Whale Watching Center

Winter Hours:

Open Wednesday – Sunday 10:00 AM through 4:00 PM

Closed Monday and Tuesday

For the latest updates, please email us at Whale.watching@oregon.gov or call at 541-765-3304.

Park staff are ready at the Whale Watching Center to answer your questions and help you spot gray whales. Located along the seawall in scenic Depoe Bay, the center is a perfect spot for you watch whales as they blow, dive, spyhop and breach.

Whale watching takes place year-round on the Oregon Coast!

During the busiest weeks, thousands of gray whales migrate past our windows on their way to and from the waters of Alaska and Mexico. We keep watch all year long, you never know who might swim by. Many species including humpback whales, orcas, dolphins, porpoise and even blue whales have been spotted from our windows.

In the Winter we watch nearly 20,000 gray whales from mid-December through mid-January as they travel south to the warm lagoons of Baja Mexico.

Spring watching begins in late March as the gray whales travel north on their way towards Alaska. The first surge swims by around the end of March and we watch the north-bound whales all the way until June.

Summer & Fall brings whales that feed along our coast from June to mid-November. We typically don't see hundreds of whales during this time but we consistently see between 5 and 15 whales every day!

The center is home to the Whale Watching Spoken Here  volunteer program, which sponsors the winter and spring break Whale Watching Weeks.

2016-2017 Whale Watching Weeks
Winter – December 27th – 31st 2016

Spring – March 25th – 31st 2017

A gray whale breaching in front of the Whale Watching Center (September 2016)