We had an excellent time walking the path at the Monarch Butterfly Grove. Unfortunately, there were not any Monarch Butterfly 🦋 at the Grove when we went because it is not migration season. The eucalyptus trees we're looking beautiful though and getting ready for the monarchs to come in October. We took the side path to the beach, Pismo Beach to be exact. It was a nice secluded path not many people on it it had a little back access to the beach that was very secluded and nice to be able to have a little slice of the beach all by ourselves. My service dog Lucy the beautiful Johnson type American Bulldog 🐕 had a wonderful time running and playing in the sand. It was the first time she had ever been to the beach and she absolutely loved it. Temperature was excellent beautiful sunny skies mid-70's temperature 👍💕🐕🦋🐶

The Monarch Butterfly Grove is a short, flat dirt loop, lined by a wooden fence and surrounded by tall trees. Monarchs flock here every year between October and February to breed. On cold mornings and cloudy days, butterflies roost in the branches of the trees and take flight once in the sunlight. The butterflies are difficult to capture with a phone camera, so bring your best zoom lenses! You may also see researchers doing field work, which is exciting. There are two benches within the loop, but most people lean against the fence while watching the butterflies. At the entrance to the loop near the gift shop, there is more seating available, mostly used for educational talks; however, unfortunately, talks are not being held this year (2021). The Grove also has access, via hiking trails, to the ocean and campsite. Be mindful of your footwear as the trails are a mixture of paved road, dirt, sand, and boardwalk. FEES: None! The Grove and parking is free. Consider donating or shopping at the gift shop to support butterfly and land protection. PARKING: Street parking only. If you arrive during the height of the day, it is peak visitation hours and the shoulder of the road is full of vehicles. People are constantly leaving, however, and the furthest parking is only a minute or two walk to the gates of the Grove. RESTROOMS: There is a port-a-potty near the entrance to the Grove. No hand sanitizing or washing station available. On the Sunday afternoon I visited, the potty was clean and had no odor.

We came in November when counting was just about to start and the monarchs were all over. The docents were helpful and it was nice that they had camera lenses trained on the biggest groups in the branches to be able to see the butterflies even better. It's a small area of eucalyptus trees (which smell terrific!) Though be aware that there's hardly any parking. Cars lined up along the shoulders and just parked where they could.

Beautiful park! Very clean and well maintained. The eucalyptus trees made the air smell wonderful. In one area the trees were full of butterfly clusters and butterflies in flight. There were quite a few, even though we visited late in the season. Such a pleasant experience.. from the little gift shop to the photographers and visitors from all over. We will definitely visit again but earlier in the Monarchs migration to see them at their peak.

This is a free educational experience. Located at the beginning of the Pismo Beach area. It is a medium sized preserve. The Monarchs are very high up in the trees. There are a few binoculars stations for closer viewing. Parking is limited along the street.

It was great to see so many butterflies in the middle of the city over 10,000 vibrant orange and black Monarch Butterflies. It's a place for photography. Free parking is easily available on the street. Need 1 to 2 hours only as the area is too small, with very few trees having butterflies. Season to see is from November to February, and climate is pleasant around the year. Place was found non-crowded. Zoom camera or binocular is needed to see butterflies. Otherwise, it is difficult to find.

The Monarch Butterfly 🦋 Grove is a great place to visit if in Pismo Beach area from November to February. The Monarchs begin to arrive in late October and stay in the high Eucalyptus trees for the winter season. There were a a few hundred when I arrived in late October with more expected to come in the next few weeks. Best to visit during the middle of the day or early afternoon rather then later afternoon since the Grove gets dark and the butterflies become less active as the sun goes down.

This is a beautiful little gem near Pismo Beach, CA. We went here on a Monday, there weren't too many people. We arrived around 1030 a.m, it was chilly but the sun was out. As it got warmer and the sun rays light up the Eucalyptus trees, the Monarchs started to awaken. Around noon we saw more activity, 50 or more butterflies would fly off the trees at a time. I recommend bringing binoculars, the butterflies are clustered on the trees and are hard to see. Some flew low, right above our heads. It's a small Grove with a trail that goes circular. It does get muddy if it rains, it was pretty muddy when we went. There is a camp off the trail behind the Grove and it looked like it may have lead to the beach, but not certain. The restrooms seemed to be located in the camp, a ways away. There was a small gift shop that opened around 1130 or so, it's a trailer that you walk up to and can look at their souvenirs, they also sell binoculars. The best time to see the butterflies is around noon to 1 or 2 p.m. when it is warm and the sun is high. Great for families. The hours are sunrise to sunset.

There was limited to little street parking to enter and no cross walk or stop signs in the busy street to get inside. It was a small trail and butterflies were barely visible as they were at the very top of trees or flying around. Others unfortunately were found dead possibly from the weather. I would recommend bringing a good camera that can zoom in plenty and binoculars. Benches and picnic tables are available as with porta potties as well.

It’s one of a kind experience to see such a butterfly together on eucalyptus tree. All are Monarch butterflies you will able to see during November to February. Eucalyptus Tree smells so good and that may be the reason it attracts thousands of Monarch on a single tree. They have set up binoculars to see them far and all arrangements are well made without disturbing their nature habitat. If you have zoom lenses for camera don’t forget to garb it along to take wonderful pictures.

It was an interesting visit, we've been several times and not seen hardly any monarchs, but this time quite a few. Amazing that something so fragile can travel hundreds even thousands of miles. The park paints a good picture so stop by and get the full story. Hint.. go home and plant host plants 👍

It wasn't the right season to see the Monarchs, but we could learn more about their migration patterns. The blue eucalyptus trees are big and beautiful. There is a small trailer with puzzles, shirts, and other things for sale. The gentleman in there was very helpful and kind.

it was such a beautiful place, it’s FREE and you get to enjoy seeing the monarch butterflies, there were so many especially during December! There’s a trail that leads to the beach which is even more beautiful! Highly recommend going, you would have to wait to get a parking spot though. The place wasn’t to crowded and I enjoyed it was an open outdoor place as well! 🦋💓

There are not very many butterflies at this time of year. However, per their site, which stated there are plenty as in thousands. It's still a nice place to walk around. No fee to enter. Binoculars would be helpful or a good camera to capture the butterflies, which are really high in the eucalyptus trees.

Nice place to see these great butterflies. Parking on the street is free but can be tricky and limited. You can also head down to the beach from the grove, so lots of good outdoor fun.

Nice little Monarch grove that had plenty of butterflies when we went in mid February. There are some interesting informational signs. Plenty of parking along the main road. The grove connects to a nice coastal trail as well.

When we visited on Feb 3, 2022, the sign said there were only ~19.000 Monarch Butterflies in the trees that day. Wow! We visited in the afternoon and there were hundreds on all of the sunny side of the eucalyptus trees. It is exceedingly difficult to take pictures of them but I gave it a try using my 200mm lens. The easiest ones to see contrasted sharply with the blue sky.

This was a great stop! We arrived in late November and the count was over 15K butterflies! It was so peaceful, you could just watch them for hours. There was a very nice volunteer who had some viewing scopes set up for people to use. No entry fee and roadside parking is available.

We were there this past weekend and caught the monarch’s mating season. They were everywhere and also on the ground. So if you go during February be careful when you walk, they are on the ground sometimes. Street parking was plentiful when we arrived around 10am on a Saturday.

the best time is late fall October to November to see the most butterflies.

Fun little spot to see some nature before continuing our long drive. We came in early November around lunchtime. There weren’t thousands but still lovely to see them piled up on the eucalyptus branches. Also recommend walking through the campsite down to the beach (can also use the restroom there), and then Red Bee Coffee isn’t too far away for a pickmeup.

This is one of the best free things you can do in Pismo Beach. It's small but when all the butterflies are flying around it is awesome. You can park on the side of the road, they have porta-potties on the premises. You can get free educational talks with the friendly people that work there. They also have binoculars set up so kids and adults can look through them. Bring money and support the sanctuary, they have hats, pins, T-shirts, sweatshirts and bags and many more things for sale in their store. The premises are wide enough to accommodate people with wheelchairs.

The Grove is open to public from October thru February. As other person recommended, visit in the afternoon/evening when the day is warmer for the butterflies to be active. Is a very small Grove but worth the time and visit

Great open park area with on street parking. Nice warm day at 12:01pm.The butterflies were flying all around, and also on the trees. Plenty of them having a good time.

Wonderful experience in December. Not overly crowded, weather was wonderful. I even found a wild honey bee hive in a tree along the road when we parked. Beach was beautiful as well. White sand beach.

On our road trip to San Francisco we did a stop at Monarch Butterfly Grove, it’s not far drive from the fwy. No parking area, on the front side, we did see a RV park like behind the area with lots of parking area. We parked on the side of the road, walked across the street, No entrance fee. Walking in you could see the beautiful trees, with walking areas to see the butterflies, they had telescopes available for us to see the many butterflies that were all together in the trees. Our kids loved this. There is Portable bathrooms for public use.

Butterflies came back big time this year. Super colorful and active. Bring binoculars and long lens. Free admission and ample parking along the street. Minimum stay 30 minutes. Also can walk 10 minutes to beautiful ocean beach.

You can love something to death and that’s just what the State of California has done to this place. Before this was turned into a public place and half of the vegetation has been cleared out, this used to be a safe place for the butterflies. Now, their sacred place has been placed under a microscope. You have no idea why you are not seeing the butterflies returning in great numbers? Along with other factors, you’ve ruined their spot. Trees that were once hidden and kept cool are now exposed so tourists can “view” them. How about leaving these guys alone? Makes too much money to extort them? Guess so… you wanna do the butterflies a favor? Boycott this place. Do not support the extortion of these butterflies who once were left alone. If you go here, you are supporting their demise of such a park. Can’t believe you can shut down the dunes for environmental purposes but still keep this wild place manicured for the selfishness of man. Disgusting.

This is a small butterfly grove but you can see the butterflies fairy easily. The beach is close by.

It was a truly fantastic experience! It was so amazing to see so many butterflies in one place! It's definitely a must see. It's just a spot along side of the road, simple and easy to pass up. But the sight of all the butterflies in the trees are well worth the stop.

It was really amazing to see this butterfly event. The volunteer was being abused by a nasty mother which was really bothersome to witness. This woman was behaving so entiltled and teaching her child the same behavior. What a shame. The mother didn't approve of the volunteer redirecting the teenager to NOT touch the telescope. So rude on so many levels. The sign even said do NOT touch. Otherwise, the butterfly count was 15,000 and the park is sooo tiny, you didn't need to go far to see them. I wish they could plant more trees for the Monarch. You can also walk to the beach when you are done.

A special spot for viewing and learning more about monarch butterflies. The number of butterflies varies from season to season and year to year, but it seems like there are always at least some here. You can see them flying through the sky and clustered in the trees. It's really beautiful and magical. Parking can be difficult, since it is limited and there is no parking lot, but it's well worth the effort to spend a few minutes in the trees with the butterflies.

Beautiful weather (sunny warm) great day visiting this amazing spot. Thankful for the volunteers that tell you all about the importance of the butterfly grove. It is very busy on weekends and when it's butterfly season. Parking is limited, and you will usually have to walk.

It’s very pretty here, even out of season (season is between October and February). We met a very nice lady who showed us an owl in a nearby tree. There’s also a cute Picknick area and connections to nearby trails. It’s s nice area for a little stop along the way.

I am such a butterfly person. This place is wonderful. We met such sweet people. People who love butterflies are the nicest.

We got there a little too early to see the butterflies. Very nice place to have a little hike.

Not a butterfly season when I first visited this place, that’s fine! I literally saw one butterfly on that day and that’s it! November to February is the butterfly season 🦋 They flew and migrate to Canada , Amazing 🤩

It was an awesome experience to be among so many butterflies at once. It's worth going to see them in big and small clusters in every tree, on branches, some even land on you. It's great. There is free parking, a gift store dedicated to the butterflies, and benches/ picnic tables for you stay until closing. Mornings until 3:30p. December until February the butterflies will be there. It is also very kid friendly.

Highly recommend! Enjoyed a wonderful family walk through the Grove and along the Beach. Great to connect while enjoying being outdoors and notice new things, like a beautiful blue Heron!