The monarchs at Natural Bridges show up on roughly the same schedule every fall. The walk from the grove to the end of the Santa Cruz Wharf has not been this dependable. For most of the last two years, at least one piece of it was a gap, a detour or behind a fence.
That changed this spring. This is the first viewing season in which the eucalyptus grove, the Coastal Rail Trail and the south end of the Municipal Wharf are all open together. That makes late October and November 2026 the first time a resident can walk one continuous route from the only State Monarch Preserve in California to the sea lions at the end of the wharf.
Three Projects, Three Different Finish Dates
Three separate projects finished on three different schedules:
- May 2025. Segment 7, Phase 2 of the Coastal Rail Trail opened between Bay and California streets and the wharf. Lookout Santa Cruz reported that it created "an unbroken link from Natural Bridges State Beach all the way to the wharf."
- End of June 2025. West Cliff Drive went back to two-way traffic along its full length after storm repairs, according to Lookout Santa Cruz.
- April 29, 2026. The city held a ceremony for the reopened southern end of the wharf after a $1.3 million repair, Lookout Santa Cruz reported.
Last November, the trail was done but the end of the wharf was still closed. So the season now underway is the first one with no missing piece. It also lands right in the window State Parks gives for the grove.
Start in the Grove While It Is Still Cold
State Parks says monarchs usually start arriving at Natural Bridges in mid-October and leave by mid-February. It calls late October and all of November "often the best time" to see them. If this post reaches you on Thursday, October 29, you're right at the start of that window.
The order of the walk matters. According to California State Parks, when the temperature drops below 60 degrees, the butterflies cluster together in the eucalyptus for protection. The grove sits in a gently sloping canyon that blocks the wind, and the eucalyptus trees bloom in winter, so they're a food source as well as shelter. On a cool morning, the clusters are the sight to see, which is why the grove goes first and the wharf comes later in the day.
The scale of this one grove is easy to underrate. State Parks reports that 10,000 monarchs overwintered at Natural Bridges in 2024. For comparison, the Xerces Society's Western Monarch Count recorded about 12,260 monarchs across 249 sites in its mid-season count from late November to early December 2025. Those are different years and different methods. Still, one Westside canyon held a number close to what a later count found across hundreds of western sites combined. State Parks also cautions that monarch numbers and dates change every year.
A few practical details apply to every visit:
- A wheelchair- and stroller-accessible boardwalk leads down to an observation deck in the grove.
- Dogs, bicycles, skates, skateboards and smoking aren't allowed on the boardwalk, so leave the dog and the bike outside the preserve.
- The preserve asks visitors to keep quiet and never touch the butterflies.
For docent-led walks, the State Parks page points to its events calendar. Volunteers help lead guided walks during the season.
The 0.8 Mile That Closed the Gap
From the grove, the route heads east on the Coastal Rail Trail. The segment that made the whole walk possible is short. The City of Santa Cruz describes the Segment 7 Phase II project as a 0.8-mile path from Bay and California streets to Pacific Avenue and Beach Street.
That stretch took longer than its length suggests. Lookout Santa Cruz reported that it was delayed several times over two years, by weather and by a construction zone crowded with gas, electric and water lines. Hundreds of people came to the ribbon-cutting. The Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History brought ancient sloth bones that crews found during construction, and the Roaring Camp Railroads beach train pulled up at the intersection where the trail begins.
The RTC's executive director told the crowd the project depended on Measure D, which county voters passed in 2016 to fund transportation maintenance and improvements. If you've walked the route without knowing that, the funding explains why this one short section took as long as it did.
The End of the Wharf, Sixteen Months Later
The trail delivers you to the wharf, and this is the part that's new for 2026. A 150-foot section of the wharf partially collapsed on December 23, 2024, after heavy waves hit the coast. Lookout reported that the wharf and its businesses were fully open again after January 4, 2025, but the damaged southern end stayed closed while repairs went on. Interim work rebuilt about 40 feet of the damaged section.
More than 100 people came to the reopening ceremony in April. Fourth District Councilmember Scott Newsome described the restored end this way, as quoted by Lookout Santa Cruz:
"It's a space for residents, visitors and families to come together, enjoy sweeping views of the bay, watch the sea lions and experience what the wharf has to offer."
Newsome also said there were no immediate plans for more development at that spot. He said community meetings on the south end's future, including a possible extension, were expected. For now, the end of the wharf is open deck and open water, a quiet place to finish a walk that began among the clusters in the grove.
The City of Santa Cruz lists the wharf's public hours as 5 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily. If you want lunch on the way out, the city's wharf dining page lists Firefish Grill, Gilda's, Makai Island Kitchen, Olitas, Riva Fish House, Stagnaro Bros., Vino by the Sea, Woodies Cafe and a Humble Sea pop-up. One familiar name isn't coming back in its old form. Lookout Santa Cruz reported that the Dolphin Restaurant building was demolished in fall 2024 during wharf repairs.
Back on Ingalls, the Westside End Is Filling In Too
The wharf end opened this year, and the Westside end of the walk keeps adding stops. If you'd rather start or finish near Natural Bridges, the Swift Street Courtyard and Ingalls Street area changed over the summer.
H&H West opened on June 10, 2026, at 402 Ingalls St., Suite 15. It's the second storefront for H&H Fresh Fish. The Santa Cruz Sentinel reported that the 480-square-foot market has a fresh fish counter and a rotating food menu. The menu includes poke made with local tuna or Monterey Bay king salmon, oysters on the half shell, a tinned fish plate, a pressed tuna crudo and a "rocktail" of rock crab claws. Poke and oysters make a good lunch after a morning in the grove.
Manresa Bread already runs its Santa Cruz bakery at 330 Ingalls, per the Sentinel. A few doors down, the next project is taking shape. Edible Monterey Bay reported in mid-September that 334 Ingalls St., Unit D, the former West End Tap and Izakaya space, is getting a full remodel into two side-by-side businesses: a new Manresa Bread and Bar Select, a French-style bistro. Avery Ruzicka leads the project with Michelin-starred chef David Kinch and Andrew Burnham. Kinch and Burnham also run Mentone in Aptos and The Bywater in Los Gatos. The team said it hopes to open by the beginning of December. That's a goal, not a confirmed date, and as of the September report the windows were still papered over.
There's one more planned addition. The Sentinel reported in June that Yuko Asaoka and Kaito Akimoto plan to open a sake tasting room with Japanese groceries in the former Margins Wine space in Swift Street Courtyard. The paper said the opening would come in the near future.
Where the Path Stops, for Now
The continuous route ends at the wharf. Past it, the RTC lists Segment 8, from the wharf to the San Lorenzo River trestle, and Segment 9, from the trestle to 17th Avenue in Live Oak. Both are scheduled for final design in 2026 and construction in 2027.
The wharf has more work ahead as well. The city's Eastside Resiliency Wharf Project will replace damaged and missing piles and renew stringers, decking and paving. That prepares the structure for future Wharf Master Plan projects, including an East Promenade and a South Landing. Check the city's project page before a visit for any notice about that work.
For this November, the whole route is open. Walk into the grove on a cool morning, take the Coastal Rail Trail east to the wharf, and finish at the reopened south end, which closed after December 2024 and reopened on April 29, 2026.
At Riese Real Estate Group, we follow the coastal Santa Cruz streets and projects that shape everyday life on the Westside, from the trail segments still in design to the storefronts coming to Ingalls. If you'd like to talk about how these changes affect a home along this stretch of coast, schedule a free consultation.
