The Central Coast area of California is a fantastic and popular place for whale watching. The whales we see most commonly here are the baleen whales – blue whales, humpback whales, and gray whales.

The waters off the California coast provide rich sources of food for whales, as well as other marine mammals and birds. If you see a gathering of birds over the ocean, take a moment to look.

In the summer whales spend time in the colder oceans to feed and to build up their blubber for their southern migration during which time they eat very little or none at all. Gray whales feed in the Bering Sea and blue whales travel to polar regions, including the Antarctic. Humpback whales, like the blue whales, also live in all the oceans.

Central Coast California is what’s between Los Angeles and San Francisco, “the sort of siblings who don’t speak to each other” as EA Hanks describes in her book, The 10, what some people call “sister cities”. In this article I focus even more, central of the Central Coast or San Luis Obispo which oftentimes gets overshadowed by Big Sur and Monterey.

Santa Barbara to the south and Monterey to the north may be more well-known. SLO also has a lot to offer and it is a great place to whale watch.

Baleen whales have a filtering method to eat. Water and food are taken in and water is then pushed out, trapping krill and small fish in their mouths. Baleens are like filtering combs or sieves and are made of keratin, the same substance of fingernails. They grow from the upper jaw. Greenland right whale has the longest baleen, some as long as 17 feet. The shortest are the five to forty centimeters in gray whales, which feed at the bottom of the ocean. They also have the smallest amount, 130 to 180 plates per rack. Blue whales have up to 400 plates per baleen rack, so a total of 800. The size and colour – white, black, gray, etc – are specific for each whale species. While toothed whales develop their teeth, baleen whales are born with their baleens, or at least some of them. [source of stats – Whale Tales Podcast Episode 057-Baleen] Other interesting info – toothed whales use sonar to locate and hunt prey for food. Also, only baleen whales sing though not all of them do. Right whales do not, for example.

Whale Watching in Central Coast California

Quick links:: Blue Whales | Humpback Whales | Gray Whales

San Luis Obispo has a beautiful and rich coastline. SLO is both a county and a city, which itself is inland. When it gets hot in the valley, people head to the coast. Farmers have been doing this a long time. Many have summer or second homes in places like Pismo Beach, which is part of the Five Cities. Pismo Beach, Grover Beach, Arroyo Grande, and Shell Beach.

We can see whales from the beach here on the Central Coast. Also dolphins. Great whites are seen more often these days, it seems. Aerial footage documents their movement all along the coast and often around Pismo Pier.

For whale watching tours, you will head to Avila Beach, just a short drive from Pismo Beach or to Morro Bay, further north. Both places have their charm and well worth your time to visit on your trip to San Luis Obispo.

Whale Watching Tours From Avila Beach

Whale watching tours at Avila Beach leave from Port San Luis Pier/Harford Pier (past the blue Sportfishing building). Free parking available.

Avila Beach Whale Watching – “The Pacific Flyer”, 28ft power catamaran that takes a maximum of six passengers; 9AM and 11:30AM departure times, 2 hours, available year round.

Pismo Beach Whale Watching – SLO Tours – “Obispeno”, 32ft power catamaran that takes six passengers max, 2 hours, available July to November; 9AM departure time.

Whale Watching Tours From Morro Bay

Lost Isle Adventures – 845 Embarcadero, Suite D, Morro Bay; standard tour – 2-3 hours; high-speed tour boat – 90 minutes.

Morro Bay Whale Watching – Sub Sea Tours 699 Embarcadero, Morro Bay; The Freedom, 53ft boat with max 45 passengers or The Dos Osos, 33ft catamaran with max 22 passengers; 9AM and 1PM departure times, 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours.

In Morro Bay, you can also see whales from the bluffs. According to The Whale Trail, there’s a secluded parking lot with a good view of Estero Bay. Going north on Highway 1, turn left at Yerba Buena and then a right.

If you’re staying in San Luis Obispo for whale watching, San Luis is in between Morro Bay and Avila Beach. There are lots of options for accommodations, from well-known hotels to inns and vacation rentals. Check out Booking.com deals.

Quick links:: Blue Whales | Humpback Whales | Gray Whales

Blue Whales

Blue whales (balaenoptera musculus) are the largest animals on earth. Their eyeball is the size of a grapefruit, their heart about 400 pounds, and their tongue, as large as an elephant. Their esophagus, interestingly, is too small for a human to pass through.

There are nine different subspecies that live in all oceans aside from the Arctic. Some populations have more well-known migration patterns. It appears from acoustic recordings that some actually stay in certain places the whole year. The smallest population is the pygmy blue whale, which still reach over 20 meters or 65 feet.

The blue whale is the loudest baleen whale. Their pulses and moans can reach 188 decibels, which can be heard from far, far away (hundreds of kilometers) by other whales. Blue whales are vocal and can be tracked by their songs which are similar to those of the humpback whales. However, their frequencies are below what humans can hear. The blue whale, though, is not the loudest animal. That would be the sperm whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), a toothed whale. Their short clicks can go up to 230 decibels.

These giants – bigger than dinosaurs – generally travel by themselves or in small groups of a few. While blue whales can ramp up to 30 miles (or close to 50km) per hour, they usually travel at between five and six miles/hour. Calling all oceans aside from the Arctic home, blue whales prefer deeper waters because of their size and so are less commonly seen close to the shore.

Wade’s dad recently told us that years ago, they saw a blue whale from the cliffs. At first they thought it was a log, a very big log. They thought it was strange that it seemed to be floating against the current. They saw it turn and, much to their surprise, realized it was a blue whale. Swimming further south, for an hour, it stayed in a nearby cove, where it was spotted by other enthusiastic onlookers. He also shared that they have seen pilot whales.

Blue whales are also seen less since they don’t breach the surface like the humpback whale or poke their heads above water like the gray whale. While they don’t leap like the humpback whales, you can spot them by their tall spouts which can reach 30 feet in the air.

On the west coast of North America, blue whales spend time with their calves in the Gulf of California December to March. Monterey Bay is known to be a good spot to see blue whales. Since orcas follow their prey and do target blue whale calves, this is also an area to see orcas. Plan to be in Monterey Bay from May to October while they are migrating, with the highest chances in July and August. It’s believed that about 2,000 blue whales are found off California.

Humpback Whales

From the beaches, and even the highway, I have caught splashes in the distance, when they spout or breach. Here in Central Coast, also in Northern California, and Hawai’i, it’s been amazing seeing whales, even if I have to squint or they are so far off in the distance that they look tiny through binoculars. One of the most magical times was seeing them in Northern California. From our truck, as we were enjoying the sunset, we suddenly caught sight of whales. Spouts. Then we realized there was some kind of migrating going on, a long line of movement, marked by all the spouts. Then near the horizon they turned south. From where we were sitting, it looked like a dramatic right angle turn. We joked about the whales knowing something. The next day we had a big storm.

The closest I came to going on a whale-watching tour was in Kaikōura, New Zealand. That morning, all the tours were cancelled due to bad weather. Kaikōura, in the South Island, is famous for whale watching since it is near many migration paths. Year round there are also male sperm whales and blue whales. Squid is the primary diet of the sperm whale which is a deep ocean diver. They can hold their breath from 40 minutes, and up to two hours! Also included in their diet is shark.

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) populations are found throughout the world, with fourteen population segments, some more endangered than others. Their low number of 30,000 to 60,000 is primarily due to whaling, which was banned in 1966. Whaling nearly wiped out many species, and was done for profit over whale oil which was used in many ways, such as fuel and soap. Their bones were used for fertilizers and their meat, food. The baleens were also used to make items such as corsets. Millions of whales were killed because of the effectiveness of the gunned harpoon.

Some humpback populations have replenished, like those off Vancouver, according to Whale Tales Podcast. They breed in the tropical oceans and migrate to the polar areas.

Their tails (flukes), as wide as 18 feet, are distinctive and individual whales can be identified by the patterns on the underside of their flukes.

When we see photos of humpback whales, a lot of times is them breaching and doing acrobatic leaps. Aside from their humps and breaching, humpbacks are also distinguishable by their long pectoral fins. While a blue whale’s pectoral fins are only about 12% of their body length, those of the humpback are about one-third.

The humpback whale is also known for their beautiful complex songs. Males sing repeatedly for hours songs that are as long as twenty minutes long. The same population has practically the same song, which changes over the years. Singing is not just during breeding seasons, but year-round. The reasons for these songs are not known definitively. What has been observed is that humpback whales stop singing when ships are within a certain range.

Ship strike, fishing lines, and noise pollution remain an increasing problem for marine life.

Humpback whales are social groups and travel in pods of up to fifteen. An example of their cooperative behaviour is using bubble nets to fish. Forming a circle beneath the fish, humpback whales blow bubbles that trap the school of fish inside. Then they swim up to gulp up their meal.

Gray Whales

Gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) are the most commonly seen whales off the California coast. They migrate twice a year, between their breeding grounds in Mexico and their feeding grounds in Alaska. Summers north, winters south. As they stay close to the shore, there is a good likelihood of spotting them. Their migration is 10,000 to 14,000 miles round trip and takes a few months. Because of their consistent migration pattern and coastal paths, the gray whales were easily and commonly hunted in the 19th century. In 1936 the International Whaling Commission banned the killing of whales, including right and gray whales which were close to being extinct. Atlantic gray whales became extinct centuries ago.

Since a couple of gray whales were seen in the Mediterranean and off Namibia, it’s believed they may be coming back. Today, gray whales number in the 20,000s off the Pacific Coast of the United States.

In Central Coast, we can see gray whales from December to May. While all baleen whales have two blow holes, the v-shaped one that gray whales have result in a heart-shaped spout.

Blow holes are used to let the old air out before taking a new breath. And it smells. (Toothed whales have one blow hole.)

Tree rings and ear wax. Like we can tell the age of a tree by the number of rings, we can tell the age of a whale by counting the colours of their earwax. Their giant ear plug is removed after their death. Other information that can be gathered includes contaminants, pollutants, and even stress levels.

Whale Watching in Baja

The Baja lagoons is where gray whales travel to breed. Popular places to see gray whales are Laguna Ojo de Liebre and Laguna San Ignacio, which are part of Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino and so in protected waters. Laguna Ojo de Liebre is near Guerrero Negro and Laguna San Ignacio is near San Ignacio. The first lagoon is bigger and attracts thousands of gray whales! If you drive from Guerrero Negro, you’ll drive through salt flats. Otherwise whale-watching tours usually include transportation. You can either drive down to Baja or fly in. Renting a car in Mexico is also easy.

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