Whale Watching in California

Seeing Dolphins while Whale Watching with
Newport Landing Whale Watching

In season there are plenty of opportunities to go whale watching in California, from places including San Francisco, San Diego, Monterey, Ventura, Dana Point, Fort Bragg, the Channel Islands National Park, the Redwood National Park near Crescent City, Long Beach near Los Angeles, and many more. You don't even need to go on a boat trip, if you're not a good sailor or the trips are booked up: you can watch the whales passing from lots of good viewpoints along the shore. In some places plan to get there early as sometimes parking is limited. Take some binoculars and don't forget your camera, as sometimes the whales come in close to the shore.

Balboa/Newport Beach
The waters just outside Newport Bay are considered some of the most fertile in California. Along with the traditional grey whale migration from December through April, the appearance of huge numbers of giant blue whales during the summer and fall months has created a world class year-round whale watching destination. Check out Newport Landing Whale Watching for whale watching cruise information in Newport Beach.

Channel Islands National Park
From December through April an estimated 10,000 gray whales pass through the Santa Barbara Channel, between the Channel Islands and the California coast. Then in July and August you'll see the blue and humpback whales, especially off Santa Rosa island.

Crescent City
South of Crescent City in the Redwood National Park there are several good viewing points, including the Kuchel Visitor Center, The Klamath River Overlook and the Crescent Beach Overlook. Being further north, the best viewing times are a little different from southern California. Here February-April and November-January are the prime months.

Dana Point
At the southern end of the official Pacific Coast Highway, Dana Point Harbor is such a great whale-watching spot that each March when the migration season begins, they have a Festival of Whales. If you're planning to visit, check out that website for the dates and details. Also read our account of a Dana Point whale watching sunset cruise, when we got good views of a fin whale.

Eureka
Patrick's Point State Park, which is 25 miles north of Eureka near Trinidad, is the place people go to look for whales during the main migrating season from about December through March.

Fort Bragg
Here you should head for the MacKerricher State Park for the best whale-watching viewpoints from late December through March/April.

Gualala
The Gualala Point Regional Park sticks out into the Pacific Ocean here, providing good viewpoints for watching whales from the shoreline, with December-April being the prime whale-watching season.

Los Angeles
See Long Beach, above, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula, below.

Monterey
Here whales come in close enough to the shore to be visible through binoculars, but you can't beat getting out on a boat and getting among them. Head down to Fisherman's Wharf to book on one of the boat trips. December-March is the time for the gray whales, and then July-September for the blues and humpbacks.

Palos Verdes Peninsula
One of the best whale watching viewpoints close to Los Angeles is on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, at Point Vicente. Best times to see the whales are December/January and March/April.

Point Reyes National Seashore
To the north of San Francisco, head for the Point Reyes Lighthouse at the western edge of the Point Reyes National Seashore. This is the best place for miles around to watch the whales migrating in December-January – so get there early. The whales then pass by again in their greatest numbers in March.

Redwood National Park
See Crescent City above.

San Diego
Best times for viewing here are about mid-December to mid-March, and the subject is covered on the Whale Watching from the San Diego Shoreline page and this account of our own trip on a San Diego whale watching cruise.

Santa Barbara
Locals and visitors all head for Shoreline Park for the best shoreline viewpoints for whale-watching, from late December through late March. If you want to book on a whale watching boat trip, make for Santa Barbara Harbor. You can also go whale-watching from Santa Barbara to the Channel Islands National Park.

Santa Cruz
Whale watching trips can be booked down at the Municipal Wharf in Santa Cruz.

Ventura
In Ventura from December through until about March, gray whales can be seen in the Santa Barbara Channel. Then July-September is the best time for the humpback and blue whales. You may also see minke whales and the orcas, or killer whales.

VIP Whale Watching Tours

You can do a VIP whale watching tour in a light aircraft out of Torrance airport, between Los Angeles and Long Beach. Seeing whales from on-high, with the pilot able to scour the entire ocean to find the whales, must be an amazing experience. We haven't yet tried it ourselves but would love to give it a go, next time we're in the area. You can organise it through Riter Aviation.

For more information read this article on
Whale Watching Tours and Festivals along the Pacific,
published in the LA Times.

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