Santa Cruz County Fair: September 16 – 20, 2026
Ride METRO for FREE to the Santa Cruz County Fair
Riders who take METRO to the Fair will also receive a discount on fair tickets.
Just request a voucher from the operator upon your arrival to the fairgrounds.
Santa Cruz METRO announces free fares on both fixed-route and ParaCruz services to the Santa Cruz County Fair September 16-20th at the Watsonville Fairgrounds.
To provide additional service to Santa Cruz County Fair attendees, METRO has created a special route, Route 79F, that will provide FREE daily service to the Watsonville Fairgrounds. Additionally, METRO will offer FREE service on the Route 79 weekend service and daily ParaCruz service to the fairgrounds in Watsonville. Fixed-Route customers can utilize Route 79F to get to the Fairgrounds daily, but the Route 79 will only provide service to the fairgrounds on September 19-20th.
Service will depart from the Westridge Dr. (Government Center) :35 past the hour from 10:35am – 9:35pm on weekdays and 8:35am – 9:35pm on weekends. The bus will travel to Watsonville Transit Center before continuing to the Fairgrounds, serving all scheduled stops along the route. Return trips from the County Fair (Fairgrounds) will depart on the hour from 11am – 10pm on weekdays and 9am – 10pm on weekends.
Once METRO riders arrive at the fair, please request a discount voucher from the operator that can be presented at the fair ticket window for discounted fair tickets. Adults receive $7 discount and youth (6-12 years of age) receive $6 discount. For details visit the County Fair Tickets Page.
Fair Service Hours: (see detailed schedule below)
- Wednesday-Friday: 10:35am-9:35pm
- Saturday-Sunday: 8:35am-9:35pm
Applies to fixed-route and ParaCruz trips.
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY FAIR SERVICE SCHEDULE 2026
