With over 70 miles of coastline to offer, it's little wonder that whale watching in San Diego is so popular. At the height of the whale watching season there can be a few hundred whales passing through these waters on a single day. If you're planning a San Diego vacation, be sure to take one of the whale watching cruises, like those offered by Hornblower Cruises.
Alternatively you can usually see whales from the shoreline, if you know where to go.
From December through March tens of thousands of California gray whales make their migration from the chilly waters of Alaska to the warmer lagoons of Baja California in Mexico. They do this so that the female California grays can give birth to their young in better conditions, and to allow them to grow before making the return journey. The time when the most whales are passing by San Diego is the middle of January.
During migration the whales travel over 5000 miles, the longest distance that any mammal migrates on an annual basis. Many come within a few miles of the San Diego shoreline, and a whale watching trip lets you get right up-close. Ever looked into the eye of a whale? That's how close, if you get lucky. But you don't have to go to sea to watch the whales, as there are some terrific shoreline viewing platforms too.
A great place for whale watching from land is at the Cabrillo National Monument. This state park is on the Point Loma peninsula, and has a glass-enclosed observatory where you can watch for the whales throughout the December-March season. There are also interpretative displays.
The Birch Aquarium at Scripps (The Scripps Institution of Oceanography) puts on special exhibitions during the whale watching season. Visitors can see the whales from the aquarium's tide-pool plaza, which overlooks the ocean. It's an especially good place for a family whale watching day out, as there are educational activities for children – and you get to visit the aquarium too!
Read our page about our visit to the Birch Aquarium at Scripps, also known as the La Jolla Aquarium, when we were staying in La Jolla.
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Jan 17, 21 06:18 PM
Check out this NEW baby Gray Whales video we had just days ago off the Dana Point coast. This was such a treat and hope to have more and more visits like these .
Jan 17, 21 11:04 AM
Road trips aren’t just for the summer. For starters, it’s always fun to get away in the winter. Another benefit is that national and state parks as well as other famous attractions are usually less cr…
Jan 15, 21 10:00 AM
Army Corps of Engineers big dumps in Encinitas and Solana Beach seem like a finger in the dyke