825mph

The oldest running amusement park in California, is the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. In operation since 1907. It’s also a nice enjoyable place to hang around, especially with kids. There are free concerts and movies on the beach during summer, rides and games and food, and a neat feeling to walk around enjoying the ambiance. I like that you don’t need to pay to get in the park and walk around. You pay for rides and food and games, though you don’t pay to just walk around and enjoy the ambiance.

This carousel, older than the park itself and added to the Board Walk in 1911, is one of the rare carousels still operating that has a brass ring dispenser and target. Riders get to grab a ring as they go around and then throw it at the clown face, attempting to get the ring into the mouth as they go around. The ride then also becomes a game for those sitting on the outside horses.

That excellent wooden roller coaster in the background is the Giant Dipper. It will be 101 years old this year. It is the oldest operating roller coaster in California and one of the oldest in the world. It’s what you see to know you are almost at the Board Walk when walking or driving in.