whale watching tours depoe bay oregon

Sea Life Cruise

Our welcoming staff and crew offer a true Oregon adventure for visitors from far and near. Join our seasoned captains and a team of friendly naturalist guides, as we provide a fun and exciting 2-hour sea life cruise that focuses on Oregon wildlife aboard the deluxe 65ft DISCOVERY.

Depending on the time of year, we look for gray whales, harbor porpoise, seals, sea lions, pelicans, bald eagles, and an abundance of marine birds. Enjoy the incredible scenery of our bay, river, and coastline featuring the largest fishing fleet on the Oregon Coast, our historic bridge, two lighthouses, and fun activities for all ages!

Fun activities for all ages

Incredible sea life encounters, friendly & knowledgeable guides.

Group Tours

Marine Discovery Tours, proud members of the National Tour Association, the leading organization of professional tours in North America, offers group tours with many advantages for the tour operator. Contact us for scheduling information.

Tour groups love our "stretch limo" vessel with a heated cabin, seating for all, and complimentary coffee and tea! We're happy to offer exclusive charters for Special Events from reunions to Celebrations of Life/Ashes at Sea - take over the Discovery as your own!

Easy, flexible scheduling

Tour operator discounts, customized tour opportunities, bus parking & curbside drop-off, wheelchair access ramp.

School Groups

The DISCOVERY, staffed by enthusiastic marine educators, delivers powerful, hands-on student tours and experiences. Share aquatic habitats with your students from the best possible vantage – a 65′ floating classroom! The boat comfortably handles group sizes up to 49 with easy access loading and inside seating for all. Experience the estuary or ocean using the latest in navigation and research technology; including interactive labs, video microscopy, and on-board computer, rain or shine.

We welcome pre-K – 12th grade student sailors.

Accommodates different grade levels

Meets oregon common curriculum goals, can be adapted for students with special needs.

Marine Discovery Tours

(541) 265-6200.

 345 SW Bay Boulevard Newport, OR 97365 Email: [email protected]

Also at Anchor Pier on Newport's Bayfront...

Whale Watching in Depoe Bay. Best in Oregon

Whale watching report:.

No whale watching again today as this rough weather we have been having fooled us and stayed around for another day. Winds will be down tomorrow and things look much better for tomorrow.

Depoe Bay is the Whale Watching Capital and Dockside Charters offers Premier Whale Watching Excursions.

Oregon Coast Whale Watching Tours!

Dockside Charters runs whale watching excursions on a daily basis during our whale watching season. The season typically goes from mid-December through October. Our whale watching season actually is two part: migration and residential. The migratory season begins in December and usually extends until mid May. Mid to late May is when our “resident” whales begin to arrive. Our resident whales are a group of roughly 20 whales that, though they do migrate don’t go all the way to the Bering Sea but rather feed during the summer season within just a few miles of Depoe Bay and stay in the area until late October. The same whales return year after year and we are able to identify returning whales by their individual markings and the skippers even have them named.

Pacific Gray Whales have the longest migration of any animal on earth going from the Bering Sea to the Baja Peninsula and even into the Sea of Cortez. Their migration allows calves to be born in the warm waters of the Baja lagoons, that is vital to the survival of the newborns because they have no insulating blubber layer at birth. As the new calves and their mothers slowly migrate North the calves gain about nine to ten pounds per day. What makes that even more remarkable is the fact that the cows (mother gray whales) feed very little if at all during the migration. This is often quite evident by the physical appearance of the cows when they reach Depoe Bay, they are literally racks of skin and bones, having used their fat reserves to support the calves during migration.

After they arrive here feeding is the priority. Pacific Gray Whales are baleen feeders, they filter food they need from the water by straining it through their baleen plates. Organisms they feed on are quite small, one of the whales most important food sources are Mysid Shrimp. Mysid Shrimp live in and around kelp forests and never get more than about a half inch in length. They resemble mosquito larva more than shrimp and the whales will consume up to 2000 pounds of them a day. At other times they will feed on copepods they filter by taking mouthfuls of muck from the bottom or even skim feed on schools of very small fish.

Humpback and Blues whales are also seen occasionally though not as frequently as Gray Whales. We are fortunate here in Depoe Bay to have whales nearby for us to see for most of the year.

At Dockside Charters we run our Whale Watching excursions from safe comfortable 50 foot Delta Charter boats. They are Coast Guard Certified and have everything required for your safety and piece of mind. They have all the amenities: comfortable heated cabins, rest rooms, indoor seating, seating out on deck. You are able to walk all the way around the boats and are elevated above the water for excellent whale sightings. Our captains have decades of experience and a wealth of knowledge they share during the excursions making them interpretive tours. Our boats have access doors to walk on and off with ease or provide wheel chair access. We can accommodate large groups.

Reservations are recommended for our whale watching tours, to make yours call 541-765-2545

Whale watching excursions seven days a week, subject to marine conditions.

Archived Whale Watching Reports:

No whale watching today as the ocean weather turned a little nautical for any afternoon whale watching adventures to get out there. We will be trying again tomorrow.

Excellent whale watching trips today on all of our boats out there this afternoon and saw Gray whales on all of the trips and also saw Humpback whales as well. Looks like it\'s gonna be a good whale watch year.

It was a little too rough to go out yesterday but there were a bunch of whales spotted from shore out about whistle buoy depth...about a mile. Good weather today and tomorrow so come on down and see the Gray whale migration.

The ocean weather looks to be better as we see it now for the upcoming weekend into the following week. Swells will be down as well as the wind but there will possibly be a few rain drops in the area. Call our office for more information.

Whale sightings on the afternoon whale watch trips has been really good and it looks like today and tomorrow are really good weather days with Wednesday looking right now a little iffy.

Hey folks... we\'re into some bad spring weather right now with rain, wind and moderate swells. It will be all out of here late Friday night into Saturday day looks like really nice for whale watching minus the three weather items mentioned above. Give us a call as space is filling up as we go thru the 2nd weekend of the Oregon spring breaks.

Looks like some unfavorable weather the next three days thru Friday but the weekend into next week looks pretty nice so the office will have the information for you on trips going out this weekend and beyond. Looks like rain and wind and some moderate swells heading our way for the next three days.

Excellent whale watching today as the northerly migration is in full swing. We had quite a number of whale watch trips on multiple boats and were seeing 2-4 whales on all of the 1 and 2 hour trips. It\'s a great time to watch the migratory whales and we have another two good days of weather coming up and then a possible change by mid-week. So get down here in the next few days to see the Gray whales swimming by Depoe Bay.

Hey folks-and all of you whale watchers. The northerly migration of the Gray whales has started as we are seeing whales pass by the area. Today on our one whale watch trip we did see two out there on the trip moving slowly by so it will only get better as the days move on here. Give our office a call as the weather at least for the next week or so looks really good.

As several states including Oregon in our western zone the ocean weather seems to be improving hopefully as the forecast is indicating. Beginning next Thursday the ocean weather is forecasted to be really nice and it is also forecasted to be that way pretty much thru at least the middle of the next week. Should be a good time to call the Dockside office and make those reservations for both fishing and or whale watching.

Things look like rough oceans will be in our future for the next 5-6 days. The ocean weather appears for now from the extended forecast to be rough seas with wind and rain. Things appear right now to be settling down with the rain going away and the ocean swells coming down by next Thursday to where we should be able to get out there for some whale watching. We will keep you in touch as we watch the forecast daily.

We\'re only about two weeks away from the historically beginning of the northerly migration of the Gray whales coming by the Depoe Bay Area. So make your plans soon to see this yearly event as there have been a few spotted already. We will be running daily trips ocean weather permitting.

As we prepare for the 2024 whale watch seasons we are beginning to be part of the sportsman shows which will be taking place at various sites for the next month or so. This weekend Friday thru Sunday we are at the Tri-Cities sportsman show which is in Pasco, Washington at the HAPO Center. Drop by and meet some of our staff and talk about the upcoming whale watching best times.

The power outage in Depoe Bay came to an end Monday evening at around 5:30pm and the office will re-open tomorrow morning.

Hey folks, because of the very tough weather the Central Oregon Coast is having which has been going on for days now no electrical power or internet service is available. We will let you know as soon as things down here improve.

A small retraction from last post so to. be honest as we can be on one of the trips out to see the whales today we failed to find any. On this northerly migration these whales are moving right along so one hour you see them right out front and then the next trip out they are already to far north to find them so you need to pick up a new pod of them moving from the south.

We took out over 350 people today on whale watch trips and tomorrow looks like an even calmer day on the ocean waters than today. We will begin the trips around 12:30pm tomorrow, New Year\'s Day so give our office a call for reservations.

Hey folks we have some decent weather coming up the next two days and we have lots of boats and quite a few whale watchers already signed up to go New Year\'s Eve day and New Year\'s Day. Give us a call and make some reservations to watch the northerly migration in full swing.

A Happy New Year to all of our past, present and future customers for a happy and prosperous 2024. Spring is coming and so is the better weather so the staff and captains of Dockside Charters hope to see you soon in this new year.

As the twinkling lights brighten our streets and homes, we, here at Dockside Charters, would like to pause and extend our warmest wishes to you and your loved ones during this holiday season.

This is the time of year that the migrating whales begin to make their return journey from the Mexican waters. As of this morning the fishing boats have spotted some migrating whales so make some plans to come see one of the oldest migrations known to man. We also have spotted some whales feeding in the area so they are out there and around the Depoe Bay area. Because this is winter the ocean quite often is not cooperative so please give our office a call to check in on the best times to schedule and come down when the ocean weather is decent.

The skippers and staff at Dockside Charters would like to wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving Day.

For the rest of this week there are a few days \"that might\" pan out for some cruise trips but best idea is to keep in touch with the Dockside office on what might be available as we try to put some trips together. The weather this time of year can be day to day and sometimes week to week. There are some forecasts models that look like the beginning of next week look pretty good for several days so keep that in the back of your mind.

We are running cruises on the days when we can get out there and believe it or not we are still seeing whales out there as historically by this time they are under way down to the Mexican waters returning around the Christmas holidays. They are however out there as we are running cruises today and tomorrow (Saturday).

We will give the whale watch reports from this point forward during the winter months as it relates to the northerly migration which will begin around the Christmas and NewYears holiday season. This time of the year the whales leave the area to follow the migration to the south. We will give you updates as we get closer to the holiday season and our operating times as well as ocean weather reports.

As we get closer to winter the weather becomes an issue more and more each and every week. There will be some really nice days as there always are even in the dead of winter but the next 4+ days appear to be wet, windy with pretty tough looking ocean conditions. Best bet is to keep in touch with the Dockside office as they are open every day to answer any of your questions.

The ocean weather thru Wednesday sounds good for whale watching so give our office a cal if interested in some really good fall whale watching. Thursday sounds like a rainy windy day but Friday thru the weekend could be OK so give our office a call for updates.

The whales are still around really close to the city so still a good time to get out and see them when the ocean weather is nice. Soon they will be leaving the area heading out to the southerly migration down to the Mexican waters for the winter.

Looks like one more day of moderate swells out in front of Depoe Bay but the ocean weather for Friday thru Sunday looks good for ocean activities. Call Dockside for information and to make a reservation.

Won\'t be doing a lot of whale watching in the next few days as we have a storm series that will affect the ocean conditions thru at least Thursday with Friday possibly a go. Next weekend as of now looks pretty good so call the Dockside office for any ocean updates and what we are seeing from the shoreline and the ocean weather reports.

4 Best Things to do in Depoe Bay, Oregon

D epoe Bay, a small town located along a rugged rocky stretch of coastline off Highway 101 offers some of Oregon’s best whale watching, the world’s smallest navigable harbor and an obvious love of pirate lore. I loved my visit to this coastal town and here are my favorite things to do in Depoe Bay.

Throughout the year, annual events such as the Wooden Boat Show, an Indian Style Salmon Bake, a Fish and Chips Fundraiser and a Pirate Treasure Hunt demonstrate that Depoe Bay is definitely a fishing town. In fact, Depoe Bay was the filming location of the fishing trip sequence in the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest .

Best Things to do in Depoe Bay for One Perfect Day

Depoe Bay is one of many gorgeous and scenic beach towns on the Oregon coast .

Just about 15 minutes from Newport , 45 minutes from Pacific City , and an hour from Tillamook ; Depoe Bay is on highway 101 and a perfect stop during a Southern Oregon Coast road trip or for a weekend away.

Lodging in Depoe Bay is void of any chains, offering everything from motels, hotels, bed, and breakfasts to vacation rentals. For a homey experience, Harbor Lights Inn is an ideal choice. Located, as you might guess–in the harbor–this immaculate inn offers charming rooms with views of the bay, the bridge, pacific ocean and part of downtown.

Breakfast at the Harbor Lights Inn

Owners Bob and Beni make their guests comfortable and go out of their way in the morning to serve a gourmet breakfast with choices like eggs Benedict, hash brown casserole, French toast topped with fresh strawberry compote and homemade whipped cream as well as oatmeal pancakes topped with sautéed apples.  

Explore the Town of Depoe Bay

Begin your day by exploring the town. Shopping is fun and although the main drag is only three blocks long you’ll find everything from gift shops with all things pirate to galleries featuring maritime collectibles and fine art as well as apparel shops and yummy saltwater taffy.

Cross the street and head to the sea wall that runs the length of this amazingly small downtown. During low tide sit on the wall and take in the beautiful ocean and distant sailboats. If it’s high tide, you may have to stand back from the wall a bit and watch for gushes of water up to 60 feet high. Known as a spouting horn, these spurts of water are created when waves run beneath the lava beds on the ocean floor and are thrust up and out.

Depoe Bay Whale Watching

No trip to Depoe Bay is complete without a whale spotting which is possible nearly all year round as gray whales make their home here 10 months out of the year. At certain times the whales feed so close to shore that it makes viewing quite easy.

If you are not able to spot a whale or want to hone your whale watching skills, make your way to the Depoe Bay Whale Watching Center run by the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. A “Whale Watching Spoken Here” program is offered at the center. Park rangers are available to answer questions and share information about whale spotting techniques.

To get up close and personal with these amazing creatures, take an afternoon whale watching trip with Dockside Charters . Offering both large boat excursions and zodiac trips, Dockside offers reasonable rates and fun guides. A one-and-a-half-hour boat excursion is only $20 for adults, $10 for children and free for kids under five.

Once aboard, you now have the distinction of knowing you are underway in the world’s smallest fishing harbor. Basalt cliffs that were formed millions of years ago and created Depoe Bay have provided a safe harbor for boats traveling the Oregon coastline for many years. It is the stone entrance less than 50 feet wide and just 100 feet long you are about to maneuver through that has caused many boat tragedies. Enjoy the beauty, but keep in mind the skill of your captain as he makes his way to the ocean.

Once out to sea, begin looking for whales. It’s a fun collaborative process with the captain upfront as well as the crew and visitors all keeping an eye out for these mammoth and beautiful creatures of the sea. If a whale is in view, someone will yell the location so all passengers have a chance to experience the phenomenon.

Whales tend to surface every 45 seconds as they swim, and will usually stay under three to five minutes while eating. On these trips, you may have the opportunity to see gray whales breaching, blowing and diving. We were lucky enough to find a pod traveling north and followed them for several miles watching for them to resurface every few minutes. It is an amazing site and totally exhilarating.

When the tour concludes, walk just a few paces to the Harbor Lights Inn. Head to the bar and order an Oregon Pinot Noir or Pinot Grigio and make your way to the deck where you can relax and continue to enjoy the beautiful panorama.

Dinner at the The Spouting Horn 

When the dinner hour approaches head up the hill to downtown. The Spouting Horn restaurant, known for its homemade fries and pies, is a place full of history including a great pictorial display of the town. While the menu tends towards the ‘fried’ side there are some wonderful choices beyond the fish and chips, such as the crab casserole, grilled oysters and a crab and cheddar melt. Of course, don’t forget to ask what pie was freshly made for the day.

Finish your day in Depoe Bay with a nighttime stroll and a peaceful sleep at the Harbor Lights Inn. The whales, the ocean and the small coastal town of Depoe Bay have created this one perfect day.

Additional Depoe Bay Whale Watching Information:

Whale watching takes place almost year-round on the Oregon Coast. Whales can be seen in the winter from mid-December through January.

Spring watching begins in March with a peak in numbers the last week and finishes in June with mothers and babies being the last whales traveling north.

Summer brings whales that feed along our coast from July to mid-November. For more information visit www.whalespoken.org

Recommended Travel Resources

• Travel Insurance: World Nomads .
• Transport: CheapOAir and Skyscanner (Best Sites to Research Flight Prices) 
• Best Car Rental Deals: Rentalcars.com
• Best Sites to Find Hotel Deals: Hotels.com and Booking.com
• My Favorite Hotel Review Website: TripAdvisor
• Best Tours: Viator and Get Your Guide

What & Where:

Depoe Bay Whale Watching Center

Dockside Charters

Spouting Horn (110 SE Highway 101; 541-765-2261) Harbor Lights Inn (235 Bayview; 541-765-2322; www.theharborlightsinn.com/ )

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• 8 Best Small Towns in Oregon for Outdoor Enthusiasts

The state of Oregon in the Pacific Northwest of the United States offers one of the most unique biospheres in the country, making it the ideal destination for any outdoor enthusiast. There are picturesque harbor towns on the Pacific Ocean like Depoe Bay and Cannon Beach, dramatic mountain ranges to be conquered by ambitious hikers like Mount Hood above Mount Hood Village, or the historic volcano of Crater Lake. There are options for any natural explorer in this list of the eight best small towns in Oregon for outdoor enthusiasts. 

Waves crashing into Thor's Well, a natural wonder located in Yachats, Oregon, USA.

Yachats is an impressively majestic Pacific seaside getaway for even the most experienced outdoor explorers. The capital attraction is the Yachats Ocean Road State Natural Site, offering some of the best shallow sea exploration on its portion of Oregon's rocky coastline. Those travelers looking for more aerial views above the crashing waves trek up Amanda's Trail towards the Cape Perpetua Overlook, where there are panoramic views of Cape Cove Beach and Devil's Churn. Continuing along the Oregon Coast Highway brings travelers to the equally famous Thor's Well sinkhole, also recognized as the "Drainpipe of the Pacific."

Cannon Beach

The sands in Cannon Beach are unique because of their expansive size. This coastal getaway features massive stretches of walkable sand beaches at low tide, perfect for the loving seaside explorer. Most visits to Cannon Beach lead to stops at the Haystack Rock, a 235-foot tall sea stack and the third-largest intertidal rock structure in the world. Explorers wishing to escape the noise of summer crowds should stop at the lesser-recognized Arcadia Beach State Recreation Site or the Hug Point State Recreation Site. Cannon Beach is also a hiker's dream: the panoramic ocean view from the Indian Beach Trail in the nearby Ecola State Park is a phenomenal experience. 

Florence is a small town connection between the water of the Pacific Ocean, the Siuslaw River, and the Siuslaw National Forest. The town's seaside attractions are best explored on either the North Jetty Beach or the South Jetty Beach, each providing miles of secluded white sand and rocky stretches. But the headline seaside attraction here, marked by the neighboring Heceta Head Lighthouse, is the Sea Lion Cave: America's largest sea cave occupied by wild sea lions in this privately-owned natural wildlife observation site. Escaping from salty seascapes is easy in this remote town because of the adjacent Siuslaw National Forest, which houses hikes through both tall and lush forests, like the Kentucky Falls Trail, and the unique Oregon Dunes. 

Mount Hood Village

Sunrise view of Mount Hood, Oregon forest, and a village in the picturesque landscape.

Mount Hood is the ubiquitous symbol of Oregon's most dramatic natural landscapes as the state's highest mountain, measuring 11,249 feet. Mount Hood Village is the best town for all outdoor exploration of this monstrous and majestic mountain. Advanced hikers with proper permits can trek past the Little Zigzag Falls or Ramona Falls towards the peak while stopping at the multiple check-points along the way like the Caira Basin Shelter, the McNeil Point Shelter, and the Cooper Spur Trail Shelter. Those more inclined to winter sports can instead spend their time skiing from the popular Mount Hood Meadows resort. 

Union Creek

Union Creek is the small gateway town to Crater Lake : America's deepest lake, measuring 1,924 feet, and popularly regarded as one of the cleanest and most pure lakes in the world. Most visitors will hike around Crater Lake National Park to the scenic views of Merriam Point and remark on the antiquity of the collapsed volcano recognized as Mount Malaza. More traditional hikes include the trailhead to Vidae Falls or the trek to the majestic Pinnacles Overlook. The most ambitious outdoor explorers will summit Mount Scott, the highest peak in the national park. Union Creek, however, also has its well-renowned natural attractions. The most popular is the Rouge River Gorge Falls, best appreciated from the Rogue River Gorge Viewpoint, just next door to the Union Creek Campground. 

View of downtown Mitchell, Oregon, from Rosenbaum Street looking northwest. By Finetooth, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Mitchell offers the most unique opportunities for outdoor exploration on this list. The primary reason is the colorful and majestic geological formations known as the Painted Hills and the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument distributed across Mitchell's surrounding area. The monument is divided between the Clarno, Painted Hills, and Sheep Rock Units. The most accessible trail near Mitchell is the Painted Cove Trail, home to an incredibly diverse color palette of painted rocks. It's also worthwhile to hike from the Caroll Rim Trail Viewpoint to the Painted Hills Overlook. For more greenery, the woodlands of the Ochoco National Forest are also close by. 

Silverton offers top-quality inner-city greenery. The best of its outdoor spaces is The Oregon Garden, a complete 80-acre collection of paved walkways, tall and colorful trees and plants, water features, vibrant flowers, and more that accompany the dazzling and historic architecture of the Gordon House by Frank Lloyd Wright . The town also has access to incredible freshwater activities like swimming and kayaking on the Silverton Reservoir and its adjoining rivers. The most lush of all its natural attractions, however, is the nearby Silver Falls State Park. The full beauty of this park — and its ten waterfalls — is best explored by the 7.2-mile loop, the Trail of Ten Falls, which includes a walk behind a waterfall curtain on the South Falls. 

Depoe Bay is the home of many essential Pacific Ocean lookouts and trails in Oregon. The small town is commonly recognized for top-tier whale watching, most often from tours hosted by Dockside Charters or even from binocular stations at the ORPD Whale Watching Center. But aside from activities on the Pacific, the bountiful coastline is a stunning experience in itself. Depoe Bay Scenic Park is most favored for the beautiful crashing waves on its tall rocky coastline, and equally intriguing is the Boiler Bay State Scenic Viewpoint or the Rocky Creek State Scenic Viewpoint. There's also much to explore in the forested terrain: the South Depoe Bay Creek Nature Trail and the Oregon Coast Trail pass through fantastic stretches of dense forest. 

Discover Oregon's Outdoor Wonders

Oregon is a pinnacle of outdoor exploration in the United States. Whether visitors are seeking the beautiful and dramatic waterfalls of Silverton, the incredibly colorful mountains of the Painted Hills in the John Day Fossil Beds near Mitchell, or the lush density of the Siuslaw National Forest surrounding Florence, these small towns in Oregon will go beyond any outdoor travelers expectations. The only challenge of traveling through Oregon is choosing which town to visit first.

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