A world-class surf break at the foot of West Cliff Drive, just below the Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse. Steamer Lane consists of five distinct spots — Middle Peak, The Slot, Indicators, Cowells, and Sewer Peak — that work at different tidal states and swell directions. On any given morning from September through May, the water here holds some of the most skilled surfers on the California coast.
The viewing area on the cliffs above is accessible to everyone and provides exceptional surfing viewing without getting wet. The Santa Cruz Surfing Museum inside the lighthouse (small entrance fee, closed Tuesdays) has a good collection of early boards and photographs documenting the lineage of surfing in Santa Cruz, from the 1930s through the shortboard revolution of the 1960s. Go on a morning when there is a decent swell — the performance level at Steamer Lane on a good day is genuinely spectacular.