With spring blooms starting to pop, your kids are probably eager to spread their wings. And a great way to (literally) do it? Check out one of the butterfly gardens in NJ, where littles can marvel at all the different colors and species of plants and butterflies, and you’ll be able to sneak in a few Insta-worthy photos. Plus, they’ll learn how a caterpillar becomes a beautiful butterfly and what plants to grow to attract butterflies to your 2025 garden. If you are in the mood for more nature trips, check out where to see flowers in NJ. (featured photo credit: istock/Tim Speer)
8 Butterfly Gardens In NJ To Visit This Spring
Essex County Environmental Center
The Essex County Environmental Center is an education center that emphasizes creating awareness, understanding, and appreciation of the environment. The Butterfly Garden is inside West Essex Park, among trails and several child-friendly gardens, including a Learning Garden. After exploring the Butterfly Garden, stop by the pollinator garden, which focuses on native plants that attract pollinators (like butterflies).
Cost: Free
621-B Eagle Rock Avenue, Roseland, NJ 07068
Historic Smithville Park and Smith’s Woods
Listed on the National and New Jersey Registers of Historic Places, this is a must-see spot for a day trip with your littles. This 312-acre park is full of diverse habitats and terrain, freshwater streams, the 22-acre Smithville Lake, fishing, canoeing, and, of course, seeing the butterflies. The butterfly garden is located in the Smith’s Woods section and is a beautiful place to spend the afternoon.
Cost: Free
803 Smithville Road, Mount Holly, NJ 08060
Tenafly Nature Center
Tenafly Nature Center’s Butterfly House is one of the butterfly gardens in NJ, which is known for having multiple species of butterflies to admire. The plants, birds, and insects that inhabit the Pollinator Garden vary by season. The Butterfly House opens in June and closes during rain and when temperatures are below 70 degrees or overcast. You can also sign up your kids (ages 4+) to spend time in the Butterfly House, enjoying up-close opportunities to feed the butterflies and learn how to create a seed ball to help pollinators near you.
Cost: Tenafly Nature Center members are free. Non-members pay $2 per person or $10 per family.
313 Hudson Avenue, Tenafly, NJ 07670
The Watershed Institute
The Kate Gorrie Butterfly House—and The Watershed Reserve in general—is home to many native butterflies and plants that provide their nectar and shelter. Help your kiddos look for the well-known golden monarch butterflies (hint: they’re known to shelter on milkweed species plants). Inside the butterfly house, you can find a re-creation of all the habitats in Central NJ, from the fields to the wet meadows to the forests. The Butterfly House is open seasonally from mid-June to early October.
Cost: Free
31 Titus Mill Road, Pennington, NJ 08534
Turtle Back Zoo
If you’re looking for a spot filled with butterflies, check out Turtle Back Zoo’s Butterfly Tent — this 100-foot-long space has over 1,500 butterflies from six different North American species. Your littles can see butterflies in their various stages in this one space, from eggs to caterpillars to chrysalises to butterflies. And after you finish marveling at the butterflies, make an afternoon of it — you’ve got the whole rest of the zoo to explore. Open Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Cost: $3 per person (cash only) for the Butterfly Tent in addition to Zoo entry fees
560 Northfield Avenue, West Orange, NJ 07052
Van Vleck House & Gardens
The Mark Landrum Children’s Butterfly Garden is within the Van Vleck Gardens, and its plants provide food and shelter for local butterflies and birds. Look for the two milkweed plant species in the garden that attract monarch butterflies, and herbs like dill, parsley, and fennel are popular among swallowtail butterflies. You can also swing by the turtlehead, bee balm, and honeysuckle plants to try and get a glimpse of some hummingbirds.
Cost: Free
21 Van Vleck Street, Montclair, NJ 07042
Wheelabrator Wildlife Refuge
Wheelabrator Gloucester is a waste management company committed to a clean environment and boasts an impressive wildlife refuge and nature trail on 150 acres of wetlands around the facility. Towards the front of the sanctuary is an enclosed butterfly garden. After you finish up there, take a break at the picnic pavilion and then follow their guide to explore the rest of the refuge.
Cost: Free
600 US-130 (before you get to the gate, turn into the parking lot), West Deptford, NJ 08093
Woodbridge Township Butterfly Garden
Woodbridge Township’s Butterfly Garden, maintained by the Woodbridge River Watch, is simple but peaceful. Let your littles explore the garden walkways, sit on the nearby benches to enjoy the spring weather, and check out the charming gazebo.
Cost: Free
Omar Avenue, Avenel, NJ 07001
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