The Kook Aunty Guide to a Day Trip in Santa Cruz

The fog was heavy in San Francisco, blocking the sun and layering over the streets in cold waves. It was Saturday, and the second day of the Outside Lands Music Festival, and I wanted to get out of the city. 

Two of my friends had agreed to my plan of heading to Santa Cruz early in the morning for a quick day trip (I had to get back to the city before dinner). I caught the N to their apartment in the Outer Sunset district, I jumped in their car, and we chatted as we drove the hour-and-a-half to Santa Cruz.

I had only visited Santa Cruz twice before this trip. The first was for a bachelorette party and the second was for a trip to the beach with some coworkers. This time, I wanted to explore some hikes and a brewery, and was happy that one of the friends I was with had gone to college there.  

Entering the city, we passed colorful little bungalows. If we looked over the gates that sheltered the backyards, I was sure we’d spot surfboards and gardening tools. The city, as I remembered it, was gritty and charming at the same time, a melting pot of different lifestyles, incomes, and cultures.

Here’s how we spent the day hiking and eating in Santa Cruz

1. Enjoyed quick & easy hikes/walks

As a true kook, I planned this trip around going to a brewery.

With that in mind, I used All-Trails to pull up some hikes near enough to the brewery to make it easy to hop over once we were done with our light exercise. 

I saved Arana Gulch on the app. This gulch had a few different walking trails to choose from. My friends suggested the Powder Mill Fire Road Trail, a beautiful walk in the woods.

We decided to do both, starting with the Powder Mill fire Road, winding our way through the trees.

Amongst the cool dappled sunlight of this forest, we saw ivy growing up toward the sunlight on trees, crossed over a creek by walking on a fallen tree trunk, and saw others enjoying the walk with their pups.

We power-walked through the lush forest, hopped back into the car, and headed to Arana Gulch. There, the drier atmosphere led us on a trail through yellow grass and next to a nature reserve where a small pond was sheltered by shrubs and trees.

Both walks took around an hour each, which was perfect timing since our stomachs were starting to growl at around noon, and the brewery happened to open right at around then. 

2. Grabbed a brew (or two)

I’d heard good things about Gilman Brewing, so I had wanted to check it out for a while. There’s one in Berkeley as well, but I was interested in pairing beers with a hike in Santa Cruz on this particular weekend. 

There’s something Pavlovian about my love of a beer after a hike (or a surf or a snowboard session)… I think I’m just programmed to enjoy a cold drink after exercise. 

We arrived at the brewery, surveyed the menu, and landed on the guava sour ()which was the right choice). The taste of real guava came through and it was cold and tart, exactly what we wanted. 

The only problem was that the cook wasn’t there yet, but the woman who was bartending was so kind and said we could run to grab food from any of the places nearby.   

3. We went for tacos, burritos, & chips

We decided on Mexican food from a taqueria down the street. I got a veggie taco and chips, and I don’t think there’s anything better than Mexican food and beer after a day of movement in the sun. 

4. Indulged with some ice cream

After we’d been at the brewery for a while, sipping on our sour beers and eating our tacos and burritos, it was starting to get late and we knew we’d have to return to San Francisco soon. 

We packed up and got in the car, but decided that we had just enough time to check out my friends’ favorite ice cream shop that had been there since he went to college years ago. 

We found some parking then walked over to a street neighboring downtown Santa Cruz. Penny Ice Creamery had fun flavors including sweetcorn and coffee. I chose coffee and a vegan chocolate and the cold dessert was the perfect way to end the trip. 

Finishing our scoops, we took a stroll down the main drag. There were a lot of new, trendy shops that hadn’t been there when my friends had been in college, but it was cute and fun to see. 

Then we got back into the car and drove the hour-and-a-half back to San Francisco with enough time to relax before dinner.