National Butterfly Center

Was a good place to visit. It was a little rough, but it was nice to see the birds and butterflies. Talked to one of the workers who was building a new pond, he was super friendly and very informative!!

This was our very first time we go out to the Butterfly Center. We had a great time. We learned about spiders, birds and worms. My kids and I would love to go back again. If you like the outdoors you will sure love it. I am looking forward to the next event.

Very nice place to visit. See different varieties of butterflies, watch the birds get fed and maybe spot a Bobcat! Restroom’s located in the visitor center as well as in the bird feeding area. You may want to spray yourself with bug/ mosquito repellent. Bring some water with you to stay hydrated. If you’re a member of the St. Louis botanical garden, you should get in for free.
Enjoy

🌴🦋 This place was gorgeous & full of nature & wildlife. 🐢🦅🦉 Lots to see and bring the BUG SPRAY! Mosquitoes everywhere. We got eaten alive. We’ll be coming back with bug spray & different clothes so we can explore. Lots of beautiful plants and animals to spot. Tons of butterflies & 🐛🐛 It’s a wonderful place to take your kids for an educational outing!

Always love coming here, and feel like I could spend all day everyday searching the grounds for butterflies and birds. The staff is very friendly and helpful, and will let you know where to look for any rarities that may be around.

Great place to visit for butterflies, birds, and native plants. Very well-stocked gift shop staffed by a exceptionally friendly and helpful person. Restrooms at the gift shop. Easy (flat) walking/hiking trails with benches every so often. Some trails are sunny, whereas other trails are shaded by trees. Free parking.

We really Iiked this center. Very well done.

This place is very neat. It nice. We saw several types of butterflies and birds. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable. The grounds are very nice. The heat drove us in sooner than I would have liked. Hopefully, we can make it back in the cooler months. It was a bit nerve wracking to hear gun fire among the nature sounds. Border patrol was in the area patrolling and bring in a few illegals. I pray for our Border Patrol.

October 2023, lots of butterflies even though our drought this summer was hard on the flowers. Some great birds I've never seen in the valley before. Definitely worth a visit. The ladies at the visitor center said that Fall was definitely the best time to go. Winter Texans - take your Park name badge for a discount.

My husband and I decided to go to the Butterfly Center last Saturday, when we finally were enjoying cooler weather here. The Center has a lovely main building, with restrooms and information about butterflies. Once outside, we loved walking on the well maintained trails. We may have jumped the gun a bit, since we didn't see many butterflies, but we were told that November is a better time to go. In fact, they will be having a butterfly festival in early November. We did get to see many plants and bushes that were named. I think most of them are native to this area. We are so glad that this place has thrived. We need more nature centers like this! Shame on those who got into the controversy a while back! It just goes to show that positive, informed people will always rise above the village idiots.

Peaceful. Wonderful birds and insects. The interpreters were highly engaging and expert. We will come back repeatedly.

Loved this place. It feels small but the back trail is long enough for a quick nature escape. Lots of butterflies and side activities for the kids. They have an extremely friendly tortoise called Spike -that was the highlight of my visit. 🐢

From the staff to the habitat and feeding areas it's just a wonderful place. If I lived in the area I'd come all the time especially with little kids. Thanks for taking care of our environment and natural resources.

Great place! Still seems like a bit of a work in progress. We saw a good number of butterflies, and a large variety of birds. The plans they have for the rest of the property sound fantastic. Hope the border wall doesn't destroy too much. We saw where work has already started. Pretty devastating.

Yet another beautiful gem of the rio grande valley. While the title may be national butterfly center, I was just as entranced by the incredible variety of birds here. There are neaely 300 species of birds within park boundaries as per the most recent bird watching checklist they published. In one afternoon I was able to see: northern cardinals, green jays, greater kiskadees, yellow breasted warblers, collared doves, kingfishers, hummingbirds, altamira oreoles, thrashers, etc. That is on top of the incredible amount of butterflies at this park. Since it is right next to Bentsen state park, I highly recommend going here either before or after visiting Bentsen, get up early and you can definitely get a good walk around both. The trails here are excellently maintained and unlike Bentsen, there is no border patrol presence here thankfully. They stopped the construction of the border wall, which would have devastated this beautiful habitat and rightfully so, you can enjoy this park in all of its glory with great trails, gardens and plenty of signs informing you of the wildlife here. No pets allowed and parking is free, recommend you put aside a few hours to walk around and enjoy this incredible sanctuary!

Very relaxing park, the trails have shade from the trees, lots of mosquitoes you might want to take some bug repellent, or you can buy some there too. Lots of butterflies can be observed eating, and flying, plus lots of wildlife like greenjays, armadillos or squirrels. Great way to spend the day with your family or nature loving friends, and don't forget to pet Spike, a terestial turtle

Love this place! So many experts, lots of butterflies, flowers, and birds. Great to see Spike the tortoise and the owls.

What a great place to get away from the city. Friendly people and a great place to take a walk and breathe fresh air.

Probably one of the coolest things I have done in a while. The place is so tranquil that you don’t realize how long you are there. We were there on a cloudy day but it was still amazing.

This is quite a jewel and if you are anywhere nearby you have to put this on your todo list. Unbelievable amount of butterflies including rare ones on occasion. The birds species are phenomenal as well. It’s a must do and can’t recommend it enough.

This is a rare gem in the Rio Grande Valley. The park currently has a small developed area with much room to grow in the future. Thus far they have walking trails and many viewing sites from which you can see both a wide variety of migratory butterflies as well as common local birds and migratory Birds. Unfortunately, the canal that passes across their property is slated to be the site of the much opposed border wall. This will effectively shut down the capacity for this private park to grow and preserve much-needed Butterfly habitat that is ever shrinking along their migratory corridor. Please get out and support the center. There is a rally to stop the wall at the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge on January 27th 2018 from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. This will be in the field adjacent to the park. Speakers, music, food, and opportunities to take action will be presented to the public. These are beautiful areas and The Last Vestige of the indigenous habitat that the valley once offered before it was plowed for citrus and tract home development.