Biohazard Cleanup Near North Soquel Soquel, CA

Soquel is an unincorporated town and census-designated place in Santa Cruz County, sitting on the northern shore of Monterey Bay just east of Santa Cruz and Capitola.

The name Soquel comes from the Ohlone word Sokel for the creek that flows through town — rendered by the Spanish as Osocalis — and first appeared in writing in 1833 as the name of a Mexican land grant.

The Spanish Portolà expedition camped beside a creek here in October 1769 during the first European land exploration of Alta California, a spot translator Herbert Bolton believed was Soquel Creek.

In 1833, Governor José Figueroa granted Rancho Soquel to Martina Castro, a daughter of one of Santa Cruz's founding Californio families.

The 2020 census counted 9,980 people in Soquel, living in 3,943 households averaging 2.49 people each.

Soquel is a settled, older community — its median age was 46.8 years at the 2020 census, about 71% of its homes are owner-occupied, and its median household income was about $114,991 in 2023.

Soquel is notorious in Santa Cruz County for flooding: the lowlands along Soquel Creek have gone under water many times, most recently in a major flood in January 1982 that nearly repeated in 1986.

In 1965, Soquel hosted the very first "Acid Test" party, a landmark event of the 1960s counterculture associated with Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters.

Anna Jean Cummings Park is the largest park in Soquel, offering soccer, baseball and softball fields, playgrounds and a wide open coastal prairie terrace, all run by the Santa Cruz County Parks Department.

Downtown's newer Heart of Soquel Park lines Soquel Creek with wooden walkways, bocce ball courts and outdoor event space.