​Where to elope in Santa Cruz, California

Shark Fin Cove 
(Coast Diaries Stare Park)

If you hop onto HW1 from Santa Cruz going North, you’ll come across Shark Fin Cove. You can catch a glimpse of the shark fin shaped rock from the highway. The beach is hugged by three insanely beautiful cliff sides leaving plenty of room and options for a stunning backdrop during your elopement ceremony. The beach has a cave that leads out to another view of shark fin cove. So whether you'd like an elopement in Santa Cruz on the beach or on the cliff side, you can get both with this single location.

Click here to see photos and a video from Shannon and Nicole's proposal here at Shark Fin Cove.

Davenport

Just past Shark Fin cove is a little town called Davenport. Davenport is between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz. This is a beautiful place to elope because it’s got stunning views and a variety of them! If you park in the Davenport parking lot, you’ll be able to walk across the railroad tracks and into a shaded area with insane cliffs. To your right is a rather steep entrance to the beach (so pack an extra pair of shoes) which leads to a long beautiful beach hugging the steep rocky cliffs.

Henry Cowells Redwood State Park

The Forest of Nisene Marks

Panther Beach

Scott Creek Beach

Loch Lomond Recreational Area

 This place is a goldmine if you’re looking for someplace secluded and magical. Loch Lomond is a lake just north of Santa Cruz and Ben Lomond. There are kayak and boat rentals (The kind of boats that you peddle like a bike, ours was hot pink but you can request a tamer color if you’d like but we loved the pink) you can use to get to Little Clar Innis Or if boats and kayaks aren’t your jam, they have a four mile roundtrip hike through some Redwoods with some really cool lake views along the way.