3 lots · 640 spaces. Scrub the time slider for the crowd estimate.
On-street parking
400 metered spaces · Metered/free · Beach St and W Cliff Dr fill before 10 AM in summer. Pay by plate or ParkMobile.
Local moves
The Boardwalk owns the large parking structure on Riverside Ave -- it charges $10-20/day but is always the safest bet.
Beach Street metered parking is free after 6 PM and on Sundays.
The lot on W Cliff Drive at the wharf entrance fills early but turns over faster than the Boardwalk structure.
Cowell's Beach has limited free street parking on W Cliff Drive -- arrive before 9 AM.
Santa Cruz Metro buses connect downtown and the University to the beach -- Route 3 runs to the Boardwalk.
happy hunting
Lot locations, counts, rates and hours are real, geocoded from each address. No live space-count feed is published, so availability is estimated from typical beach crowds and today’s weather. Your location is used only in your browser to sort by distance.