No Place Like Home: Pismo Monarch Grove

Posted: Dec 13, 2010 4:03 PM by Jeanette Trompeter
Updated: Dec 13, 2010 4:03 PM

It's no secret the central coast is a hot spot for tourists, especially in the summer. But there's a group that chooses winter to make it's trek here. What's a bit shocking is how many of them there are. And their migration here is another reason there's no place like home.

This really is one of those "right in our own backyard" wonders. Every winter, a small eucalyptus grove off highway one in Pismo Beach becomes a magnificent haven for some of the most beautiful butterflies anywhere. "A lot of time, they'll look up into the trees and you really can't see. It looks like leaves" says Docent Terri Jackson. "And then they'll look through the telescopes and say 'Oh my goodness! I've never seen anything like it.'"

If you've heard of it, but never stopped to check it out, you should. Jordan Elkins works for State Parks and says the Pismo Grover plays host to the largest congregation of Monarch butterflies in the United States.

From the end of October, until late February or mid-March, you'll find tens of thousands of them hanging out here for protection from the winter elements elsewhere. "So they come down, they hang out in the trees, they go into a semi-hibernation called t." says Elkins. "They'll sleep during the night, and hang out during the day, get warm."

Their numbers vary year to year, but there are always enough to leave you in awe. Elkins says in 1991 there were 230-thousand Monarchs hanging in the grove through winter. Over the last five years, there has been an average of 25-thousand each winter.

While Monarchs typically only live a few weeks, the variety that camps out here live six to nine months due to a unique fat storing system. But do the math and even the ones that leave in March, will never return.

So consider making a stop in the coming weeks to say so-long. Your kids will feel like they've walked into a fairy tale. Time it right, and you'll likely also find this place pretty magical. Even docents like Jackson, who see it daily year after year say they're still in aw by the beauty of this little corner of the central coast. "Sometimes when the sun hits a cluster, all the butterflies will start flying at once, and it's like an explosion of gold. I'm still impressed by it."