We were here a little early so it was kind of chilly the butterflies weren't out much at first by the time we were leaving you could really start to see them, it was a pretty sight
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WEnt out there on December 27th in the morning adn the monarches were very well hidden adn because it was very cool, very few butterflies were venturing out from their trees where they were hanging - finally saw several large clumps outside the reserve and if you were not looking ffor "dried brown leaves hanging upside down" you woudl have missed them. Glad we came.
It's a pretty walk through the groves but I have had more butterflies in my own backyard than there.
The monarchs are currently in the Sanctuary, we did a count just this morning (1/3/2014) and there are 9,500 monarchs residing there, and they will be there until about March 1. We're sorry you missed them. It's very difficult to see the butterflies, as they look just like brown dead leaves when they're not flying. We have volunteer docents at the Sanctuary daily from 12pm-3pm (as they are available) to help visitors see the butterflies, so we recommend going to the Sanctuary during those hours.
The best time to visit is on a sunny winter day, when the butterflies are most active and most numerous. This is one of the rare places where you can see wild monarchs floating through the trees and gathered in large groups high among the branches. We loved the volunteer crew who were on site with spotting scopes and information to help us find and appreciate the butterflies all the more.
We went early in the season and were pleasantly surprised at the amount of butterflies! Beautiful place an a definite return trip will be in our future.
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