Getting There -- Santa Cruz is 77 miles southeast of San Francisco. The most scenic route to Santa Cruz is along Highway 1 from San Francisco, which, aside from the "you fall, you die" stretch called Devil's Slide, allows you to cruise at a steady 50 mph. Faster but less romantic is Highway 17, which is accessed near San Jose from I-280, I-880, or U.S. 101, and ends at the foot of the boardwalk. The exception to this rule is on weekend mornings, when Highway 17 tends to logjam with beach-goers while Highway 1 remains relatively uncrowded.