Where to see butterflies in Atlanta — have a close-up butterfly encounter this summer, at these parks and nature centers!

Have a butterfly encounter this summer! You can get up close to hundreds of flying butterflies at local nature centers and gardens. If you’re lucky, you may have a butterfly land on your hand or arm. It’s a magical experience for kids and grownups alike.

Our list is focused on venues where you can enter a butterfly house, also known as a butterfly conservatory or lepidopterarium. (These are different from outdoor butterfly gardens.) They are special facilities designed for breeding and displaying butterflies, often with an emphasis on education.

Some of our local nature centers have special butterfly events each summer, when the butterflies have emerged from cocoons and are in the adult state. If you visit, bring a camera!

Best places to see butterflies in Atlanta

Chattahoochee Nature Center’s Butterfly Encounter + Butterfly Festival

9135 Willeo Rd.
Roswell, GA

June 5 – August 6 in 2023
Mon. thru Sat. 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sunday noon to 4:30 p.m.

The Butterfly Encounter is included with general admission to the nature center.
PRICES
Adults — $15
Seniors (65+) — $11
Students 13-18 — $11
Kids 3-12 — $9
Under 3 — FREE

The Butterfly Encounter takes place in a mesh tent on the nature center grounds each summer. This walk-through exhibit lets you get up close to hundreds of native butterflies surrounded by their nectar plants.  You can even hold a special “nectar stick” to entice butterflies to come to you.

If the exhibit inspires you to start your own butterfly garden at home, you can purchase nectar and host plants on site.

You must purchase your general admission ticket online in advance. The nature center is operating on a timed-ticket system to limit capacity, so you can enjoy the experience. No walk-ups are allowed. The time on your ticket is the time you may enter the Butterfly Encounter. You’re free to visit the rest of nature center after that.

2023 Flying Colors Butterfly Festival on June 3 & 4

The Chattahoochee Nature Center’s annual day Butterfly Festival is back for 2023!

You’ll want to buy your ticket online in advance:
* $25 general admission (this is $10 more than last year)
* Children 2 and under FREE
* $20 for nature center members

There are tons of special activities at this family-friendly event — in addition to the Butterfly Encounter. You’ll also find food and live entertainment.

HOURS for 2-day Butterfly Festival
Saturday, June 3 — 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Sunday, June 4 — noon to 5 p.m.

Dunwoody Nature Center’s annual Butterfly Experience

5343 Roberts Drive
Dunwoody, GA 30338

September 9 & 10, 2023
$10 for adults (last year’s price)

Tickets are $10 for adults and kids over the age of three. Kids three and under are FREE.
Ticket sales begin on August 1st — and will probably sell out, so set a calendar reminder for that day!
More info on Butterfly Experience here

The 2023 event is said to be bigger than ever.
During the festival, you can enter mesh tents filled with colorful fluttering butterflies.  The festival also showcases the nature center’s birds of prey, reptiles, and other wildlife. Activities include craft stations, live music, nature scavenger hunt, face painting, and more.

Smith-Gilbert Gardens’ Butterfly House

2382 Pine Mountain Road
Kennesaw, Georgia 30152

2023 dates TBA
Last year, it was July 1-30
Tuesday thru Saturday
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Prices:
Adults — $10
Seniors (65+) — $8
Kids 3-17 — $5
Under 3 — FREE

A Garden with Wings Butterfly House opens to the public each summer. The newly expanded facility features butterflies that are native to Georgia, as well as their native host plants and plants that provide nectar for food. You can expect to see the entire butterfly life cycle here — from eggs to caterpillar to cocoon to adult.

This special exhibit is included with the price of garden admission (see prices above). 

You an also visit an outdoor pollinator garden that hosts a collection of annuals, perennials, and flowering shrubs that attract and support native pollinators like bumblebees, hummingbirds, and butterflies.

You may buy tickets online in advance, or on the day of your of your visit, in person. as there are no on-site sales right now. The garden is still operating on a timed-ticket entry system, but the time slots are very broad.
More info here

Dahlonega Butterfly Farm

427 Castleberry Bridge Rd.
Dawsonville, GA. 30534

April 29 thru October 29, 2023
Thursday thru Sunday — 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tuesday & Wednesday: Group reservations only

The Dahlonega Butterfly Farm features an indoor tropical butterfly conservatory, a containment room where our butterflies are born, and an outdoor caterpillar habitat. 

The basic tour shows you the life-cycle of butterflies and the importance of pollinators in the environment.  You can also “catch” a butterfly in the tropical conservatory to can observe up-close.

New this year is a U-Pick Sunflower & Zinnia garden in July for visitors to enjoy (and take home fresh flowers!)

This is an easy day-trip, and for some folks will be a much shorter drive than Callaway Gardens.

Advance Purchase Prices:
Adults — $8
Children — $5
Under 3 years — FREE
Seniors (62+) — $6
*Note: prices are $1 higher at the gate

Season pass:
Individual — $15
Family (up to 4 people) — $38
**Includes 10% off in the gift shop

Freedom Park Bird & Butterfly Garden

The garden is located near the corner of North Ave. and Candler Park Dr.
FREE to visit

This is a bonus item, since it’s an outdoor butterfly garden and not an enclosed exhibit. Since Freedom Park is over 200 acres, the garden is unknown to many people.

The Freedom Park Bird and Butterfly Garden is a certified wildlife sanctuary. It is a joint venture between the Atlanta Audubon Society and the Dekalb Master Gardener Association. The garden includes more than 40 species of native plants.
More details

Tucker Butterfly Garden

Located at the Tucker Rec Center
4898 LaVista Rd.
Tucker , GA 30084

FREE to visit!
This certified pollinator garden features a wide variety of the host and nectar plants that support the complete life cycle of caterpillars and butterflies. It provides a complete habitat for the winged creatures that are native to Georgia and the Southeast.

Feel free to browse the butterfly garden and nearby native plant showcase garden — it’s completely FREE.

You’ll find the plants are labeled with both common names and botanical names. There is also educational signage that explains the butterfly’s transformational life cycle.

The Rec Center also hosts workdays where you can learn more about butterflies and how to provide a habitat on your own property. The workdays are held the fourth Thursday of each month from February through November.
More info here

Callaway Gardens’ Butterfly House & Festival

17800 US Hwy 27
Pine Mountain, GA 31822

Butterfly House is open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The outdoor gardens and trails are open daily 9 a.m. to dusk

Butterfly Festival: 2023 dates not announced yet, but will probably be in September.

2022 Advance purchase prices:
Adults — $19.95
Seniors — $19.95
Kids 6-12 — $14.95 (see FREE offer below)
Kids 5 and under — FREE
Military — $14.95 adult and $11.95 dependent child

Buy tickets online in advance and save

About the Butterfly Festival

Children 12 and under who dress as a butterfly, caterpillar, or other insect receive FREE admission to Callaway gardens on Butterfly Festival weekend only.

This is family-friendly annual event that takes place each year in late September.  Venture out on a scavenger hunt, create a butterfly mask, and participate in other activities and crafts.

The Butterfly Festival is included in the price of admission, and is FREE for resort guests.

Visit the festival web page

About the Butterfly Center

The Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center at Callaway Gardens is one of the largest tropical butterfly conservatories in the country. It’s a glass-enclosed facility that provides a complete ecosystem, complete with tropical plants that provide food for the butterflies.

The complete butterfly life cycle takes place inside the climate-controlled conservatory, which replicates the environment of a tropical rain forest — complete with a waterfall and pool. There are over 50 butterfly species in residence.

Purchase tickets in advance online to save $5 over on-site purchase of an adult ticket.
More details on the butterfly house

More summer fun around metro Atlanta:

Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Thursday, June 1, 2023

Friday, June 2, 2023

Saturday, June 3, 2023

Sunday, June 4, 2023

Monday, June 5, 2023

Tuesday, June 6, 2023

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