Natural Bridges Monarch Trail

Such an amazing place to visit! I brought my daughters here for the first time for the monarch butterfly migration--they were thrilled to see SO MANY of these beauties flitting about! There is a great little Visitor's Center--educational and fun. Plus, a gift shop that sells a good selection of cool and interesting items.
Don't miss the gorgeous beach and tide pools! We talked with residents in the surrounding neighborhood and they were so nice. It was a drive from S.F., but definitely worth it! We'll be back.

I went here twice in 11/2023 and 12/2023. The day was colder on Nov, the butterflies were mainly cluttered on the trees and fluttering in one area. For Dec, the day was much warmer and the butterflies were everywhere in the skies!
The images and videos are from my Nov visit.

I think it's an interesting visit.

See the Monarchs and also explore. Beautiful raised garden behind the Visitor Center is great for not only the plants/flowers but the butterflies/insects attracted to them. If you look carefully you might also see birds, as well as lizards and other critters. It’s a great sideshow to the Monarch Grove and allows people/kids of all ages and heights to get a close-up view of nature being nature!

Good thing about the place is the volunteer guides that help explain the intricate details of the monarchs - why they migrate and why they come to Santa Cruz. Their effort is worth mentioning and praising.
As for the butterflies, we visited in end October'23 - the trees were loaded with butterflies! Wish had more time to explore the area for more wildlife, but it was getting dark and we had to move on.
Note for future - save a full day to explore the area around the trail for wildlife watch.

Great spot on Santa Cruz trip to watch thousands of butterflies migrating from Canada.

Amazing to see their life story. Very relaxing and calm place. Good for small kids with a very short trail and a beach close by

Nice place to observe butterflies. The trail is short and shady for watching butterflies. Besides, there is a guide for story telling about the life of the butterfly. Very interesting!

Butterflies, eucalyptus grove, beach walk, and tide pools! Loved having the naturalist share their wisdom and viewing scope at the butterfly platform. It’s worth the $10 to park.

Great beach park, easy free parking just outside the entrances, or for a fee on site. Picnic tables, tide pools, and nice short trails to see monarch butterflies (fall/winter).

My friend and I walked along the wooden bridges / trail leading to the area where the monarch butterflies flew up among the tree tops.
Some were grouped and hung off tree branches. They were so lovely to watch at.

Update Sep 2023: visited the beach on Saturday morning. Nice walk from the parking lot to the monarch butterfly bridge and back to the beach (loop).

Love this place.
Went on Sunday, reach there around 10 not too crowded, very small trail to watch monarch butterflies (best time to visit September to November), signs are everywhere, kids friendly, dogs are not allowed. We enjoyed a lot, went for little hiking, great place for toddlers, so they can walk easily.. restrooms are available, parking also available inside the park fees $10, or lot of street parking too..
Highly recommend

Visited in early February 2022 and found out it was a bit too late in the season to see tons of monarch butterfly, however we were not totally disappointed. We were blessed with see 10's of butterflies 🦋 in certain areas, along with a huge treat of seeing an owl 🦉 purched up in an eucalyptus tree. Finally, no trip can be complete without spending time at the beautiful beach 😍.

Sadly there are fewer 🦋 to see, still a lovely place to go - especially if you have kids. Between 1200 - 1500 hrs is the best, and be patient. If you look carefully at the trees, you might also spot an owl (walk all the way to the end). Near the water body, you will see some butterflies come close to you. There also might be a volunteer at the entrance, please do stop by for great info.

Decided to walk the trail even though it’s not the main season to see monarch butterflies. Still a beautiful trail and area, we did see butterflies just not monarchs. There were a lot of western tiger swallowtails flying around which we were delighted to see.

A wonderful experience. Volunteers were knowledgeable and friendly. If you're in this area in the right time of year, don't miss this!

One hour, easy parking ($10), a boardwalk, so even those who aren't very mobile can enjoy it. Bring binoculars if you have them.

We love this place!
Signs are everywhere, be quiet while walking or standing in the monarch’s space.
We went last weekend again and people were talking relatively loud for quiet signs being all over.
Also, don’t just stop and stand conversing in the middle of the walkway. Find a nook that’s along the path and whisper there. Especially, with lots of poison oak being out. Be considerate of your surroundings!

Other than that, enjoy the space! Breathe in the fresh air, check out the museum and gift shop and have a picnic by the beach!

Not as many monarchs are previous years (before 2020) but there were still some. They don’t fly around too much when it’s cold so check the weather.

A really beautiful park with amazing Monarchs! 🦋

First time visit. There were only a few monarch's still fluttering around after the major population moved on. However, there were other creatures to photograph. Best time to see butterflies here is from mid-October to late January.

The sole reason I visit Natural Bridges State Beach. To see the Monarch Butterflies and Great-Horned Owls each year. During my hike around the trail last year I spotted a Green Heron at the pond. Natural Bridges State Beach is a great place to walk around, explore, and relax.

Such a beautiful park. I completely forgot that the butterflies migrate in the fall and in the spring. It wasn't quite spring yet, but we were able to see quite a lot of monarch butterflies.

Great spot to visit to see and learn about monarch butterflies. We only saw a handful in early January, but it's a quiet and good to explore with a young family as the trail is very short and mostly stroller friendly. Masks required on the currently. Parking in the nearby lot is $10 for the day. Recommend checking out the beach on your way out, as there's free 20 minute parking at the lookout point and it's a short walk down to the water from there.