We hope you enjoy this interactive map which shows the amazing migrations of monarch butterflies. You can see where they fly, the urgent threats they are facing, and how your support is expanding innovative solutions to help monarchs and other butterflies survive. Monarch butterfly migration is the phenomenon, mainly throughout North America, where the monarch subspecies Danaus plexippus plexippus migrates each autumn to overwintering sites near the west coast of California or mountainous sites in central Mexico. Most monarchs east of the Rocky Mountains fly toward the oyamel fir forests of central Mexico. Many western monarchs migrate toward sheltered groves along the California coast. Every fall, millions of monarch butterflies travel up to 3,000 miles from Canada and the northern United States to overwintering sites in central Mexico and along the California coast. When does the monarch butterfly migration happen? Discover when monarchs migrate in 2026, how far they fly, where they go, and how to see and help them. The monarch butterfly migration is the seasonal movement of monarch butterflies between their breeding grounds in the United States and Canada and their overwintering sites in Mexico and California. Each fall, North American monarchs travel from their summer breeding grounds to overwintering locations. East of the Rocky Mountains, monarchs travel up to an astonishing 3,000 miles to central Mexico, whereas the shorter migration west of the Rockies is to the California coast. Monarchs east of the Rockies migrate each year to the Transvolcanic mountains of central Mexico. Millions and millions of butterflies from the central and eastern Canadian provinces and the eastern and midwestern United States fly south to Mexico. Follow the monarch butterfly migration across North America, including its route, timing, generations and the habitat monarchs need. The monarch is the only butterfly known to make a two-way migration as birds do. Unlike other butterflies that can overwinter as larvae, pupae, or even as adults in some species, monarchs cannot survive the cold winters of northern climates.