- Meditate quietly in our historical gardens of roses and redwoods
- Sleep peacefully with free linens and bedding and a hostel tradition of 11pm quiet hours (you can also ask our staff for free earplugs, just in case.)
- Cook a hearty meal in our large fully stocked kitchen with shelves stocked weekly of free grocery items
- Discuss travel plans with other guests over a fresh cup of free coffee
- Create lasting friendships during weekly hostel activities for guests
- Keep in touch with loved ones at our onsite internet kiosk
- Stay fresh and clean with our onsite laundry facilities
- Store your luggage, bike, or surfboard for free
- Park your car for the low fee of only $1.00/day
- Access loads of info about Santa Cruz from our friendly staff and travel binders & bulletin boards
- Sandy beaches and volleyball courts
- Prime surf spots of Cowell’s and Steamer Lane (surfboard rentals and lessons available for discounted rates for guests)
- Beach Boardwalk Amusement Park
- Municipal Wharf, where you can fish, bark with sea lions, eat fresh crab, ride a boat, shop.
- Surfing Museum
- West Cliff Drive, awesome walking and bike paths that line the Pacific Ocean
- Eat at a variety of cafes and restaurants for every wallet and palate
- Shop eclectic mix of local boutiques and trend-setting stores
- Peruse local art galleries for one of a kind glass objects, sculptures, and mixed media masterpieces
- Jam at local dance and jazz clubs
- People watch (check out a local favorite the Pink Umbrella Man)
- Explore the University of California at Santa Cruz, perched above the city in the midst of towering redwood trees
- Get back to Nature in the fabulous state park system. Check out these local favorites
- Natural Bridges State Park for monarch butterflies and tidepools
- Henry Cowell Redwood State Park for mind-blowing redwood glory
- Big Basin State Park & The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park for fantastic hiking trails
- Defy gravity at the Mystery Spot
- Ride a steam train through the redwoods to the beach
HI-Santa Cruz is a non-profit organization located in the restored 1870's Carmelita Cottages on Beach Hill.
Comprised of five renovated Victorian cottages, HI-Santa Cruz has the ability to sleep up to 45 guests. Available for the individual, couple, family, and group, we host over 7,000 guests per year.
By providing travelers with affordable, clean, safe and shared accommodations, the Santa Cruz Hostel promotes personal growth, self-reliance, and cultural awareness.
Our goal is to bring the world together and build global understanding through hostelling.
One hundred twenty years ago, you could walk down to the end of unpaved Main Street to a wharf and catch a ship to San Francisco. Captains built their homes overlooking the sea on Beach Hill, among them Timothy Dame.
After piloting the first steamer to dock in Santa Cruz, Dame by 1872 had been relegated to dock work, when he built his modest Carmelita Cottage (origin of the name unknown).
Prior to renovation as a hostel, the structure was single-wall construction, with interior wood siding (like in a ship’s cabin) with newspaper insulation.
If you needed to stay overnight awaiting a ship, you lodged at Thomas Johnson’s Ocean View Hotel overlooking the wharf.
Johnson built a two-story, four-room home next to Dame’s also around 1872, later adding a whole new section.
- His wife’s sister came to Santa Cruz from New York and married Captain Dame.
- Her daughter, Lottie, eventually inherited Dame’s cottage and Johnson’s house, as well as four other cottages that had been built in the rear of the property.
Pianist Lottie had married opera star Henry Thompson (a.k.a. Enrico di Tomaso), furnished her parlor as a music room and participated in local music events. Soon widowed from Henry in 1900, then later divorced after a brief second marriage, she ran the cottages as rental units until her death in 1955.
Lottie willed the property to the City of Santa Cruz in order that all people could enjoy her gardens.
It took ten years from the initial City approval in 1984 before the two front buildings were renovated and opened as a hostel.
Prior to receiving the “go-ahead”, there was a debate as to whether the property should be:
- cleared,
- used as low income housing,
- passed on to Stanford University,
- operated as a Bed and Breakfast,
- or even transformed into a museum.
After the decision was made supporting the hostel, the long process of drawing plans, finding suitable contractors and convincing neighbors of the hostels benefits and of course, securing funding began (eventually received from the California Coastal Conservancy and other donors).
Much dedication and effort was donated by volunteers to convert Captain Dame’s and Thomas Johnson’s 19th Century homes into a beautifully restored, fully functioning hostel.
