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The Peace Flyway

Mexico to Canada, one garden at a time

Mexico · United States · Canada

The Peace Flyway

Give peace a chance, one garden at a time. Every fall and spring, monarch butterflies fly up to 3,000 miles between Mexico and Canada, and the journey only works when three nations work together. The Peace Flyway follows their route up I‑35, turning historic cemeteries and gardens into pollinator waystations and places of peace.

See the Route Adopt a Stop

Pollinators don't need passports

One monarch's journey crosses three countries. Protecting it takes neighbors working together, a living lesson in peace.

Peace starts with food

About one in three bites of food depends on pollinators. Gardens that feed people and pollinators build stronger, calmer communities.

Memory and renewal

Historic cemeteries honor generations of people. Monarchs take about four generations to fly north. Each garden links the past to the next generation.

MEXICOUNITED STATESCANADAPanteón de los Queretanos Ilustres, Querétaro, Qro.Panteón del Saucito, San Luis Potosí, SLPPanteón de Santiago, Saltillo, CoahuilaPanteón del Carmen, Monterrey, Nuevo LeónLaredo City Cemetery, Laredo, TXOld San Antonio City Cemeteries, San Antonio, TX (East Commerce St)Oakwood Cemetery, Austin, TXOakwood Cemetery, Waco, TXPioneer Park Cemetery, Downtown Dallas, TXPioneers Rest Cemetery, Fort Worth, TXFairlawn Cemetery, Oklahoma City, OKSummit View Cemetery, Guthrie, OKHighland Cemetery, Wichita, KSOak Hill Cemetery, Lawrence, KSCorinth Cemetery, W 83rd St near Mission Rd, Prairie Village, KSNew Santa Fe Cemetery, 122nd St & State Line RdShawnee Methodist Mission Cemetery, Fairway, KSMount Mora Cemetery, St. Joseph, MOWoodland Cemetery, Des Moines, IAPioneers & Soldiers Memorial Cemetery, Minneapolis, MNOakland Cemetery, St. Paul, MNForest Hill Cemetery, Duluth, MNRiverside Cemetery, Fargo, NDSt. John's Cathedral Cemetery, Winnipeg, MBSt. Boniface Cathedral Cemetery, Winnipeg, MBBrookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, MBMountain View Cemetery, Thunder Bay, ONLagow Cemetery, Dallas, TXWarren Ferris Cemetery, 8381 St Francis Ave, Dallas, TXLinwood Pioneer Cemetery, 3600 W 95th St, Leawood, KSWhite Church Delaware Indian Cemetery, 2200 N 85th St, Kansas City, KS (next to White Church Elementary)MonterreyLaredoSan AntonioAustinDallas–Fort WorthOklahoma CityWichitaDes MoinesMinneapolis–St. PaulDuluthFargoWinnipegThunder BayQuerétaroSan Luis PotosíSaltilloMonarch Butterfly Biosphere ReserveSouth peace stop · Nov 1–2Heartland Waystation · Kansas CityCenter peace stop · Sept 21International Peace GardenNorth peace stop · ND–MB border

The route

From the forests of Michoacán to the Canadian border

The Peace Flyway runs north from the monarch's winter home in Mexico, through Monterrey and Laredo, up I‑35 through San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Oklahoma City, Wichita and Kansas City, then on to Des Moines, the Twin Cities and Duluth, with branches to Winnipeg, Thunder Bay and the International Peace Garden.

  • Peace stops: the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Kansas City and the International Peace Garden
  • Pilot sites: historic cemetery pilots in Dallas and proposed first sites in Kansas City
  • Candidate cemeteries waiting for a club to adopt them
  • Main route: I‑35 and its extension into Mexico
  • Branches into Canada
See every stop

Who lives along the flyway

Butterflies, bees, birds, bats and the plants that feed them

Monarch butterflyRuby-throated hummingbirdRusty patched bumble beeButterfly milkweedRegal fritillaryLesser long-nosed bat

Meet the species See who's helping

Protect the winter forests

Fire is the biggest threat to the monarchs' winter home

The colonies covered under 3 hectares of forest last winter. We're helping local bomberos get training and donated equipment, and building a nursery near the reserve.

Learn more

The Peace Flyway Nursery

Grow in Kansas City, plant everywhere

A pollinator nursery at Heartland Waystation will start plants for stops along the route, and teach clubs and community groups how to create Peace Gardens.

Learn more

Three peace stops

A garden of peace at each end, and one in the middle

South · November 1–2

Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve

In the oyamel fir forests of Michoacán, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the monarchs arrive for Día de los Muertos. Many families there welcome them as the souls of loved ones returning.

Center · September 21

Peace Garden, Kansas City

At Heartland Waystation, a proposed nature center in Kansas City, a Peace Garden is planned for dedication on the UN International Day of Peace in 2027, at peak migration.

North · Summer

International Peace Garden

On the North Dakota–Manitoba border, a garden built in 1932 to celebrate peace between the United States and Canada. A natural finish line for the flyway.

At every stop

A Peace Pole in a ring of milkweed

  • A Peace Pole surrounded by milkweed and native nectar plants
  • A Peace Flyway passport stamp, so families, students, veterans and volunteers can collect the route
  • A short lesson on local history, pollinators and peace
  • Planting days on World Bee Day (May 20) and the International Day of Peace (September 21)
Learn about the peace stops

Clubs in action

Clubs adopt the stops

Each historic cemetery or garden is adopted by a local club, school or community group working with the owner (a city, church or association) and partners. Volunteers plant, students learn their local history, and the flyway grows one stop at a time.

Adopt a stop