Goleta Monarch Butterfly Grove in Los Angeles 2024-2025

Monarch Butterflies have a unique ability to navigate and reach precisely a place located thousands of kilometres where they have never been before

Best time: mid–November–mid-February

Unlike most other butterflies, the Monarch Butterflies struggle to survive during long, cold winters. Therefore, they migrate to the south. In California, they fly into small groves along the coast. It is also interesting that they arrive at the same place. Moving from one place to another, the Monarch Butterflies overcome a distance of 4828 km (3,000 miles). These butterflies like cypress and eucalyptus trees. Sperling Preserve on the Ellwood Mesa in Goleta is a wonderful natural space in which the Monarch Butterflies like wintering.

Typically, migration runs from mid-November to mid-February, with peak months in December and January. You can see these amazing butterflies in the middle of the day. As a rule, they settle on sheets of eucalyptus with several individuals at once, warming up in the sun. Just don't confuse these beautiful butterflies with leaves.

The Goleta Butterfly Grove is open for visiting from sunrise to sunset. The entrance to the grove is free, but you can donate money to support the Monarch Butterfly Docent Program.