Monarch Season Starts Now. Here's How Not to Drive to an Empty Grove.

Every fall, western monarch butterflies fly to the California coast to spend the winter clustered in eucalyptus and sycamore groves. The season at most Southern California sites runs from about late October into February — so it's starting right about now. It's one of those quietly amazing, mostly free things that a lot of families who live here have never actually seen.

I want to be upfront about one thing before you load the car, though: the numbers have been low. The statewide count was around 12,000 butterflies in the 2025–26 season, versus hundreds of thousands in good years. Some groves get beautiful clusters; some winters they get almost none. Check recent sighting reports for any grove before you make it the whole day's plan.

Closest to us in Orange County

• Doheny State Beach in Dana Point — a small, historic overwintering spot in the campground eucalyptus. Ask a ranger to point out the roosting trees; depending on the year you'll see anywhere from a handful to a few hundred. There's a per-vehicle day-use fee (park info).
• Norma Gibbs Butterfly Park in Huntington Beach — free, small, city-maintained, with a butterfly garden and a monarch tile mosaic the kids can look at even if the trees are quiet (details).

Worth the drive in a good year

The big one is the Goleta Butterfly Grove at Ellwood Mesa in Goleta — Southern California's largest overwintering site. It's free, it's a flat walk, city docents are out in season, and the peak is usually late November through December (City of Goleta). It's a real drive from Orange County, which is exactly why you should check the latest counts before going. Point Mugu State Park (Big Sycamore Canyon) is a closer LA-area option along PCH, with a day-use fee.

Three tips that make the difference

• Go on a cool morning. Below about 55°F, monarchs hang together in dense clusters — that's the postcard sight. On a warm afternoon they scatter.
• Bring binoculars. With their wings folded, clustered monarchs look exactly like clumps of dead leaves 20–30 feet up. Most first-timers walk right past them.
• Don't touch or shake the branches. A knocked-down monarch can be too cold to fly back up, and disturbing overwintering clusters is illegal at most sites.

The full list of groves — plus the spring and summer butterfly exhibits for when the groves are empty — is on our monarch butterflies guide. If you make it out and see a good cluster this year, I'd honestly love to hear where. Everything else going on this season is on the calendar.

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