Soquel
The small, friendly town of Soquel is situated about one mile
inland from the Monterey Bay's beach resort town of Capitola.
Tucked away in a peaceful valley surrounded by redwoods, Soquel
offers the best of both worlds and serves it up with small town
charm in a lovely, historic setting.
Location & Flavor
Soquel is a family friendly town with around 33 percent of the
households in Soquel having children in them. While the small
town shares many amenities with Capitola, Soquel does have its
own schools, and it is just a few miles away from the University
of California at Santa Cruz.
The streets of this 150 year old town are dotted with historic
bed and breakfast inns, shaded by huge, old oak trees, and appointed
with historic buildings like the white, high-steepled church
built over a century ago, the congregational "Little White
Church in the Vale."
A Quonset hut houses several boutiques, galleries and collectible
shops to keep shoppers happy and around 20 gourmet restaurants
featuring everything from Asian to Mexican cuisine, to keep everyone's
taste buds happy. Restaurants with names like Tortilla
Flats remind us this is John Steinbeck country and add to the
charms of Soquel.
Beyond the village, two-lane mountain roads lead up to Soquel's
country homes with their horse pastures and family vineyards.
Activities & Attractions
One of Soquel's main attractions, besides its lovely setting,
is the abundance of antique and collectable shops found here – more
than a dozen at last count.
Notable vineyards found here include Soquel Vineyards, Hunter
Hill, and Bargetto's where the wine tasting room is a tradition
for locals and visitors alike.
Soquel residents can also enjoy the beach activities of sunny
Capitola on Monterey Bay, just one mile down the road. The cities
are linked in many ways, including by a joint Chamber of Commerce,
and many of Soquel residents contribute to Capitola's annual
Wine & Art Festival.
Monterey Bay with its National Marine Sanctuary provides many
opportunities to view marine mammals, including sea otters, harbor
seals, and bottlenose dolphins, as well as sea turtles. Both
Gray and Humpback Whales pass by here when migrating in the summer
and winter. Soquel residents also can make easy day trips to
the surfing Mecca of Santa Cruz and its Beach Boardwalk (California's
oldest amusement park and a State Historic Landmark).
For those who want even more culture and entertainment, San
Francisco is less than a two-hour drive away.
Historical Tidbits
Besides the many historical buildings, the sense of history
in Soquel is made stronger by a community where many of its 8,000
residents are descendents of the original settlers who came during
the Gold Rush. In its early days Soquel had nearly a dozen saloons.
Four sawmills and a sugar factory were also a big part of the
community's economy. Today, a large collection of restaurants
replaces saloons and the antique industry has replaced the lumber
and sugar industries. Soquel remains though steeped in history
with its many historic buildings reminding this tight-knit community
of its ancestors.
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