coronado butterfly preserve

We missed the 1000's of butterflies by 2 days... but the hundreds that remained made it exciting just the same! The walk is about 3.5 miles round trip depending where you entered the wilderness area from... Be sure to walk beyond the butterfly nesting area, to the ocean cliffs! Which is why it's a great walk at anytime!

Those who were here in the 1980's remember the trees covered with life. Now a remnant returns but may not persist. Before the eucalyptus trees were introduced they were not here and now milkweed is disappearing. Still not to be missed.

The walk through the park satisfies visual sensation auditory senses and it's not pretty darn good too!

From November thru January each year, monarch butterflies do a layover on their migration in this highly accessible area outside of Santa Barbara. We were very early in the season and still saw hundreds of them, clustering together in groups of 20 or 30 on a single branch as well as flying about. It was really wonderful!

We love this place. You can walk back to the cliffs or down to the beach. Lots to do even when the Monarchs are not in season. Good trails and good parking. This part of the coast is a great place to walk.

The Monarchs are here in January/February. We came here on January 2 and the butterflies were just starting to congregate. We almost missed the clusters in the trees -- look up (high)! The view of the Pacific is spectacular and you can walk along the cliff on a path for a long ways. We got directions to the Preserve at the S.B. Visitors' Office. You can spend an hour here or much longer if there are butterfly programs/speakers or if you want to hike on the ocean cliff path. There are paths down to the beach area; be prepared for a steep hike back up, though. Parking was along the neighborhood street. We arrived in the morning and there were only a couple cars. During popular periods and times of day, you might have to walk a ways to the Preserve path. If you love nature, this is a great (and free) visit.

Free to park. Free to enter. Off to a good start! A short, easy walk takes you through groves of trees, open meadows and along a steep cliff over the ocean. You can take your time and walk one or more of the many trails, or you can just do a quick walk over to the beautiful ocean view. It's perfect! My only suggestion to make this place better is to have maps available because the trails aren't labeled super well, although there are signs with butterflies on them to tell you how to find the monarchs. I also wish it was larger and didn't have all those houses right there. I am definitely going back sometime during the butterfly season so I can see them! We actually did see one butterfly flit by when we were there!

Even though the butterflies are seasonal, the area itself is always beautiful. You can walks through the trees or walk along the coast. There are a variety of trails to take and explore. During the butterfly season- November to February- the butterflies are in the heart of the trees, and sometimes a volunteer will be there informing the visitors on the butterflies migration patterns and such. At first it is hard to see them, they look like leaves, but the more you focus in, the more you see. Its quite the site to experience!

We went to the Butterfly Preserve when it was off season. We saw a few of the Monarch Butterflies but we were enjoying the nice walk so much we didn't mind. We even walked out of the grove to see the ocean. Beautiful easy hike.

Coronado Butterfly PreserveThis was my second visit here. I brought a group of friends, so it was a nice walk. There were probably the same amount of clusters of butterflies as there were the last time I was here a few years ago. You can experience the environment the butterflies prefer...it's a lovely walk...hike into the grove. It's not awe inspiring with thousands of butterflies...but when the sunlight hits the clusters they begin to flap their orange wings and more and more fly around freely so it is a magical thing. Nature at its best. Go to experience it. I will probably plan a different location to visit next year. This was my first time parking in the lot off Hollister Ave. lots of spaces, well marked trails. Last time I parked off Coronado Dr. There is a porta-potty at Hollister Ave location

This was a smaller grove than at Pacific Grove but worth the time and the setting is nice. I expected some ocean views, but there are none unless you walk farther outside the grove. We were here in December, one of the principal times, but there were only a few butterflies. Still interesting and an easy walk.

We were visiting Santa Barbara and read about this preserve. A few articles said that the monarchs begin arriving in October so we decided to take the drive to check it out.It was a beautifully sunny AM and the parking lot was almost empty when we arrived. We met a gentleman leaving and I asked if he had seen any butterflies and he replied "none....if they were here, they'd be all over the parking lot" . I knew we were early, and not to be deterred, we decided to take the hike anyways.If you are hoping to see a multitude of monarchs, plan your trip for November or later. However since we were visiting for only a week in October, we didnt have that option. In the eucalyptus grove before the actual preserve, we saw a few butterflies fluttering high above us...easy to see against the beautiful blue California skies. As we entered the marked area, we saw maybe 5-10 monarchs at a time in several areas and could only imagine what this must be like during peak season. It must be amazing!If I ever had the opportunity to return I'd definitely plan it for after November to really enjoy this experience!

This experience is not to be missed especially if traveling with children. Learn about the monarchs before you go so you can really understand the magic happening all around!

From late November through February or March the grove is alive with thousands of monarch butterflies. They gather in large clusters on the branches of the eucalyptus trees and flutter overhead in the sunshine. The key here is "sunshine." On overcast days, most are clustered rather than fluttering. It is an easy hike from the Coronado Dr. entrance and docents are usually there on weekends to enrich your experience. It is an awesome display of nature and not to be missed.

This is a nice hike, I have gone twice this month. It is not the season for butterflies, so I only saw 2. There was no water in the preserve, like the pictures show, it is very dry this month. Still, it is a beautiful hike. If you continue beyond the butterfly area and hike across the meadow you get to the ocean. What a beautiful view! You can either stand on the cliff and watch the ocean, or follow a trail down to an almost empty beach.Both the hike and the ocean experience make this worth going. There is also a free parking lot with a porta potty. No other facilities are available.