We are excited to announce our dates for the upcoming Oregon Whale Watch program. The Winter 2025 Whale Watch Event will be from December 27th through 31st.

During the Whale Watch Events we will have volunteers and rangers stationed at 15 locations stretched along the Oregon coast. Come join us to catch the gray whale migrations as they pass by!

History

In 1978 Don Giles of the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport headed out to Yaquina Head Lighthouse with his binoculars and a great idea. Colleagues Bruce Mate and Denise Herzing were counting gray whales migrating past Yaquina Head. They confirmed what Don and others intuitively knew: Gray whale migrations along the Oregon coast peak during two special times of the year. The southbound migration happens during the winter holiday season, and the northbound has one of its two peaks near the end of March.

This knowledge motivated Don to create the Whale Watching Spoken Here® program. Since 1978, it has grown to become one of the most organized onshore whale watching programs in the United States.