Among the rainbow-blooming gardens of butterfly-friendly shrubs and flowers you’ll stroll with brightly colored butterflies in the late afternoon summer sunshine.
Along the pathways of the Elkton Community Education Center’s Butterfly Garden—a four-acre native plant park—you can discover more than just butterflies. Learn about Oregon’s multiple climate zones.
Watch the magic of Monarchs emerging from their chrysalises as butterflies in the propagation pavilion and flight room. Wander through the splendid flower and berry gardens that attract butterflies, hummingbirds and more than 100 species of birds. Re-visit frontier life at Fort Umpqua, a 150’x200’ hand-hewn replica of the Hudson’s Bay Company’s southernmost trading post. The community comes together over Labor Day to celebrate Fort Umpqua Days a weekend full of local and regional history and traditional crafts from the frontier days.
The seasonal market garden offers the bounty of the season and the gift shop shares the artistic work of local artisans with visitors to ECEC. And every visitor has the opportunity to bring butterflies to their own garden with the broad array of native flowering shrubs for sale.
ECEC is open to visitors year round, but it’s best to check the ECEC website to get updated seasonal hours.
The Center is located mid-way along the 66-mile Umpqua River Scenic Byway and has easy-access parking for all vehicles. ECEC also has good accessibility for visitors with limited mobility and is bicycle-friendly with public restrooms, Wi-Fi, basic tools, and bicycle racks.
