How to Spot Gray Whales

If you want to spot Gray whales, do as Horatio Alger said and "Go West." Gray whales are a species found in the Pacific Ocean and migrate yearly between Baja California in Mexico and the Chukchi Sea off the coast of Alaska. Gray whales belong to the Mysticeti suborder of cetaceans. Like all Mysticeti, Gray whales have strands of baleen instead of teeth. The baleen allows Grays to filter feed on bottom-dwelling krill or crustaceans. Individual whales are identified by their fluke, or tail, and by their unique shape and coloration.

Things You'll Need

  • Binoculars or spotting scope
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Instructions

  1. Roadside Viewing

    • 1

      Drive to the California coast. Drive up California Highway 1, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway, between late February and very early April. Gray whales migrate up the coast from the winter calving grounds in Baja California, Mexico, to the Chukchi Sea off Alaska's far northern coast. Watchers can spot the whales from vantage points along the highway.

    • 2

      Head to Southern California. Park at Leo Carillo State Park, Zuma Beach or Carlsbad Beach in late February and early March as the Grays are just beginning their migration. Use scopes or binoculars to see the spouts as they make their way north. Gray whale spouts are pear-shaped and come up from the blow hole at about a 30-degree angle in front of the head. Southern migration dates to spot the whales making their way back to Mexico are late November through January.

    • 3

      Head to the northern coasts. Go to the northern California coast, southern Oregon coast and Washington coast from mid-March through early April. Half Moon Bay, Coos Bay and near Puget Sound are good locations to spot the leviathans as they move farther north. Look for the whales on their way back south in these locations between October and November.

    Gray Whale Tours

    • 4

      Head to Mexico. Book a fare on any number of day boats in Baja California, Mexico, between February and April to see the Gray whales in their winter calving grounds. Expect to see cow-calf pairs (mother and offspring) on the tours.

    • 5

      Take a tour out of Resurrection Bay in Seward, Alaska. Plan to go in mid-April to see the Gray whales in the Alaskan waters, heading farther north to the Chukchi Sea. Several charter operations in Seward offer Gray whale sightseeing tours.

    • 6

      Visit Monterey Bay Aquarium in Monterey, California. Learn about Gray whales and the whaling history of the California coast and then go out on a naturalist-led boat charter to Gray whale watch. Peak times for Gray whale tours along the central coast of California are mid-February through March.