In early winter every year approximately 18,000 gray whales migrate south from their feeding grounds in Alaska to their breeding grounds in Baja California. At the peak of this migration, about 30 whales per hour pass any given point along their route.
Adult gray whales are huge: 40-50 feet long and up to 90,000 pounds in weight – as big and heavy as a loaded semi-truck. They are also a long-lived species, 55-70 years is not uncommon, and some have been estimated to be as much as 80 years old. Gray whales are simply magnificent creatures, and they draw thousands of people to the Pacific coast in hopes of seeing them pass by. And because they migrate close to the shore, the many headlands along the Oregon coast are prime whale watching viewpoints.
Every year, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department sponsors two Whale Watch Week events, one in the winter and another in the spring when the whales make their return trip to Alaska. The 2023 winter event ran from December 27 to December 31. The 2024 spring dates are March 23-31. During the event, fifteen sites along the Oregon coast will be manned by volunteers to assist whale watchers in seeing these amazing creatures. You can also tune in to a live video feed during the event. For more information, go to the Oregon Whale Watch website or the Oregon State Parks whale watch website.
The spring migration north is spread out over several months, so there are fewer whales per hour to see, but the weather is often better and the calves born in Baja can be seen making their way north to Alaska with their mothers. The mothers and calves also migrate closer to shore than the whales in their winter migration south.
The majority of the world’s gray whales spend their summers feeding in the waters around Alaska (a few spend their summers along the coast of the U.S. and Canada) and migrate to Baja California to breed and give birth in the winter months. A smaller, and endangered, population migrates south along the northeast Asian coast. In the past, gray whales also ranged along both the European and North American Atlantic coastlines, and migrated to North Africa and possibly as far as South America to breed. But the Atlantic population has been almost totally extirpated by the whaling industry. In recent years, though, a few gray whales have been sighted in the Mediterranean and along the Atlantic coastlines of Africa and South America.
If you’re a resident of the Pacific Northwest, or are planning a visit over the holidays or in the spring, consider adding a trip to the Oregon coast to see these wonderful creatures. In addition to the on shore whale watching sites, you can also take whale watching cruises out of Depoe Bay, Oregon and other coastal ports. There’s no guarantee, of course, that you’ll see whales on any given day, but if you do, you won’t be sorry that you made the trip. And you or your children may remember it for the rest of you lives.
Even if you don’t see any whales on your trip, the Oregon coast has much else to offer the visitor. Check out my posts linked below for more on the Oregon coast:
Four charming Northern Oregon Coast Towns
The magnificent Southern Oregon Coast
Posted December 22, 2023 by Alan K. Lee. Updated March 20, 2024.
Photo Notes:
The featured image at the top of this post is by Merrill Gosho, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. All photos except those by the author were sourced from Wikimedia Commons.