Riders on the family-friendly Lighthouse Lift-Off are silhouetted on the rope lift attraction as dusk descends on the Boardwalk.

The Boardwalk’s new Dream Wheel was manufactured by Chance Rides in Wichita, Kansas. The park lists the ride as a “modern take on a quintessential seaside amusement park Ferris wheel. Standing just under 65’ tall it is suitable for riders with a low thrill-seeking threshold.” It contains 15 gondolas, each capable of seating four adults or six children, that, from the top provide views of the Boardwalk, Monterey Bay and downtown Santa Cruz.

A majestic sunset paints the sky over the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk in a colorful palette as riders rock and roll to the mechanical movements of the Shockwave thrill ride on a recent evening. Many locals and visitors alike have fond memories and associations with the family-owned Boardwalk and no time at the amusement park is more magical than when day transitions to dusk and a colorful sunset transforms the sky to a kaleidoscopic canvas. Shockwave, and the adjacent Typhoon ride, were installed in 2017 as part of a $14 million makeover of the amusement park’s main entrance along Beach Street in Santa Cruz. Shockwave was built by Italian company Zamperla, whose founder Antonio Zamperla was the first Italian to be inducted into the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Hall of Fame. The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk officially opened as an amusement park in 1907. The oldest amusement park in California and one of the last seaside amusement parks on the West Coast of the United States, it is home to two National Historic Landmarks: the 1911 Looff Carousel and the 1924 Giant Dipper wooden roller coaster. The Boardwalk’s roots go back to 1865, when John Leibrandt opened a public bathhouse near the mouth of the San Lorenzo River. Other bathhouses followed and scores of tourists began visiting Santa Cruz to enjoy the highly touted natural medicine of bathing in salt water. Soon more concessions sprang up including restaurants, curio shops and photo stands. Toward the end of the century Fred W. Swanton, considered one of the greatest promoters and entrepreneurs of his time, laid plans for a casino and boardwalk, a “Coney Island of the West.” Swanton formed the Santa Cruz Beach, Cottage, and Tent City Corporation in 1903 and the following year, the city of Santa Cruz granted permission for commercial buildings to be built. Then in 1904, the Neptune Casino opened with an arcade, grill and dining room, and a theater.

The sun sets behind the 125-foot-high Double Shot at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The ride uses compressed air to rapidly propel riders up the tower then gently lower them with a series of air-cushioned bounces back to the loading platform.

The Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s Sky Glider ropeway opened in 1967.