7) Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz is a geographically diverse city located off of the scenic US Highway 1 in Monterey Bay, just south of the San Francisco Bay area. Featuring a popular boardwalk, towering redwood trees, glorious ocean rock formations, and bright west coast beaches, Santa Cruz is a liberal tourist destination with a progressive social structure and wide array of entertainment. Historically, Santa Cruz was inhabited by the Awaswas Native Americans prior to Spanish settlement, which led to the construction of Mission Santa Cruz in 1791. Santa Cruz is now well known for its political and social activism outlets such as the Resource Center for Nonviolence and the Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana. The city was one of the first to adopt legal use of medicinal marijuana and continues to stay on the brink of liberal progression. Visitors of Santa Cruz can enjoy iconic attractions such as the amusement park located on the boardwalk as well as the Santa Cruz Skateboard Shop.
