SeeCalifornia.com

September is the last month to ride the fabulous beach train from the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park in Felton to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. When September ends, the “beach train” doesn’t run again till next summer. Bummer!

One year when I visited Santa Cruz, I thought I was dreaming as I strolled Santa Cruz Wharf and saw a train pull up with open train cars and beachy looking people hopping off the train right at the Beach Boardwalk! I was intrigued and had to go back to Santa Cruz a few summers to check it out. The train is operated by Roaring Camp Railroads (roaringcamp.com), which offers year-round rides on an historic steam engine train that takes a trip in the redwoods up to Bear Mt. I tried that train ride and loved it, but my favorite remains the beach train, as I love the beaches best. You should try the ride some time, too.  It’s really fun. If you plan your trip just right, you can either take in a free summer concert at the Boardwalk or catch the Labor Day weekend Begonia Festival in Capitola. Other summer rides coming to an end on September 30 include the Aqualink catamaran ride in Long Beach.  Other trains that let you off at the beach any time include Amtrak routes that stop in Santa Barbara, Surf Beach near Lompoc, Ventura,  San Clemente and Oceanside.