuit sandwich, and can’t-miss cinnamon rolls, or pick up one of their fresh sandwiches or salads for an easy picnic by the water.

➡️ What to order:
🍯 Cinnamon roll, soft, gooey, and worth the stop on its own
🌯 Stinger Bee Burrito, a hearty breakfast burrito packed with carnitas
🍳 Biscuit sandwich, the viral order that lives up to the hype
🥪 Bountiful Turkey, a stacked sandwich that travels perfectly to the beach
🥗 Farmers Market Salad, fresh, colorful, and ideal for a lighter lunch

Grab it to-go, head down 41st Avenue toward the water, and you’re only minutes from one of our favorite hidden-gem beaches.

📍 Privates Beach / Opal Cliffs Park
Picnic in the shade at the blufftop park, or take the stairs down to the sand for sweeping cliff views with Capitola in the distance. Go at low tide for the most room to spread out. Parking is limited in the surrounding residential neighborhood, so park only where permitted and be respectful of neighbors.

📌 Save this for your next Santa Cruz beach day and send it to the person you’re splitting that cinnamon roll with.

Sometimes the photos just speak for themselves. 🌲And the redwoods have so much to share, if you’re willing to slow down ...
08/30/2026

Sometimes the photos just speak for themselves. 🌲

And the redwoods have so much to share, if you’re willing to slow down long enough to listen.

What do you hear?

Help us build Bridge 20 in Big Basin.Santa Cruz Bucket List is partnering with Sempervirens Fund (Sempervirens Fund | Pr...
08/22/2026

Help us build Bridge 20 in Big Basin.

Santa Cruz Bucket List is partnering with Sempervirens Fund (Sempervirens Fund | Protecting Santa Cruz Mountains redwoods) to raise $5,000 to help rebuild a trail bridge in Big Basin Redwoods State Park.

After the 2020 CZU Fire, 22 trail crossings still need to be rebuilt. We’re helping fund one of them: Bridge 20 on the Timms Creek Loop.

We only have $1,000 left to raise.

With more than 60,000 people in this community, less than 2% of us donating just $1 would get us there.

That means small donations can add up to something real.

One day, we’ll be able to walk this trail, cross Bridge 20, and know our community helped make it possible. It will be a lasting investment in the future of Big Basin and in our ability to keep experiencing the redwoods we love.

The bridge will include a Santa Cruz Bucket List plaque and will be dedicated in loving memory of my brother.

Give what you can by September 18.

Donate through the link in our bio:
sempervirens.org/scbucketlist

Soaking up the last days of summer in Santa Cruz. ☀️🌊With so much to check off your summer bucket list, don’t forget to ...
08/17/2026

Soaking up the last days of summer in Santa Cruz. ☀️🌊

With so much to check off your summer bucket list, don’t forget to slow down and enjoy where you are.

Sometimes the best Santa Cruz moments are the ones where you do absolutely nothing but take it all in. 💛

How are you soaking up the final days of summer?

🍴 The 5 Best Bucket List Bites I Tried This July in Santa Cruz CountyIf you’re looking for your next excuse to eat your ...
08/03/2026

🍴 The 5 Best Bucket List Bites I Tried This July in Santa Cruz County

If you’re looking for your next excuse to eat your way through Santa Cruz County, start here. These are five unforgettable bites that earned a spot on my July bucket list and deserve a place on yours.

🍕 1. Pizza My Heart
The Big Sur Pizza piled high with roasted garlic is an absolute must for garlic lovers.
✅ Bucket List Tip: Head to the original Capitola location, grab the iconic T-shirt + slice deal, then walk one block down to Capitola Beach for one of the best pizza-with-a-view experiences in the county.

🧀 2. Cheese Shop 831
Their grilled cheese paired with homemade jam and tomato soup is pure comfort food done right.
✅ Bucket List Tip: They feature rotating grilled cheese specials, so there’s always a new creation waiting the next time you visit.

🍝 3. Lago di Como
Some of the best Italian food in Santa Cruz County, with desserts that are every bit as memorable as the pasta.
✅ Bucket List Tip: Save this one for your next anniversary, birthday, or celebration. It’s the kind of meal you’ll be talking about long after dessert.

🥗 4. pretty good advice
The PGA Chopped Salad is one of my favorite lunches in town, and their entirely vegetarian and vegan menu is packed with standout dishes.
✅ Bucket List Tip: Visit the downtown Santa Cruz location, then spend the afternoon exploring the local shops and bookstores just steps away.

🌯 5. Busy Bees Cafe & Catering
From hearty breakfast burritos to giant cinnamon rolls, this local favorite knows how to start the day.
✅ Bucket List Tip: Grab your order to go and head down to the beach at the end of 41st Avenue for the perfect oceanside breakfast.

📌 Save this guide for your next Santa Cruz food adventure.

How many of these have you checked off your Santa Cruz Bucket List? Which spot should I feature next? 👇

Consider this your July postcard from Santa Cruz County. ☀️🌊Sunny beach days, redwood escapes, coastal adventures, and a...
07/28/2026

Consider this your July postcard from Santa Cruz County. ☀️🌊

Sunny beach days, redwood escapes, coastal adventures, and all the little moments that make summer here feel unforgettable.

If you could spend the rest of today in just one of these places, where would you go? 👇

1.) Hammocking on the cliffs of Davenport at sunset

2.) Seeing Greyhound Rock

3.) Enjoying summer at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

4.) Experiencing quiet serenity of the forest with wildlife in Henry Cowell State Park

07/27/2026

Two locally loved Santa Cruz County hidden gems worth adding to your food bucket list. ❤️

📍 The Cheese Shop 831
International cheeses, free samples, fun gifts, and seriously good sandwiches.

Bucket list order:
🧀 Order a made-to-order grilled cheese
🥣 Add tomato bisque for dunking
🛍️ Take home a few international cheeses

📍 Dharma’s Restaurant
A Santa Cruz County institution serving vegetarian and vegan favorites for more than 40 years.

Bucket list order:
🥪 Order the tempeh Reuben
🥢 Add the OG Bo Thai
🥟 Share an order of spring rolls

Visit this week, bring a friend, and show these longtime local favorites some love. ❤️

Which spot are you trying first?

Historic Homes of Downtown Santa Cruz.Take a walking tour around the neighborhoods around to see all of these beauties ...
05/29/2026

Historic Homes of Downtown Santa Cruz.

Take a walking tour around the neighborhoods around to see all of these beauties just within a few blocks of each other!

✨ Bucket List Tip ✨
For the highest density of historic homes, head to Walnut Avenue.

If you could choose any of these beautiful homes as your dream house in Santa Cruz, which one are you choosing?

💟💜Coastal colors of Santa Cruz County💜💟 Where do you go in Santa Cruz County to experience the best blooms along the coa...
05/19/2026

💟💜Coastal colors of Santa Cruz County💜💟

Where do you go in Santa Cruz County to experience the best blooms along the coast?

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