Logo: Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks

Stewarding the State
Parks in Santa Cruz
County Since 1976

 Header: That's My Park - Stewarding the State Parks in Santa Cruz County since 1976
 
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Seacliff State Beach

Seacliff Art Print ENJOY
  • Walk along the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
  • Observe sea birds and marine life
  • Explore the fossil beds

LEARN
  • Tour the Visitor Center cultural and natural history exhibits, and talk to our knowledgeable docents and interpreters
  • Come to Festival of the Cement Ship in June (first Saturday) and the Migration Festival in February (second Saturday)
  • Join us for free, docent-led, guided tours of the fossil beds and guided history walks
GIVE BACK
  • Sign up for the Docent Training in the spring to become a docent and lead tours of the park for school groups, locals, and visitors. Class size is limited to 35, so please sign up early.
  • Contribute to the Complete the Seacliff Trail Education and Stewardship Fund and directly enhance this park by purchasing the beautiful new fine art silk-screen print of Seacliff State Beach, created by world-renowned artist Michael Schwab

Interesting Facts

* Coastal bluffs and seashore - 86 acres

* 1.8 miles of coastline

* Approximately 2,600,000 visitors each year

* More than 34,500 people attended educational programs last year

* 1,940 local school children served in 2005

* Established in 1931
Background
Looking onto the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Seacliff State Beach was established as a state park in 1931, after the first successful state bond issue in 1930 to support state parks. The avidly used shore walkway connects New Brighton State Beach and Rio del Mar Beach. Veins of extinct marine fossils layer the coastal bluffs.

Seacliff history includes Ohlone Indian lives and burial grounds, Spanish land grants to the Castro family, redwood timber shipments, Claus Spreckles, King Kamehameha, how surfing came to California, and the USS Palo Alto, the concrete ship in the waters off Seacliff Pier, that has attracted visitors since it was placed here in 1929. One of only three "cement" ships built during World War I, the original owners' plan for the ship and the pier was short-lived. Today the recently refurbished Seacliff fishing pier overlooks the picturesque concrete ship, which provides protected marine habitat.

For more information about Seacliff State Beach, please contact