Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk rides closed due to power outage

Power outage shuts down rides at Santa Cruz Boardwalk

The rides at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk were closed for the remainder of Friday due to a power outage. Power has since been restored to mini golf and arcade games. A Boardwalk spokesperson said operations will be back to normal on Saturday. 

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - The rides at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk were closed for the remainder of Friday after a power outage. 

Widespread outage 

The Boardwalk's website posted a notice that said the rides are closed. A widespread power outage had impacted the area. 

Rides started shutting down some time before 4 p.m. 

TV-station KSBW reported at its height, nearly 19,000 PG&E customers were without power. The utility told the station the outage was linked to a Santa Cruz substation. KTVU reached out to the utility for more information. 

A Boardwalk spokesperson told KTVU that since the power went out close to their scheduled closing time, they decided to close the rides and outdoor attractions. 

Power has since been restored and indoor arcade games and miniature golf are open. 

A photographer posted a video on social media from the X account: @NativeSantaCruz just before 4 p.m. He said people were being evacuated from rides. His video shows some people still on the rides, but none were in operation. 

This interruption happened on the same day a section of the 100-year-old wharf is hosting its soft opening after a two-year closure for reconstruction. The wharf's south end had collapsed during winter storms in 2024. 

What's next:

The Boardwalk spokesperson said operations should be back to normal on Saturday.