Guides

From neighborhoods to parenting, Lookout’s guides help you feel more connected to Santa Cruz County. Don’t see a guide for something you’ve been wanting to explore? Send us a note at news@lookoutlocal.com.

Food & Entertainment

Area Guides

Outdoor Activities

Civic & Safety

Guides

Feeding the hungry

By Jessica Pasko

Quick Take

We recently told you how folks in need can get food amid the pandemic. Now, we’re telling you how you can pitch in to...

Guides

Feeding the hungry

Quick Take

We recently told you how folks in need can get food amid the pandemic. Now, we’re telling you how you can pitch in to...

Read the full Story
Wildfires

Wildfire Resource Center

By Cypress Hansen

Quick Take

Lookout Santa Cruz’s Wildfire Resource Center is a one-stop guide to everything you need to keep your family and...

Wildfires

Wildfire Resource Center

Quick Take

Lookout Santa Cruz’s Wildfire Resource Center is a one-stop guide to everything you need to keep your family and...

Read the full Story
Civic Life

Library construction

By Grace Stetson

Quick Take

Four redone Santa Cruz County library branches have reopened and four more will throw open their doors by the end of the...

Civic Life

Library construction

Quick Take

Four redone Santa Cruz County library branches have reopened and four more will throw open their doors by the end of the...

Read the full Story

Kids & Parenting

Coast Life

Group classes

By Liza Monroy

Quick Take

Who is ready to let the kids out and into summer classes? Parenting columnist Liza Monroy has tracked down the best of...

Coast Life

Group classes

Quick Take

Who is ready to let the kids out and into summer classes? Parenting columnist Liza Monroy has tracked down the best of...

Read the full Story
Coast Life

Self care and date nights for parents

By Liza Monroy

Quick Take

More than ever, COVID-beleaguered parents need “Waves of Self Care: It Takes a Village,” the new book by Capitola’s...

Coast Life

Self care and date nights for parents

Quick Take

More than ever, COVID-beleaguered parents need “Waves of Self Care: It Takes a Village,” the new book by Capitola’s...

Read the full Story

Students

Guides

Breakfast at the Westside farmers market to vino with a view to dinner al fresco in Boulder Creek and Soquel, summertime...

Breakfast at the Westside farmers market to vino with a view to dinner al fresco in Boulder Creek and Soquel, summertime...

Forty food trucks and pop-ups now dot the Santa Cruz County landscape. Call it global food tourism — within 30 minutes....

Forty food trucks and pop-ups now dot the Santa Cruz County landscape. Call it global food tourism — within 30 minutes....

Here are a dozen places to celebrate the summer with a cold buzz (beware of the brain freeze!) — and leave 7-Eleven...

Here are a dozen places to celebrate the summer with a cold buzz (beware of the brain freeze!) — and leave 7-Eleven...

From breakfast through after-dinner dessert and just about every other eating and drinking opportunity in between, Santa...

From breakfast through after-dinner dessert and just about every other eating and drinking opportunity in between, Santa...

The state of California mandated home composting on Jan. 1, but some Santa Cruz County residents have been scratching...

The state of California mandated home composting on Jan. 1, but some Santa Cruz County residents have been scratching...

Inspired by the Open Studios Art Tour, which kicks off this weekend, the Open Farm Tours show kids — and adults — where...

Inspired by the Open Studios Art Tour, which kicks off this weekend, the Open Farm Tours show kids — and adults — where...

With the Open Studios Art Tour set for the weekends of Oct. 1-2, Oct. 8-9 and Oct. 15-16, here’s your guide for getting...

With the Open Studios Art Tour set for the weekends of Oct. 1-2, Oct. 8-9 and Oct. 15-16, here’s your guide for getting...

With a two-year pause leading to high demand, local chefs, farms and winemakers are putting on their best al fresco show...

With a two-year pause leading to high demand, local chefs, farms and winemakers are putting on their best al fresco show...

Summer returns, and we’ve got a preview of the don’t-miss events. But there are questions, as the landscape is changing....

Summer returns, and we’ve got a preview of the don’t-miss events. But there are questions, as the landscape is changing....

Breakfast at the Westside farmers market to vino with a view to dinner al fresco in Boulder Creek and Soquel, summertime...

Breakfast at the Westside farmers market to vino with a view to dinner al fresco in Boulder Creek and Soquel, summertime...

Forty food trucks and pop-ups now dot the Santa Cruz County landscape. Call it global food tourism — within 30 minutes....

Forty food trucks and pop-ups now dot the Santa Cruz County landscape. Call it global food tourism — within 30 minutes....

Here are a dozen places to celebrate the summer with a cold buzz (beware of the brain freeze!) — and leave 7-Eleven...

Here are a dozen places to celebrate the summer with a cold buzz (beware of the brain freeze!) — and leave 7-Eleven...

From breakfast through after-dinner dessert and just about every other eating and drinking opportunity in between, Santa...

From breakfast through after-dinner dessert and just about every other eating and drinking opportunity in between, Santa...

The state of California mandated home composting on Jan. 1, but some Santa Cruz County residents have been scratching...

The state of California mandated home composting on Jan. 1, but some Santa Cruz County residents have been scratching...

Inspired by the Open Studios Art Tour, which kicks off this weekend, the Open Farm Tours show kids — and adults — where...

Inspired by the Open Studios Art Tour, which kicks off this weekend, the Open Farm Tours show kids — and adults — where...

With the Open Studios Art Tour set for the weekends of Oct. 1-2, Oct. 8-9 and Oct. 15-16, here’s your guide for getting...

With the Open Studios Art Tour set for the weekends of Oct. 1-2, Oct. 8-9 and Oct. 15-16, here’s your guide for getting...

With a two-year pause leading to high demand, local chefs, farms and winemakers are putting on their best al fresco show...

With a two-year pause leading to high demand, local chefs, farms and winemakers are putting on their best al fresco show...

Summer returns, and we’ve got a preview of the don’t-miss events. But there are questions, as the landscape is changing....

Summer returns, and we’ve got a preview of the don’t-miss events. But there are questions, as the landscape is changing....

Pleasure Point’s beat-up beach cottages are being torn down to erect multistory, multimillion-dollar homes. For lifelong...

Pleasure Point’s beat-up beach cottages are being torn down to erect multistory, multimillion-dollar homes. For lifelong...

Lookout’s Area Guides are an in-depth look at some of the cities and communities that make Santa Cruz County the unique...

Lookout’s Area Guides are an in-depth look at some of the cities and communities that make Santa Cruz County the unique...

It’s the San Lorenzo River geographically, but it’s as much a well-developed state of mind. Liza Monroy picks that...

It’s the San Lorenzo River geographically, but it’s as much a well-developed state of mind. Liza Monroy picks that...

Our Area Guide feature continues with Laura Albrecht digging into what makes the community of Scotts Valley a desirable...

Our Area Guide feature continues with Laura Albrecht digging into what makes the community of Scotts Valley a desirable...

Pleasure Point’s beat-up beach cottages are being torn down to erect multistory, multimillion-dollar homes. For lifelong...

Pleasure Point’s beat-up beach cottages are being torn down to erect multistory, multimillion-dollar homes. For lifelong...

Lookout’s Area Guides are an in-depth look at some of the cities and communities that make Santa Cruz County the unique...

Lookout’s Area Guides are an in-depth look at some of the cities and communities that make Santa Cruz County the unique...

It’s the San Lorenzo River geographically, but it’s as much a well-developed state of mind. Liza Monroy picks that...

It’s the San Lorenzo River geographically, but it’s as much a well-developed state of mind. Liza Monroy picks that...

Our Area Guide feature continues with Laura Albrecht digging into what makes the community of Scotts Valley a desirable...

Our Area Guide feature continues with Laura Albrecht digging into what makes the community of Scotts Valley a desirable...

Everyone seems to be talking about this little brother of tennis, cousin of pingpong and distant relative of badminton,...

Everyone seems to be talking about this little brother of tennis, cousin of pingpong and distant relative of badminton,...

Whether in a kayak or on a stand-up paddleboard, the waters just off Santa Cruz County are swimming with possibilities....

Whether in a kayak or on a stand-up paddleboard, the waters just off Santa Cruz County are swimming with possibilities....

The world has been a bit upside down, from COVID-19 to economic and wildfire recovery. Here’s our Lookout Guide to...

The world has been a bit upside down, from COVID-19 to economic and wildfire recovery. Here’s our Lookout Guide to...

With the concurrent arrival of fall and the season’s first northwest swell, which brought large waves to Santa Cruz’s...

With the concurrent arrival of fall and the season’s first northwest swell, which brought large waves to Santa Cruz’s...

If it still feels too soon to take a vacation-vacation, or you just didn’t get around to planning one, rejoice in all...

If it still feels too soon to take a vacation-vacation, or you just didn’t get around to planning one, rejoice in all...

Lawns are so 20th century, and they’re disappearing from the local landscape. But what to plant as water supply gets...

Lawns are so 20th century, and they’re disappearing from the local landscape. But what to plant as water supply gets...

Everyone seems to be talking about this little brother of tennis, cousin of pingpong and distant relative of badminton,...

Everyone seems to be talking about this little brother of tennis, cousin of pingpong and distant relative of badminton,...

Whether in a kayak or on a stand-up paddleboard, the waters just off Santa Cruz County are swimming with possibilities....

Whether in a kayak or on a stand-up paddleboard, the waters just off Santa Cruz County are swimming with possibilities....

The world has been a bit upside down, from COVID-19 to economic and wildfire recovery. Here’s our Lookout Guide to...

The world has been a bit upside down, from COVID-19 to economic and wildfire recovery. Here’s our Lookout Guide to...

With the concurrent arrival of fall and the season’s first northwest swell, which brought large waves to Santa Cruz’s...

With the concurrent arrival of fall and the season’s first northwest swell, which brought large waves to Santa Cruz’s...

If it still feels too soon to take a vacation-vacation, or you just didn’t get around to planning one, rejoice in all...

If it still feels too soon to take a vacation-vacation, or you just didn’t get around to planning one, rejoice in all...

Lawns are so 20th century, and they’re disappearing from the local landscape. But what to plant as water supply gets...

Lawns are so 20th century, and they’re disappearing from the local landscape. But what to plant as water supply gets...

We recently told you how folks in need can get food amid the pandemic. Now, we’re telling you how you can pitch in to...

We recently told you how folks in need can get food amid the pandemic. Now, we’re telling you how you can pitch in to...

Lookout Santa Cruz’s Wildfire Resource Center is a one-stop guide to everything you need to keep your family and...