See Gray Whales when CA Official Marine Mammal Drops By
California’s official marine mammal is the gray whale, and though we lay no claim to owning these magnificent creatures, we sure do enjoy watching them pass by in the Winter when more than 18,000 gray whales travel along California’s coastline en route to their breeding and birthing waters in the bays and lagoons of Baja California. They are known to hug California’s shoreline at Point Reyes National Seashore, past the Farallon Islands near San Francisco, travel through Half Moon Bay and Monterey Bay, then follow the coastline past Southern California before reaching Mexico.
Californians celebrate and admire whale migrations with festivals, boat tours to see them up close and symposia to learn about their current status as endangered species.
California Whale Festivals
- Monterey Whalefest Jan.27-28, 2018
- San Pedro Whale Fiesta Jan.28
- Dana Point Festival of Whales Mar.3-4, 10-11
- Fort Bragg – Point Cabrillo Whale Festival Mar.3-4, 17-18
- Mendocino Whale Festival Mar.3-4
- Rancho Palos Verdes Whale of A Day Mar.10
- Little River Whale Festival Mar.10-12
Whale Watching Ocean Tours
- Dana Point
- Long Beach
- Marina del Rey
- Newport Beach
- San Diego
- San Francisco
- San Pedro
- Oceanside
- Oxnard
- Redondo Beach
- Santa Barbara
- Santa Cruz
- Ventura
Wyland’s Whaling Walls
- Life size mural in Redondo Beach harbor
- Largest whale mural at Long Beach Arena
- Of 15 Wyland whale murals in California painted from 1981 forward, some of the most famous are not “extinct”
