![]() ![]() These diverse habitat types pack a wildlife punch, especially when it comes to birds, so keep your eyes peeled. Moore Creek emerges from behind a bench of eucalyptus and Monterey pine to wind through freshwater wetlands and salt marsh, wrapping beneath the northern cliff wall and breaching the sands to the sea in the rainy winter season. Expect also to see families and engaged couples walking hand-in-hand at sunset during low tide while a photographer hovers nearby: this beach is the setting for countless fresh-faced portraits.ĭrawing your eye inland is a crescent-shaped cove that shelters a wide, sandy beach linking coastal scrub to surging waves. Expect to see sea gulls, brown pelicans and cormorants. Carved by wind and waves from the same cliffs that create a beach-framing cirque, the graceful hunk of Santa Cruz mudstone (once one of three such “bridges”) is a favorite shorebird perch. ![]() After even a cursory glance it’s easy to see why.ĭirectly beneath the parking lot is the obvious focal point, the namesake natural bridge. This beloved Santa Cruz beach is so stunning that a free lot is provided to view it like a deconstructed open-air art gallery. At its far western end lies its undisputed gem, Natural Bridges State Beach. The Monarch larva eats only the milkweed plant.Winding above a strand of alluring beaches surrounded by craggy outcrops and crashing surf, West Cliff Drive is the ultimate in California-cool cruising. For about half a year, milkweed is the Monarch's home, super market and maternity ward. The park maintains a demonstration milkweed patch where visitors may view Monarch eggs, caterpillars and chrysalides. On chilly days when the temperature drops below 60 degrees, the butterflies cluster together in the eucalyptus trees for warmth. These winter flowering trees are also a convenient food source for the butterfly. The grove contains eucalyptus trees which are located in a canyon, providing the Monarch needed shelter from the wind. Access to the preserve area is limited to a handicap accessible boardwalk and observation area. This is the only State Monarch Preserve in California. The Monarch Grove has been declared a Natural Preserve, thus protecting the Monarchs and their winter habitat from human encroachment or harm. In the spring and summer, the butterflies live in the valley regions west of the Rocky Mountains where milkweed, the only plant a Monarch caterpillar eats, is plentiful. The area's mild ocean air and eucalyptus grove provide a safe roost until spring. From roughly mid-October through mid-February, the Monarchs form a "city in the trees." The park's Monarch Grove provides a temporary home for up to 100,000 Monarchs each winter. Call (831) 423-4609 for current visitor center hours and special events. The ParkStore/Visitor Center is open most weekends and some weekdays. An aquarium features animals found in the tidepools. ParkStore/Visitor Center The ParkStore/Visitor Center features displays on the monarch butterflies and other features of the park. ![]() Low tides reveal sea stars, crabs, sea anemones, and other colorful ocean life.ĭirections Take Swift Avenue west from Hwy 1, or follow West Cliff Drive north along the in-town bluffs until it ends at Natural Bridges. Further along the beach, tidepools offer a glimpse of life beneath the sea. This beach, with its famous natural bridge, is an excellent place to view shore and ocean birds, migrating whales, and seals and otters playing offshore. The best time to see monarchs in the park is usually from mid-October to late January. Visitors can see thousands during the butterflies’ peak season. Natural Bridges State Beach is world-renowned for its yearly migration of monarch butterflies. ![]()
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