On a recent business trip to California I had a free afternoon and decided to check out the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. This seaside park opened in 1907 and is California’s oldest surviving park. Walking down certain parts of the boardwalk feels a bit like a trip in a time machine, but most of the rides are now modern with one huge exception, the Giant Dipper wooden roller coaster. The Giant Dipper is the signature attraction of the park dominating the skyline and it was the main reason for my visit.

Santa Cruz is old school in that there’s free admission to the park and you can either pay for individual rides or get an all day wristband. This worked out great for me as I only had a couple of hours and wasn’t going to get good value out of an all day admission. You get a card that you can put points on with a point being worth $1 (although there are opportunities for 5 bonus points with a minimum $50 purchase). Most of the roller coasters and larger rides are 8 points with the rest of the rides ranging from 5-7 points. Points don’t expire, can be shared among multiple people and can also be used for food, games, the arcade and merchandise stands operated by the park. $8 may initially seem steep for a ride, but if you pay $40-$80 to get into a theme park and get on between 5-10 rides you’re in exactly the same place. You can also do an unlimited wristband for $40-$75 depending on the day, usually with a $20 discount if you buy it at least a day in advance online.

The Giant Dipper is a historic coaster and the star of the park (pun intended). It is now 100 years old, opening May 17, 1924. At 70 feet high, 55 mph and a track length of 2,640 feet its won’t blow anyone away today, but the fact that it was built in just 47 days for $50,000 and has seen over 60 million riders is amazing!

The ride is unique in that it starts with a plunge into a tunnel with hills, twists and turns before even making its way to the lift hill. In an article in Mental Floss in 2014 it was stated that manufacturer Arthur Looff modeled the Giant Dipper after “the thrill of a plunge down a mine shaft, a balloon ascent, a parachute jump, airplane acrobatics, a cyclone, a toboggan ride, and a ship in a storm.” Having ridden it I think he came pretty close on most of those!

“The thrill of a plunge down a mine shaft, a balloon ascent, a parachute jump, airplane acrobatics, a cyclone, a toboggan ride, and a ship in a storm.”

Arthur Loof on his goal for the Giant Dipper at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

In addition to the tunnel in the beginning, there’s another oddity to ride, probably due to its age. Ryan the Ride Mechanic wouldn’t have to yell at anyone to stay off the air gates as there are none! My mind was sort of blown that you could have unencumbered access to the track from line, but I guess the ride must be grandfathered in somehow? The Giant Dipper is also an American Coaster Enthusiast (ACE) landmark coaster and in fact ACE is hosting its Coaster Con 46 convention at the park June 20-21, 2024.

The Giant Dipper is the main attraction at the park, but there’s also a healthy mix of a couple more coasters, flat rides, kids rides, a dark ride and a chair lift with amazing views. Most of the rides are from the 1990’s and 2000’s, but mixed in are some oldies like a 1961 “cave train” and 1977 log flume both by Arrow, a carousel from 1911 and some kiddie rides from the 1960’s. There are many common rides too like a KMG Afterburner, a Zamperla Disc’O and an S&S Double Shot Tower.

The second coaster I went on is Undertow which is a Maurer Rides spinning coaster opened in 2013. This is mostly a “mouse” style coaster, but with slightly fiercer drops and turns than a regular mouse. I believe it’s also free spinning from moment one off the lift hill as I found myself going backwards down the drop which was quite a fun experience. No airtime, forces or theming to write home about here, but it is a fun little ride.

The final coaster I experienced was Sea Serpent. It’s your classic E&F Miler simple family coaster you’ll see dozens of places, but what sets it apart is it’s beautiful setting. I’ve never seen the landscaping on a kid’s coaster done so well with flowers, palm trees and water features.

Two other things I did at the park were the Sky Glider and Ghost Blasters. The views of the park from Sky Glider were tremendous. If you looked one way you has a beautiful view of the beach and looking the other way was a great view of the rides. You are literally right above the midway for most of this ride and it’s actually great transportation to get from one end of the park to the other. Every so often there’s a gondola taken up by a character statue too which is unique and pretty entertaining.

The final ride I enjoyed was Ghost Blasters, a 2021 dark ride by Sally Corporation. This ride sits you in a car with blasters to try to score points shooting ghosts and other targets. It was both significantly longer and had more moving and interactive elements than I was expecting. The Sally Dark Rides website says there are over 80 interactive elements across 17 scenes and it was all very well done.

The wide selection of food at this park is really something to behold. By my count there are 45 places you can get food, snacks and beverages. I can’t think of another park with that many options and they’re diverse as well. The food choices almost have a state fair feel with a few wild and crazy choices. Some of the less common things for a theme park that you can get include: fish tacos, bread bowl clam chowder, crepes, boba teas, chicken wings, french-fried artichoke hearts, roasted corn, garlic fries, street tacos, gyros, burrito bowls, Thai peanut wraps, deep fried Twinkies and chocolate covered bacon. There is of course all the standard stuff too like pizza, pretzels, corn dogs and burgers. Alcohol is also served with some great beer, wine and mixed drink choices. With free general admission even if you don’t ride a ride it could be worth a visit just to eat.

Getting to the park is pretty easy. It’s not right off a major highway or anything, this is seaside property. I drove down from the San Jose area which took about an hour, but I understand in the afternoon and early evening that traffic can be pretty awful. It was a pretty, but curvy drive. Once you arrive the park has a couple of parking lots for around $20, but if you’re only looking to make a quick stop there’s even some street parking with parking meters. Even if you’re not a ride person, you can literally walk from the park directly out to the beach and again there’s no admission charge so you can just enjoy the atmosphere while getting lunch or a beer too.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is really a gem of a park. It’s a walk through history from a different era of amusement parks, but with some newer rides sprinkled in among the nostalgia. How many times do you have the chance to ride a 100 year old landmark roller coaster in a picturesque seaside setting? If you find yourself in or near Santa Cruz be sure to check it out, especially Giant Dipper.