Getting Around Without a Car: Transit Options From Boulder Creek

The short version

• The everyday ride: Santa Cruz METRO's Route 35 runs seven days a week down Highway 9 to downtown Santa Cruz. A local ride is $2 cash.
• The weekday express: Route 35X leaves Santa Cruz every 30 minutes from 6:30am to 5:30pm and carries most of the daytime service to town.
• Students ride free: K-12 students and college students with a valid ID pay nothing.
• Over the hill: Take Route 35 to downtown Santa Cruz, then transfer to the Highway 17 Express for San Jose and Diridon Station.
• Can't use a regular bus? METRO ParaCruz and Lift Line both run door-to-door rides.
• One habit: Schedules change with each service update, so check the linked timetables for exact times at your stop.

You don't need a car to get out of Boulder Creek. You can ride a bus to Santa Cruz seven days a week, catch a weekday express to the coast, or connect over the hill to San Jose with a single transfer. The catch is the evening timetable and the weather, so it pays to know how the pieces fit before you leave the driveway. Here's the map.

Route 35 is the backbone

Route 35, the Highway 9/Scotts Valley line, is how Boulder Creek connects to the rest of the county without a car. It runs between the RiverFront transit stops on Front Street in downtown Santa Cruz and the Country Club end of Big Basin Way, passing through Ben Lomond, Felton and Scotts Valley on the way.

In and around town, the schedule's timepoints include Highway 9 at Middleton Avenue in the middle of downtown, Pool Drive at Highway 9 by the Mountain Store, and Big Basin Way out toward the Country Club neighborhood. Heading toward Santa Cruz, buses stop at Highway 9 and Main in Ben Lomond, then at Highlands Park or Glen Arbor Road at Quail Hollow depending on the trip, then San Lorenzo Valley High School before reaching the Cavallaro Transit Center in Scotts Valley.

The pattern differs by day. On weekends there's no express, and Route 35 covers the valley on its own about every 30 minutes, leaving downtown Santa Cruz from 7:30am to 10:30pm, with the last inbound bus pulling out of Country Club at 10:47pm. On weekdays Route 35 handles the early morning and the evening while the 35X express covers the middle of the day, and the last Route 35 trip leaves Santa Cruz at 11:00pm. Pull up the Route 35 timetable for the exact times at your stop, because first and last trips differ by direction and day of week.

If you're new in town and still setting up the rest of your life here, our new resident quick-start guide covers the non-bus logistics.

Route 35X, the weekday workhorse

On weekdays only, METRO runs Route 35X, the Santa Cruz/Boulder Creek Express, and it carries most of the daytime service to town. Buses leave the RiverFront stops in Santa Cruz every 30 minutes from 6:30am to 5:30pm, 23 trips in all, with 21 trips running the other way and the last of those leaving the Mountain Store at 5:33pm. The express skips Scotts Valley Drive at Granite Creek, which trims seven to ten minutes off the Route 35 running time.

In town the trips alternate, one out to the Mountain Store and the next out to Country Club, so downtown Boulder Creek gets a bus about every 30 minutes while each of those two ends sees one about every hour.

If you go to Santa Cruz on any kind of regular clock, the 35X is the one to learn. Check the Route 35X schedule for the exact departures at your stop, since express trips are the first thing to shift when METRO adjusts service.

What it costs

Fares are the easy part, and they're posted on METRO's Fares & Passes page. A single local ride is $2.00 cash for adults, or $1.00 for riders 65 and older and riders with disabilities. A day pass runs $6, and a 31-day pass is $65, with discount versions at $3 and $32. If you pay by tapping a contactless card or phone, Tap2Cruz caps an adult at $5 of local fares in a day, or $2.50 at the discount rate, which beats the $6 day pass.

The best deal in the system goes to students. K-12 riders travel free through the Youth Cruz Free program, which makes Route 35 a real option for SLV High and middle school students heading up and down the valley. College students with a valid student ID also ride free, and so do riders who are legally blind.

Getting to San Jose and over the hill

There's no direct bus from Boulder Creek over Highway 17, but the connection is straightforward. Ride Route 35 to its downtown Santa Cruz end at the RiverFront stops on Front Street. The Highway 17 Express boards a short walk away in the same RiverFront area, at Front Street near Trader Joe's, and runs weekdays and weekends to Diridon Station in San Jose, where Caltrain, Amtrak, and light rail all connect.

The Highway 17 Express uses its own fare: $7.00 for a single ride, $3.50 discount, or a $14 day pass. A 31-day Highway 17 pass is $145. If you're commuting to the South Bay a few days a week, do the math on passes before you settle into paying cash each way.

Weekend bus to Big Basin

On weekends, Route 35B runs from the Cavallaro Transit Center in Scotts Valley up Highway 9 and out to Big Basin Redwoods State Park, with five trips in each direction. It picks up in Boulder Creek on the way, in the middle of downtown and again out at Country Club, so you don't have to start from Scotts Valley. The Big Basin leg is seasonal and doesn't run in winter, so check the route page before you build a day around it. If you're headed that way, our Big Basin day trip guide covers what to expect once you're there, including the park's parking-reservation advice, which makes the bus a smarter play than it might sound.

Door-to-door rides: ParaCruz and Lift Line

Two services cover trips a fixed-route bus can't.

METRO ParaCruz is METRO's ADA paratransit: accessible, shared door-to-door rides for people who can't use regular buses because of a disability. It serves destinations within three-quarters of a mile of an operating bus route, which in our corner of the county means the Highway 9 corridor. You apply through ADAride, online at adaride.com or by phone at 877-232-7433, and a decision comes within 21 days. Once you're eligible, rides are booked one to three days ahead at 831-425-4664, and the base fare is $4 per trip.

Lift Line is run by Community Bridges, a local nonprofit, and provides door-to-door rides for seniors 60 and older and people with disabilities across Santa Cruz County, with a focus on medical trips, meal-site rides, and essential errands. Some of its programs carry income qualifications, and rides need to be scheduled in advance. Start with the application on its site or call 831-688-9663 on a weekday to sort out which program fits.

If a ride is about a medical appointment, ask both services what applies to you. The eligibility rules differ, and plenty of valley residents qualify for one and not the other.

School buses for SLVUSD students

San Lorenzo Valley Unified runs its own home-to-school buses, separate from METRO, and posts route sheets by bus name on its Transportation Department bus information page. Ridership is fee-based: as posted for the current cycle, an annual pass is $220 round trip or $116 one way, a semester pass is $116 or $58, and ticket books run $20 for 20 tickets. Students with qualifying IEPs are exempt from fees, and there's a hardship application for families receiving county assistance. The transportation office in Ben Lomond answers questions at 831-336-2223. Confirm prices and routes with the district before the school year starts, since both get updated over the summer.

Remember the free alternative for older kids: K-12 students ride METRO at no cost, and Route 35 stops at SLV High.

A few caveats to plan around

The bus works well here, with two limits to weigh before you give up a car entirely.

• Early and late: midday buses come about every 30 minutes, but once the last 35X has run the gaps stretch toward an hour, and the final bus toward Santa Cruz leaves Boulder Creek at 11:14pm on weekdays.
• Storm season: when Highway 9 closes for trees or slides, buses reroute or hold just like everyone else. Sign up for alerts through CruzAware and check METRO's rider alerts on the route pages before heading out in bad weather.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a bus from Boulder Creek to Santa Cruz?

Yes. METRO Route 35 runs seven days a week along Highway 9 from Boulder Creek through Ben Lomond, Felton and Scotts Valley to downtown Santa Cruz, and on weekdays the Route 35X express covers the same trip every 30 minutes from 6:30am to 5:30pm.

How much does the bus cost from Boulder Creek?

A local single ride is $2.00 cash, with a $1.00 fare for riders 65 and older and riders with disabilities. Day passes are $6 and 31-day passes are $65. K-12 students, college students with ID, and riders who are legally blind ride free.

Can I get from Boulder Creek to San Jose by bus?

Yes, with one transfer. Take Route 35 to the RiverFront stops in downtown Santa Cruz, then board the Highway 17 Express to Diridon Station in San Jose. The express runs weekdays and weekends and costs $7.00 for a single ride.

What if I can't ride a regular bus?

Two door-to-door options serve Boulder Creek. METRO ParaCruz covers riders whose disability prevents using fixed-route buses, with an application through ADAride and $4 base fares. Lift Line, run by Community Bridges, serves seniors 60 and older and people with disabilities, with some income-qualified programs.

Do school kids ride METRO free?

Yes. The Youth Cruz Free program lets K-12 students ride any METRO route at no cost, no pass purchase required. SLVUSD's own yellow-bus service is separate and fee-based, with passes sold through the district's transportation office.

Planning to lean on the bus for a while? Save the Route 35 timetable to your phone, then browse the Residents guide for the rest of the valley's utilities, services, and county contacts in one place. And if a shorter commute would settle the question altogether, our valley job board lists what is hiring close to home.