Explore 12 of the most beautiful butterfly gardens in NJ

🌸 New Jersey is called The Garden State for a reason

🌸 The state boasts some of the most beautiful butterfly gardens

🌸 Check out these dozen

Flowers, green grass, fresh air, warm sunshine, and butterflies. Spring has arrived in New Jersey.

A great springtime activity for you and the family that can be both fun and educational is checking out one of the many beautiful butterfly gardens the great Garden State has to offer.

Here are 12 of the best butterfly gardens in New Jersey

Butterfly Garden at West Essex Park

Roseland

The butterfly garden is one of the many attractions at West Essex Park located next to the Essex County Environmental Center. Visitors who come face-to-face with butterflies in the garden can learn more about them inside the Environmental Center. Families are also invited to participate in the Butterfly Tent Safari, which usually takes place in July. This event features live butterflies and butterfly-themed programming for all ages.

East Brunswick Butterfly Park

East Brunswick

The East Brunswick Butterfly Park is the first municipal park in New Jersey dedicated to the conservation and enjoyment of butterflies. The park consists of an 11-acre preserve and features a 1,000-foot long cinder trail lined by several plants to attract butterflies, a 400-foot long meadow trail, 1,000 feet of woodland trails, an early successional field designed to control invasive plants and promote wildflowers and grasses. More than 50 species of butterflies have been spotted in the park since it opened in 2002.

Butterfly House and Pollinator Garden

Tenafly Nature Center, 313 Hudson Avenue, Tenafly

Open from mid-June through Labor Day, the Tenafly Nature Center invites people of all ages to discover the colorful world of butterflies. Since 2019, the Tenafly Nature Center has operated a seasonal outdoor butterfly house. Guests are invited to walk among the dozens of free-flying adult native pollinators and learn about their lifecycles, adaptations, and fun facts. Guests will see the butterflies sipping nectar, and taking flight. See if a butterfly will land on your nectar stick! The house also contains plants that naturally attract these insects, as well as hummingbirds and bees.

Jakes Branch Butterfly Garden

714 Lacey Road, Forked River

The Soil Health Improvement Project (SHIP) Butterfly Garden at Jakes Branch is comprised of native perennial plants that thrive in moderately sunny areas and most soil types, including sandy, nutrient-poor soil found in Ocean County. Other pollinators such as hummingbirds and native bees also benefit from the butterfly gardens.

Aberdeen Township Butterfly Garden

Aberdeen Town Hall, 1 Aberdeen Square, Matawan

The Aberdeen Township Butterfly Garden was created by teacher Mrs. Lasko’s 4th and 5th grade Lloyd Road students from 2016-2017. In spring, 2017, after a three-phase project, volunteers and students put in over 400 plant plugs in the garden space. A butterfly garden picnic took place in May 2017 and the butterfly garden opened a month later. Enjoy some peace and relaxation in the garden outside the municipal building.

Cattus Island County Park’s Butterfly Garden

1170 Cattus Island Blvd., Toms River

Open from 7 a.m. to dusk, Cattus Island County Park contains a beautiful butterfly garden where visitors can view about 20 native plants and pollinators known to attract butterflies. Learn how to grow your own butterfly-friendly garden.

Woodbridge Township Butterfly Garden

Omar Avenue, Avenel section of Woodbridge

If you’re looking for a spot to relax and connect with nature, while enjoying the presence of native butterflies, this is the place to be. Lounge under a gazebo or sit on a bench exploring the grounds and checking out the winged insects.

Heritage Park Butterfly Garden

8 North Main Street, Allentown

There is a pollinator garden within the park that also features a paved walking path, wooded walking trails, a pedestrian walking bridge, picnic tables, and more.

Middlesex County EARTH Center

75 Bayard Street, New Brunswick

Rutgers Master Gardeners have built and maintained a butterfly house through the growing season. It is open on weekends from 10 a.m. to noon in June, July, and August. Come marvel at the pollinators while learning how you can help support them in your backyard.

Wheelabrator Wildlife Refuge and Butterfly Garden

600 Crown Point Road, Westville

The Wheelabrator Wildlife Refuge contains 75 acres of undeveloped land and contains everything you need for a great afternoon in nature: wooded walks, meadows, grassy fields, wetlands, and a butterfly garden. The enclosed butterfly garden houses a bench, a pond, and plants that attract both native butterflies and hummingbirds. If you live in the Camden, Gloucester County area and enjoy hiking, you’ll be amazed at the massive amounts of monarch butterflies hovering around.

Turtle Back Zoo

560 Northfield Avenue, West Orange

Open Memorial Day through Labor Day, don’t miss the Butterfly Tent interactive exhibit at the Turtle Back Zoo. Guests will get a chance to see over 700 live butterflies. The six species of North American butterflies flutter around a 100-foot-long tent filled with flowering plants. Besides butterflies, visitors can also see several caterpillars and chrysalis types go from eggs to butterflies. Admission is $3 a person cash only.

The Watershed Institute

31 Titus Mill Rd, Pennington

The Kate Gorrie Butterfly House at The Watershed Institute opened in 2000 to honor the memory of Kate Gorrie, daughter of long-time board members and Pennington residents Meg and Tom Gorrie. They chose to honor Kate’s life and her love of nature by helping to build a butterfly house.

Open from mid-June to early October, the butterfly house is free to the public from dawn to dusk. Native plants offer a source of nectar for butterflies and other pollinators. The house showcases native butterflies and the native plants that support them. The gardens inside simulate typical habitats of central New Jersey which include field, wetland, wet meadow, field, and forest. The wildflowers and shrubs inside provide nectar and shelter for the butterflies and food for the caterpillars.

Monarch butterflies are also raised here in the Kate Gorrie Butterfly House, then they are tagged and released to help gather migration data.

Want to attract butterflies to your backyard garden? Plant bergamot, golden alexander, and various milkweed species to ensure that pollinators have good food sources throughout the season.

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