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To Register, answer 2026 July 31 Field Trip Signup and register at Bottom of this page while logged into pacamera.com


Field trip on Friday, July 31 at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk from 4pm to 9pm should be an exceptional place for a wide range of street & event photography.

There are people of all levels of ability playing beach volleyball, people of all ages on rides expressing excitement, fear and joy; people doing their best to win prizes in the arcade. Some people will even interreact with each other without electronic devices.

The Santa Cruz Beach Board Walk is the oldest beach amusement park in California, and generally considered the best in California. It also has a retro feel dating back to the 1950s and 1960s in many places.

Being in a carpool is strongly recommended for enhancing the social aspect of the Field Trip. There is a group dinner at the Ideal Bar & Grill, located on the boardwalk at 6pm (show up for seating by 5:50pm)

I recommend staying light on what camera gear you take to better blend in and not trip people with tripods. For those less comfortable with street photography, consider roaming with another member. From the extreme of the boardwalk to the Ideal Bar & Grill is about 0.6 miles with the parking lot about mid-way. 
 

Arrive between 3pm - 4pm by Carpool to Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk 

Explore the various areas of the Boardwalk for photo opportunities until 6pm
Including beach volleyball; being at a beach amusement park; people eating messy food; people on rides showing various reactions & motion blur photography, people trying to win prizes in the arcade.

A 6pm social dinner at the "Ideal Bar & Grill", located on the boardwalk near the Main Beach Volleyball area.  Please answer the questionnaire below to indicate if you want to be included in the dinner reservation.  Alternatively, you can use the various fast-food stands on the boardwalk 

7pm Go out for more photography and Make Use of Golden hour and the Boardwalk lights going on.

8:30pm is Sunset

9:00pm is the recommended Departure time.

Some Details

There is no admission fee to enter, but rides are paid for with a prepaid ticketing system

Parking

Street Parking is paid through ParkMobile App at about $1 per 20 minutes (max charge of $25) plus a processing fee

Parking at the main Lot at 515 Beach St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060 is $25 for all day parking

Please pay after you park by scanning the QR code on your parking ticket using a smartphone, or at a Parking Lot Pay Station (Main Lot: main entrance, Beach Street at Cliff Street, or Beach Street at Riverside Avenue). River lot pay stations are located near the parking lot entrance.