Natural Bridges State Beach is located on the West Side of Santa Cruz and is home to a diverse population of plant and animal life. Within its 65-acre boundaries, one can visit six different habitats and the animals that call Natural Bridges home.
In the fall and winter months, from October through February, monarch butterflies complete their annual migration to overwinter in the protected eucalyptus groves at Natural Bridges. Each fall, thousands of monarch butterflies make a 2,000-mile journey to California to stay at 100 overwintering sites within a mile of the coast from Stinson Beach to Los Angeles.
Natural Bridges’ ideal, temperate climate, shelter from the wind, and nectar sources combine to provide a perfect winter sanctuary for these amazing insects.
Winter monarchs have a longer life span and live for 6-9 months.
When clustered, they are going through a state of hibernation, not mating and eating only once a week.
In the spring, the monarchs mate and go north looking for milkweed to lay their eggs on. Milkweed is the only plant the caterpillars eat and is toxic to most animals. The fact that the monarch caterpillars feast on the milkweed is what makes them toxic to birds. The poisons from the milk weed store up in the caterpillar’s body and, when it is transformed into a butterfly, the toxin is contained in the butterfly’s brightly colored wings.
It is amazing to see thousands of monarchs cluster together in one place and we invite you to come and visit Natural Bridges for the experience of a lifetime.
The park’s visitor center offers public tours on weekends at 11am and 2pm from Oct. 16 through the end of January. This is a great way to learn about the monarch’s unique journey and life cycle.
Also, join us in celebrating the return of the monarchs to Santa Cruz on Oct. 10 from 10am-4pm for a family event and experience the excitement of monarch crafts, games, live music, story telling and a parade with monarch superheroes.
To learn more about our Welcome Back Monarch’s Day festival call the park at (831) 423-4609.
Natural Bridges also has amazing beaches, a natural bridge (hence the parks’ name) made out of mudstone and awesome tide pools.
Tide pool tours are offered around low tides in the spring and summer, giving park visitors a unique experience of viewing intertidal animals in their natural environments.
When visiting the tide pools you will see purple sea urchins, various colors of sea stars, anemones and mussels.
Please remember to touch animals gently and keep them in the same pool in which they were found.
This will ensure that our tide pools and the animals in them will be here for future generations to admire.
Within its small boundaries, Natural Bridges has many small treasures please visit us and learn about this special unique park in Santa Cruz.
The park is open from sunrise to sunset daily, and our visitor center and park store are open seven days a week from 10am-4pm.
Amber Cantisano is a Natural Bridges State Park ranger. She can be reached by phone at (831) 423-4609.
By Amber Cantisano park ranger
