Rio del Mar, California

Aptos Creek is a southward flowing 9.5 miles (15.3 km) creek that begins on Santa Rosalia Mountain on the southwestern slope of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Cruz County, California and enters Monterey Bay, at Seacliff State Beach in Aptos, California.

Rancho Aptos was a 6,686-acre (27.06 km2) Mexican land grant in present day Santa Cruz County, California given in 1833 by Governor José Figueroa to Rafael Castro. The grant on the Monterey Bay was immediately downcoast of his sister, Martina Castro's Rancho Soquel, and upcoast of his father, José Joaquín Castro's Rancho San Andrés. Rancho Aptos stretched from the area just to the west of Aptos Creek to parts of Nisene Marks and Day Valley in the north, and Rio del Mar to the east, including present day Aptos.

Aptos (Ohlone for "The People") is an unincorporated town in Santa Cruz County, California. The town is made up of several small villages, which together form Aptos: Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, Aptos Village, Cabrillo, Seacliff, Rio del Mar, and Seascape. Together, they have a combined population of 24,402.

SS Palo Alto was a concrete ship built as a tanker at the end of World War I. Completed too late to see war service, she was mothballed until 1929, when she was intentionally grounded off Seacliff State Beach in the Monterey Bay, becoming part of a pleasure pier entertainment complex. Palo Alto was damaged by the sea, leading her to be stripped and used only as a fishing pier. Subsequent decades have seen her be further broken by the sea, but large sections of her wreck remain somewhat intact.

Seacliff State Beach is a state beach park on Monterey Bay, in the town of Aptos, Santa Cruz County, California. It is located off Highway 1 on State Park Drive, about 5 miles (8 km) south of Santa Cruz. The beach is most known for the concrete ship SS Palo Alto lying in the water. North of Seacliff State Beach is New Brighton State Beach.

Aptos High School is a comprehensive secondary school in Aptos, California, USA in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District. Aptos High serves the communities of Rio Del Mar, Corralitos, Seacliff, Seascape, La Selva Beach, Buena Vista and Watsonville. Historically, Aptos has been one of the largest high schools in Santa Cruz County, but recently Watsonville High School and Pajaro Valley High School have surpassed its enrollment. In addition to standard curriculum, Aptos High School offers video production, computer technology, and various other courses. Some of the music classes, such as guitar, were dropped due to cuts in the California school budget. Recently, however, music classes such as band and drumline have been reintroduced. As of 2008 Aptos High School has a new Performing Arts Center, where school plays are performed. There are also two gymnasiums, used for multiple sports, such as basketball and volleyball, and baseball. The campus included a popular disc golf course for many years, but it was shut down during the 2020 pandemic. In 2010, the Mariners hired Coach Randy Blankenship from Madera to be their new head football coach. Since then, the Mariners football team has been to the playoffs every year. They have won five consecutive league championship and three consecutive section championships. The Girls Cross Country team has won sixteen Central Coast Section titles and two CIF State Championships. The Girls Volleyball team has qualified for the section playoffs for the past 26 years in a row. The Girls Track & Field team owns the second longest dual-meet win streak in California history. Between 1996 and 2005, they won 118 consecutive dual meets.

Seacliff is an unincorporated community in Santa Cruz County, California, United States that includes Seacliff State Beach. It is identified as one of several small communities with a combined population of 24,402 forming the unincorporated town of Aptos by the local Chamber of Commerce along with: Aptos Village Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, a rural area north of State Route 1 Cabrillo Rio Del Mar, south of State Route 1, from Aptos Creek southeast to Seascape Seascape, south of State Route 1, centered on Seascape Beach ResortFor statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined Seacliff as a census-designated place (CDP). The census definition of the area may not precisely correspond to local understanding of the area with the same name. The 2010 United States census reported Seacliff's population was 3,267.

The Los Gatos Creek runs 24 miles (39 km) in California through Santa Clara Valley Water District's Guadalupe Watershed from the Santa Cruz Mountains northward through the Santa Clara Valley until its confluence with the Guadalupe River in downtown San Jose. The Guadalupe River then continues onward into San Francisco Bay. The creek begins in the Santa Cruz mountains near the Santa Clara/Santa Cruz County border, just south of the peak Loma Prieta. It then flows northwesterly to Lake Elsman, a reservoir owned by the San Jose Water Company, then on to Holy City and Chemeketa Park, then northward into the Lexington Reservoir. The creek then flows through the Los Gatos Canyon and through the town of Los Gatos and Vasona Reservoir, then northeasterly through Campbell and San Jose where it meets the Guadalupe River.

Valencia Hall, in Santa Cruz County, California near Aptos, California, was built around 1884 by F.A. Hihn. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.It is a 30 by 40 feet (9.1 m × 12.2 m) structure built entirely of redwood. It was built on Valencia Creek as a meeting place and community center for a community planned to serve millhands and their families.

Cabrillo College is a public community college in Aptos, California. It is named after the conquistador Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo and opened in 1959. Cabrillo College has an enrollment of about 9,700 students per term.

New Brighton State Beach is a 95 acres (38 ha) beach park on Monterey Bay in Santa Cruz County, California, consisting of a beach and campgrounds. The park is located east of Santa Cruz in Capitola, on Park Avenue off of Highway 1. The park is adjacent to Seacliff State Beach, which is known for its fishing pier and sunk concrete freighter, The Palo Alto. The beach overlooks Soquel Cove and Monterey Bay.

Manresa State Beach is a state-protected beach on Monterey Bay near Watsonville in Santa Cruz County, California. Manresa State Beach has two different State owned and operated facilities associated with it: Manresa Main State Beach, and Manresa Uplands State Beach and Campground. It is operated by the California Department of Parks and Recreation. The 138-acre (56 ha) site was established as a California State Beach in 1948.Manresa Main State Beach hosts the junior lifeguard program which teaching lifesaving, fitness and water safety to children.