| What is it? |
The monarch butterfly grove at Pismo State Beach is one of the largest such groves in the country! |
| What makes it beautiful? |
There is beauty in numbers, big and small! For me, the beauty comes from these declining butterflies (96% gone since 1991) still holding on as they always have, clustered together against the elements! Even though there weren’t nearly as many butterflies here as I’d expected, I’d still never seen clusters as big as these! They were like big, spiky globs covering the Monterey cypress branches, and every so often, two bright orange wings would spread and fly away. It was a glimpse of something delicate and lovely coming from something strong and scary! |
| How can I Help the Helpers? |
HERE’S HOW:
- Plant milkweed seeds from the Monarch Joint Venture!
- Donate to the Monarch Joint Venture!
- Be a responsible visitor! Remember the old adages: Pack out what you pack in! Take nothing but pictures and leave nothing but footprints!
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| Where is this place? |
The grove is on the west side of CA-1, one mile south of the intersection with Village Drive! That’s in Pismo Beach, California 93449!
From Los Angeles: ~177mi (285km) — 3hrs
From Sacramento: ~307mi (495km) — 5.2hrs
From San Diego: ~297mi (478km) — 5hrs
From San Francisco: ~245mi (395km) — 4.1hrs |
| When should I go? |
The butterflies are in town from November through February, and the docent trailer is open daily from 10:00 AM until 4:00 PM during that time! |
