Top Places for Whale Watching in California

While Santa Cruz gets thumbs-up for its hang-loose surf scene, oceanfront amusement park, flawless beach, and classic wooden pier, there’s another giant treasure lurking just beneath the surface. Migratory whales, including grays, blues, and humpbacks, can all be spied off the coast here at different times of year, and dolphins, sea otters, and seals are observed year round. See for yourself on exciting whale-watching cruises, chartered sailing excursions, or—for staggeringly intimate encounters—on guided kayak paddles when waters are calm.

What makes Santa Cruz such a prime spot for whale watching? According to Gary Griggs, director of the Institute of Marine Sciences at U.C. Santa Cruz, the town’s location on the northern end of Monterey Bay puts it on the edge of some of whales’ favourite undersea dining rooms. “The whales are here feeding on sardines, anchovies, and plankton, which have been attracted by blooms of microscopic plants such as diatoms,” explains Dr. Griggs. What’s more, Monterey Bay’s unique geology produces an area of relatively calm bay waters, where, according to Dr. Griggs, “plankton, small fish, seabirds, whales, and dolphins congregate to share in the food.” It makes for a fascinating, lively mix, and a great opportunity to learn more about California’s fascinating and delicate ocean ecosystems.

Whether from land or at sea, San Diego is one of California’s best spots for whale watching. With just a pair of binoculars, you can spot whales from the high cliffs at Torrey Pines State Natural Reserveand the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, both in La Jolla about 20 minutes north of central San Diego. And near the historic lighthouse at Cabrillo National Monument, the Whale Watch Lookout Point sits 128 metres above the waves with a wide field of vision—perfect for spotting whales.

For a closer view, sign up for a whale-watching cruise. A 3-hour trip with San Diego Whale Watchcomes with a guarantee—if you don’t see either a whale or a dolphin, you can go out again for free on another day; the same policy is in place at Flagship Whale Watching Cruises. H&M Landing offers local grey-whale tours from December to March; in summer, join an H&M landing trip to the Coronado Islands, a protected marine sanctuary just south-west of San Diego in Mexican waters, to spot blue whales, elephant seals and orcas too. And Hornblower Cruises has what is perhaps the best option if you are unaccustomed to being on a boat—its yachts are some of the biggest and most stable in the business, and they offer cruises as short as one hour. All whale-watching cruises depart from San Diego Harbour, just a few streets away from the USS Midway Museum.

Here’s one of those stars-aligning-just-right adventures you’ll never forget. In summer, when conditions are calm, experienced paddlers can take guided kayak tours into the open ocean off tiny Moss Landing, putting them smack-dab in the middle of the whale-watching action. Waters here, roughly 18 miles/29 kilometres north of Monterey, teem with wildlife. Climb into your kayak, paddle out, and watch the show, with humpbacks spouting, fluking, and even breaching all around.

Even if you don’t have paddling experience you can easily enjoy the show. Guided boat cruises also head out from the marina, where you can often see another marine mammal nosing about the docks—California sea otters. Whale-watching expeditions head out year-round.

Join guided cruises from  Newport Beach ’s  Newport Harbour  and   Dana Point, which has been dubbed the Dolphin and Whale Watching Capital of the World®, to explore a remarkable marine habitat that’s home to huge numbers of whales, dolphins and sea lions. The underwater  Newport Canyon  brings nutrient-rich waters close to the shore, so you don’t have to travel very far before the show begins.

The best time is during the annual migration of grey whales, from December to April, though whales visit these waters year round. Between May and October you might see blue whales, which can grow to be more than 30 metres long.

Some experts believe that Dana Point’s 60-metre-high cliffs serve as a landmark for migrating whales—making them a great place for humans to scan the seas for telltale blows. From Dana Point Harbor, Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching offers narrated 2-hour-long whale watching trips all year, some aboard a 20-metre catamaran. Captain Dave’s Dolphin and Whale-Watching Safari, also sailing out of Dana Point, has underwater-viewing capability, so that you can see the marine beauties both as they jump out of the water and as they swim below the surface.

From Newport Harbour, Newport Landing Whale Watching offers cruises three times daily year round. While whales may be your focus, hundreds of bottlenose dolphins often put on spectacular displays too. On Newport Beach’s Balboa Peninsula, Davey’s Locker offers whale-watching cruises several times a day, year-round; they boast a 95% success rate of seeing blue whales, grey whales, dolphins and other whale species.

Inside tip: celebrate cetaceans during the annual Dana Point Festival of Whales, a leviathan-sized March event with lectures, whale-watch outings and a parade.

The whale watching tours that run between the Ventura coast and the Channel Islands are almost always eventful. Of the 78 species of whales, dolphins and porpoises in the world, 29 have been spotted near the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Even if a grey, blue or humpback whale does not make an appearance, the tour boat captains can usually find a pod of dolphins—Common, Bottlenose or Risso’s, as well as rafts of sea lions. Every now and then, a school of flying fish soars right over the boat.

The city of Oxnard, which is less than 10 miles from Channel Islands National Park, is a perfect home base for a whale watching excursion. Island Packers offers both winter and summer three to three and a half hour whale watching cruises along the Santa Barbara Channel, with the option of extending your trip to a full day to land on Anacapa or Santa Cruz Island. Channel Islands Sportfishing has tours that run from late December to April.

When is the best time to spot whales? Grey whale season typically runs from late December until mid-April, when these 15-metre leviathans are making their annual migration from the Bering Sea to Mexico and back again. The summer months are the best times to see humpback whales and blue whales, which are attracted by abundant krill. Humpbacks are more common, but seeing a blue whale—the largest animal ever recorded on earth—is an experience you never forget. Measuring up to 27 metres long (the length of three school buses), the blue whale can spray water from its blowhole nearly nine metres into the air.