Page 38 - SLO Visitors Guide - Fall 2024

38 FALL 2024 slovisitorsguide.com
Pismo Beach, Shell Beach & Oceano
Central Coast has the most
monarch butterflies in the state
The Central Coast is favored by
the Western monarch butter-
fly, with 76% of the state's popula-
tion in San Luis Obispo and Santa
Barbara counties. The best places
to visit the monarchs in San Luis
Obispo County are at the Pismo
State Beach Monarch Grove, with
16,038 butterflies reported, and
the grove at Morro Bay State Park,
with over 10,000 butterflies.
The annual winter
population is
177,570 in Central
Coast, 233,394 in
the state
The Western monarch mi-
grates from overwintering sites
along California's coast inland, all
the way into Canada and back to
the coast every year. The popula-
tions at the various California
overwintering sites are counted
every year in November and De-
cember by the Xerces Society for
Invertebrate Conservation.
The Pismo State Beach Mon-
arch Grove is one of California's
principal overwintering sites for
the monarch. The butterflies can
be seen hanging in clusters on the
eucalyptus trees in the grove and
now and then, a few will flutter
around, adding a sense of a magi-
cal wonderland to the grove.
The Pismo State Beach Mon-
arch Grove is also the trailhead
for the Western Monarch Trail.
Officially launched on Earth
Day in April 2022 when the first
interpretive panels were installed
in the park, the Western Monarch
Trail follows the migration route
of the monarch butterfly through
California and other western
states.
The panels at the Pismo Beach
monarch grove, in Spanish and
English, provide information
about the monarch butterflies and
what we can do to help preserve
and restore the population.
Experts in the field and represen-
tatives of participating organiza-
tions have all collaborated to
create beautiful and informative
panels.
The declining monarch butter-
fly population has been a concern
for scientists and butterfly enthu-
siasts since 2014 when a dramatic
decline was observed in Eastern
monarch butterflies hibernating
in Mexico. Scientists attribute the
decline to the disappearance of
the monarch milkweed plant, the
only plant the monarch caterpillar
will eat. Statewide 1995 butterflies
were counted in January 2020, a
chilling drop from the millions of
Monarchs that used to overwinter
at various California sites.
Monarch butterflies leave their
overwintering sites in the spring
to breed and migrate north as far
as Canada. They breed and hatch
several generations on their way
north, each generation living
only a short time except for the
last generation, which returns to
their overwintering groves. The
Western Monarch overwinters
along the California Coast. The
Monarch butterflies that overwin-
ter in Mexico migrate through the
eastern United States, then return
to Mexico.
The best spots to see and learn
more about the Monarch butterfly
on the Central Coast are the
Pismo Beach Butterfly Grove and
the grove at Morro Bay State Park.
Visitors to the grove at Pismo
State Beach, located just off
State Highway 1, are greeted by
knowledgeable and well-informed
volunteer docents offering talks
and information about the but-
terflies visiting the grove.
The Pismo State Beach Mon-
arch Grove is located at 400 S
Dolliver St, Pismo Beach. For more
information visit parks.ca.gov.