More Whale Watching – Dana Point, California

I spent so much time in my last Whale Watching article talking about bald eagles that I almost forgot to mention the whales. For your sake and mine, I say, not this time!

Another great place to go whale watching during the mid-winter, very-early-spring season is Dana Point, which is in Orange Country next to Laguna Beach about 50-60 miles out from Los Angeles depending on how you want to calculate it. Why is it so great? Well, they have whales, for one thing, but more importantly it’s the unique geography of the Dana Point coastline that makes for particularly good whale watching.

Specifically, ships from Dana Point Harbor can be on the open ocean within five or so minutes from embarkation, rather than the 15-45 minutes that a lot of west coast whale watching charters must suffer, and that means anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour and twenty more time to enjoy your experience.

While you may catch the occasional glimpse of a sea lion or even a dolphin, without a doubt the headline sea beast you’ll be looking out for is the California Gray Whale. These majestic, to say nothing of massive, creatures spend the late fall and winter migrating from the frigid cold of the arctic down to the Californian and Mexican Baja. Time it right (and that time is now), and you’re virtually guaranteed to see lots of activity on your whale watching excursion.

You’ll find countless charter companies working out of Dana Point Harbor as well as various other locations along the coastline. At this time, USA Travel Guide cannot make a particular endorsement.

We can, however, endorse a hotel. The Doubletree Guest Suites Doheny Beach, our favorite in Dana Point hotels, is a cozy all-suites property that accommodates for standard room prices. It’s always nice to find an affordable choice near Laguna Beach.

Fun Fact: The folks of Dana Point, California are such whale fanatics, they even have a festival. Check out info about the 2009 Festival of the Whales here.

Photo used with permission.

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