Scotts Valley and the Santa Cruz Area

Located just six miles from Santa Cruz and the Monterey Bay coastline, Scotts Valley is nestled in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. A few minutes away, Santa Cruz and its neighboring communities stretch southward along the Monterey Bay. With excellent weather year round, Santa Cruz has a special charm, with its picturesque downtown and beautiful beaches.

Santa Cruz is a university town, and the vibrant presence of both UCSC and Cabrillo College manifests itself in the bookstores, coffee shops, and the incredible variety of great restaurants catering to every taste. Both institutions, as well as Santa Cruz itself, put on concerts, theatrical performances, and exciting multi-cultural programs all year round. The annual Shakespeare Santa Cruz Festival, for example, has gained world-wide recognition for its novel and adventurous interpretations of Shakespeare's works. The Cabrillo Music Festival, and the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival both attract renowned performers from around the world each year. UCSC and Cabrillo College both offer a wide variety of extension programs for professional and personal growth.

Santa Cruz area offers many opportunities for outside activities - its great weather and stunning coastline have made it a popular beach resort, and water sports such as sailing, surfing, sailboarding, scuba-diving, ocean kayaking, and fishing are available all year round. For kids of all ages the city offers a variety of sports and recreational programs.

The mountain communities around Santa Cruz - Felton, Boulder Creek, Ben Lomond, and Bonny Doon - are rural retreats where residents can get away from it all amid the peaceful tranquillity of the coastal redwoods, often with breathtaking vistas over mountains and ocean.

Santa Cruz is ideally situated as a base for day trips. San Francisco, just 90 minutes away to the north, offers first-class shopping and cultural and entertainment opportunities second to none. Forty minutes to the south lies Monterey, with its world-famous Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row, and Fisherman's Wharf. Just 30 minutes further south you will be in Big Sur, with its atmospheric coastline and bohemian local culture. The Sierras, just 5 hours away to the east, provide excellent skiing and snowboarding in the winter and great hiking in the summer. Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park, and Kings Canyon Sequoia National Park are all within easy reach for weekend trips.

To learn more about the Santa Cruz/ Scott's Valley area check out the following limks:

Santa Cruz Links Page Check out Excite's city.net Santa Cruz resources page.

Visit the Beach! Go see the 24 hour video cam of the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and Monterey Bay from the top of the Dream Inn.

Santa Cruz County Check Santa Cruz County on the Web.

Cabrillo College Along with UCSC, Cabrillo college is a regional center for the arts renowed for its yearly music festivals and performances.

University of California, Santa Cruz UCSC is famous for its natural beauty and emphasis on undergraduate education. The campus offers a wealth of lectures, concerts, and theater productions open to the public, including the renowned Santa Cruz Shakespeare festival.

San Jose

San Jose, in the heart of Silicon Valley, offers all the amenities you would expect from California's second largest, and fastest growing city. Located at the hub of the world's electronic industry, San Jose has rapidly become a world-class city with a first-rate symphony, opera, and museums, including the Tech Museum featuring developments in high technology, and the Childrens' Discovery Museum - a hands-on museum for kids.

The San Jose Arena is home to the San Jose Sharks ice-hockey team, and regularly attracts the biggest names in international figure-skating. Shoreline Amphitheater showcases big-name bands of all descriptions just about every night of the year, and the many smaller venues and clubs add to this variety. The San Jose area also offers many activities for the family, including Great America theme park, and Raging Waters aquatic park.

San Jose's International Airport provides fast and easy access to major national and international destinations.

The numerous collegs and universities in the area offer extension classes as well as cultural activities, and the area also offers a large number of excellent shopping malls.

San Jose is within easy reach of San Francisco and Oakland, and the Sierras are only about 4 hours away by car.

To learn more about San Jose, check out the following limks:

San Jose Links page Check out Excite's city.net San Jose resources page.

San Jose Symphony Orchestra Buy tickets to the Symphony online.

San Jose Living, Online Resources Helpful links page to San Jose information and resources.

San Jose Sharks Hockey fans, check out the San Jose Sharks official web site.

Information and statistics page about San Jose Statisitics and miscelanious info about San Jose for those you want to know the details.