Santa Cruz Surf Camp / Base Camp Location
LOCATION & ACCOMMODATIONS
The camp is based out of the KOA Kampground in the south county of Santa Cruz near Aptos. It is a very family-oriented campground with 24-hour security. Amenities include pool, hot tub, general store, laundromat, video arcade, miniature golf, and bikes for rent. For more information about the KOA campgrounds, please visit their web site.
The surf camp set up consists of three sites adjacent to each other with a variety of tents set up in a row. In the center of the camp are hammocks and a ping pong table. In front of the sites there is a basketball hoop set up. One site has a screened in eating area with various games to play in the evening. Another site is an outdoor kitchen, which includes stoves, refrigerator, microwave and tables. The third site has a fire pit and a screened in carpeted tent set up for viewing surf videos shot of the days surfing, as well as other top surfing DVDs.
While nights are spent at the camp, days are spent primarily surfing around the beaches of Santa Cruz County. Campers surf along the beaches of the South County, Cowells Cove or Steamer Lane to the North or the Pleasure Point area in between depending on where the surf is best.
TRANSPORTATION
During the week of camp, the Surf Camp handles all of the driving of campers and transportation of the gear, food, and field trip admissions. This is great way to see the views of the beaches and cities — or take a nap after being surfed out all day!
Campers are responsible for arranging their own transportation getting to- and departing at the end of camp. If you’re flying in, we recommend using Ruben’s Airport Shuttle for round-trip transportation to-and-from the San Jose International Airport (SJC), the closest major airport to Santa Cruz. Ruben’s Airport Shuttle serves Aptos and the surrounding area.
Address: 20 Eugenia Ave, Aptos, CA 95003
Phone: (831) 325-5836
If you’re driving in or dropping off your kids to Surf Camp, the directions are below.
* Campers are responsible for their own airfares, transportation, and accommodations outside of camp.
- Take CA-1 South to San Andreas Rd exit
- Turn right towards the beaches/Seascape, and continue about 3.5 miles on San Andreas Rd
- Continue on San Andreas Rd until you see the big yellow KOA sign
- The campground entrance will be on your left
- When you get to the gate or front office/general store, just tell them you’re with the Richard Schmidt Surf Camp, and they’ll give you directions to our campsite.
Directions to the KOA campgrounds from Monterey/Watsonville:
- Take CA-1 North to Buena Vista Dr exit
- Turn left towards the beaches, and continue about 2.5 miles on Buena Vista Dr
- Turn right on San Andreas Rd, and continue for less than a mile until you see the big yellow KOA sign
- The campground entrance will be on your right
- When you get to the gate or front office/general store, just tell them you’re with the Richard Schmidt Surf Camp, and they’ll give you directions to our campsite.
Address: 1186 San Andreas Rd, Watsonville, CA 95076
Website: koa.com/campgrounds/santa-cruz/
Phone: (831) 722-0551
Email: santacruz@koa.net
Click photo to enlarge
Here is a bird’s eye view of the region. There are many surf spots that we’ll visit to give campers an idea of the variety of surf this area has to offer. We mostly try to surf in town in between Santa Cruz and Capitola, and along the South Santa Cruz County beaches. But depending on the surf conditions, traffic and the crowds, we’ll travel as far north as Waddell Creek near Swanton, and as far south as Moss Landing — wherever is the best situation for the camp. For a better in-depth look at the many locations in and around Santa Cruz, visit the Surfline.com Travel section.