Natural Bridges State Park reclaims its name as visitors celebrate a second bridge formed in the sandstone cliff wall It will be on display during the annual celebration of the anticipated return of thousands of monarchs to the eucalyptus grove.
The Monarch Celebration is Oct.13, 11am to 4pm. The park welcomes the monarchs that have flown thousands of miles over five generations to return to the Westside. The new bridge opened in the sandstone wall below the parking lot in January,2023.
“We are seeing monarchs arriving in our pollinator garden and they love the tithonia (Mexican sunflowers) and Scabiosa (purple pincushion) flowers,” says Natural Bridges Interpreter Martha Nitzberg,
There will be live music, crafts, games and prizes for coolest monarch butterfly wings at the celebration. A parade will start at 11:30 am. The event is free, parking is $10 in the day-use lot, or you can park on Swanton Boulevard and walk behind Natural Bridges to the wooden planks of the monarch loop. Natural Bridges was down to one bridge for 42 years.
For the sandstone cliffs of Santa Cruz, the ocean is a bridge-making machine. From the seven marine terraces along the coast, down to this widening bridge, Santa Cruz is continuously uplifting and eroding.
“Our coast is ever-changing, sometimes sinking, but in Santa Cruz is being uplifted as the tectonic plates butt edges” says Gary Griggs, UCSC professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences. “The sandstone rock and mudstone rock that forms our coastal cliffs is forever being pushed up and eroded at the same time.”
Walk inland to the eucalyptus grove and monarchs will flutter through the trees like flying flowers. The boardwalk hike winds through a canyon filled with eucalyptus trees, where Interpreter Martha Nitzberg says, “10,000 monarch butterflies spent the winter last year.”
They find the same eucalyptus grove at Natural Bridges as their temporary home by changes in the sunlight. They need to winter here because it’s located in a canyon which provides shelter from the wind, the trees filter in sunlight to keep monarch bodies warm, and eucalyptus trees flower in the winter, giving the butterflies food. There will be docents to discuss this natural majesty.
From November to January, there are clusters of them in the shade, hanging in dense clusters, intertwining their feet along the eucalyptus tree branches. Adults live for two to six weeks, spending their time gathering nectar from flowers, mating, and laying eggs.
In the spring and summer, the butterflies live in the valley regions west of the Rocky Mountains where the monarch’s companion plant, milkweed, is found. Monarchs drink nectar from milkweed flowers, and female monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed leaves. Milkweed contains a toxin that, when ingested by the caterpillar, makes it toxic to other animals. These toxins remain in the butterfly as well, providing protection from predators.
The Natural Bridges Monarch Trail is located at 2531 W Cliff Dr, Santa Cruz. It’s open from 8am to sunset. Parking is $10. There are public restrooms. Dogs are allowed only in the parking lots and picnic areas, but not on the beach and trails (except for ADA service animals). Phone: 831-423-6409.
