Santa Cruz Weather

Santa Cruz, CA has some of the most mild weather of any community in the country. We sometimes joke that, as far as weather there are really only two seasons, spring and fall. Realistically though, we do get a week of summer and a week of winter weather thrown in every few years just for good measure. Locals and tourists alike enjoy and take advantage of the mellow seasons.

Santa Cruz Weather Advice

Even when the days are hot the Santa Cruz’s weather will turn chilly at night. Your best bet is to take a hoodie with you while you are out and about. Santa Cruz hoodies are a staple in every local’s wardrobe and even we kick ourselves when we head out late in the day without a hoodie or light jacket. Our #1 piece of advice: pick up a hoodie.

Steamer Lane Weather
Live Santa Cruz Beach Cam

Santa Cruz is sometimes referred to as a Banana belt, not because we have anything to do with growing bananas but because the path that the sun shines across Santa Cruz is actually shaped like a banana.

A Banana, Are you serious?

Yep, A Banana! Have you noticed that for almost every beach in Santa Cruz the ocean is to the south? Santa Cruz is mostly built on southern facing hillsides, which face the sun year round, summer through winter. If you were to look at Santa Cruz from the ocean in the morning, right at sunrise you would notice the first slivers of light on the sun facing west side of town. Our afternoon sun widens to warm all of Santa Cruz and then thins to a sliver again finally disappearing from the east side of town. So the path the sun shines across Santa Cruz, makes for beautiful weather and is sometimes referred to as a Banana Belt.

From Wikipedia:

“Banana belt” is an informal geographic term used to describe a segment of a larger geographic region which enjoys warmer weather conditions than the region as a whole, especially in the wintertime.

Article: Banana Belt

Santa Cruz Beach Weather
Santa Cruz Boardwalk Weather
Santa Cruz Weather Report

Santa Cruz Beach Weather

Although we do have milder weather year round, that isn’t to say that we have the warmest weather year round. Indian summer will bring the warm summer nights, but most of the time if you are going to be out and about in the evening you should make sure you are prepared and have at least a sweater or light jacket. If you really want to go for Santa Cruz bonus points that you should always have a Santa Cruz Hoodie handy!

Beach Weather
Live Santa Cruz Beach Cam, captured at the Crow’s Nest

Santa Cruz Boardwalk Weather

Weather at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is a little easier to deal with, mostly because the beach boardwalk has the weather factored into their retail business. When it gets cold at night and you are in the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, you have the nice easy options of buying a hoodie right there or heading inside to the Boardwalk Arcade or Neptune’s Kingdom.

Even with options right there at the Beach Boardwalk it will still get chilly outside and fleece jackets, windbreakers, and hoodies in the summer are a really good idea. In the winter, you should bring something a little heavier and even though our rainy season is very short it may pay to check the weather report at the top or bottom of this page for rain.

During the Boardwalk’s summer concert series it would probably pay to plan a little further ahead. The Boardwalk it’s self is generally packed with people, so if you bring a blanket that you don’t mind getting sandy, light jackets and hoodie sweatshirts for everyone, and maybe even a round of snacks or thermos of hot chocolate, you will likely have a much better time.

Santa Cruz Weather “X Marks The Spot”
Photo by Julianna Chavez