The best part of the spring and summer season is witnessing nature transform right before our very eyes. The leaves grow green, flowers bloom, skies clear, sunsets get more epic, and caterpillars turn into colorful butterflies. You can witness this beautiful transformation firsthand at one of these butterfly pavilions around Los Angeles below! 🐛🦋
1. Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum’s stunning butterfly pavilion opens from March through August. You’ll be able to meet colorful and beautiful butterfly species as they fly around you, and if you’re lucky, they’ll rest on your hands/arms.
It’s the perfect one-of-a-kind experience for the whole family to connect with nature together! Learn more here.
🗓️ When: March 23–August 24, 2025
🎟️ Ticket info: $10, free for members.
📍Location: Exposition Park, 900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles 90007
2. Kidspace Children’s Museum
This one’s for the kiddos. Kidspace Children’s Museum is kicking off butterfly season to celebrate the habitat and life cycle of butterflies and other pollinators.
Families can dig in and connect with new exhibits, visit the bug safari, create a caterpillar out of clay and add seeds in it to watch it sprout, dress up like a butterfly in fantasy flutter-by, and adopt a live caterpillar to watch it transform into a Painted Lady butterfly to release. Get more info here!
🗓️ When: Opening March 13, 2025
🎟️ Ticket info: $12.50 general admission, $10 for members.
📍 Location: 480 N. Arroyo Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91103
3. South Coast Botanic Garden
Although this one doesn’t open until later in the season, every spring, folks flutter on over to South Coast Botanic Garden for their incredible SOAR experience.
Here, you get to wander among tropical butterflies in their butterfly pavilion and get an intimate look into their natural habitat and lives.
🗓️ When: May 1–August 31, 2025
🎟️ Ticket info: $23 general admission, $6 for members.
📍Location: 26300 Crenshaw Boulevard, Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA 90274
4. California Botanic Garden
The newly opened Bird and Butterfly Garden at California Botanic Garden offers a captivating year-round butterfly exhibit. Born from the aftermath of a windstorm in January 2022, this garden beautifully highlights the interconnectedness of California native plants and the wildlife they support. You can get more information to plan your visit here.
🗓️ When: May through August
📍Location: 1500 N College Avenue, Claremont CA 91711
5. Conejo Valley Botanical Garden
Just 40 minutes from Downtown L.A., Conejo Valley Botanical Garden is a marvelous space of 33 acres of natural beauty. They have a dedicated butterfly garden, offering a serene sanctuary for these delicate creatures.
Here you can also enjoy the sweeping vistas from the garden’s peak and enjoy dedicated areas and engaging activities designed especially for children. It’s an ideal destination for families and nature enthusiasts alike. Schedule your visit finding more info here.
📍Location: 400 W Gainsborough Rd, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
6. El Segundo Blue Butterfly Preserve
The El Segundo Butterfly Preserve, located on the former ghost town of Surfridge, California, is a premier butterfly garden in Los Angeles dedicated to the endangered El Segundo Blue Butterfly.
Once a luxurious beachfront neighborhood visited by Hollywood icons, it now features a four-mile path with ocean views, historic remnants, and prime butterfly sightings. The best time to visit this butterfly garden in Los Angeles is late summer, when around 125,000 butterflies take flight.
🗓️ When: TBA
📍Location: Vista Del Mar &, W Imperial Hwy, Venice, CA 90293
7. Carlsbad Ranch
Besides from its 55 acres of flowers, Carlsbad Ranch features for its 2025 season, the brand-new Butterfly Encounter area, where hundreds of vibrant butterflies flutter gracefully, gently landing on visitors. Nectar sticks draw the butterflies in, offering a magical and peaceful experience that fosters a unique connection with nature’s beauty.
The Butterfly Encounter costs an additional $5 per person, with children under 3 entering for free. Tickets can be purchased on-site.
📍 Location: 5704 Paseo Del Norte, Carlsbad, CA 92008
📆 When: Daily, 9AM-6PM from March 1, 2025
Originally written by Sophie Len.