Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk is #1

Celebrating 109 years, Memorial Day had the Santa Cruz boardwalk packed, much more than usual. The boardwalk officially opened all of its attractions to kick off summer.

“It’s been really popular, busy busy busy, look around I mean you see all the people that are here, it is living up to its hype,” said Frank Gemignani with the Santa Cruz Boardwalk.

Recently named the number one boardwalk in the country on USA Today’s list of top ten boardwalks, staff members rallied around that to prepare for a busy weekend.

“Every year it does bring new challenges, we’ve had a great economy this year for us, we’re doing very well, and we’re happy to be in the position we are,” said Gemignani.

From the games and the rides, to the classic boardwalk food, to the beautiful view, there’s a reason the Santa Cruz Boardwalk is one of the best in the county.

“It’s nice having such a nice beach right next to it, it’s open everywhere, so it’s easy to come to,” said Peter Nelson, visiting from San Jose.

The beach is a unique aspect to the boardwalk that brings in tourists from all over, a big help for Santa Cruz’s economy.

“We benefit from them, they benefit from us from all the tourists we bring down here, I mean we work together with the city we have a close relationship,” said Gemignani.

The boardwalk also hosts free summer concerts every year, this year’s first concert is on June 17th.