Cancel

Open app

Search

Whale Watching Center

4.5 (30 reviews)

Whale Watching Center Tours Photos

More like Whale Watching Center

Recommended Reviews - Whale Watching Center

Your trust is our priority, so businesses can't pay to alter or remove their reviews. Learn more about reviews.
Yelp app icon
Browse more easily on the app
Review Feed Illustration

Reviews With Photos

Seagull overlooking the bay with gray whales
Ami M.

Fantastic rangers. They gave us an amazing whale talk while we were there even though we had missed the scheduled one. Super helpful. Knew exactly how to spot whales after that. Saw at least four gray whales!!

Whale Watching Center in Depoe Bay, OR.
Sparkle H.

We made it to the Oregon Coast for some New Year's Eve whale watching! There were friendly volunteers and a Ranger present @ the Whale Watching Center in Depoe Bay to help us catch a glimpse of migrating gray whales on their way to Baja Mexico. They gave us stickers and let us borrow a pair of binoculars. We saw a couple blow holes, but not nearly as many as last year. It's a hit and miss, so you have to be patient. It would have been more helpful and exciting if the volunteers announced when the whales were present and where to look, in relation to the buoys, with our binoculars, like they did last year. They did however have a big screen zoomed in on the horizon most people were watching, but I preferred to want to watch the actual ocean than a tv screen! Overall, a great experience. Clean bathrooms available downstairs. A great, unexpected warm day because the sun was out and there was barely any wind!

Coast Guard returning to Depoe Bay.
Jen K.

Even though it is free, the Whale Watching Center ended up saving me a lot of money. The plan was to take the family on a whale watching trip out of Depoe Bay. The first day of our trip, no boats left the harbor due to poor weather conditions. We thought we'd give it a try the following day. Fortunately we stopped here first and they have a handy dandy chart at the front of the building that shows the daily and monthly count of whales spotted off the coast. It turns out that no whales had passed through in two weeks. So it would have been an expensive, but rather boring, sightseeing trip. We ended up choosing other activities that day and enjoyed our visit to the Whale Watching Center. It is very small with an enclosed upstairs observatory and educational displays on the main floor. There is also an outdoor observation area at the mouth of Depoe Bay. The staff is very helpful and enthusiastic. Actually there were whale watching docents at almost every park and beach that weekend, so this wasn't our only whale stop of the weekend. There is a small room that shows videos and if you ask at the counter, there is a little game for the kids to play. They complete a puzzle by finding clues at the various stations and hopefully they get a little education along the way. It was not nearly as interesting as the Hatfield Marine Science Center (also free), but I am sure my rating would increase if the whales cooperated and were feeding close to the center that day. Whether they are putting on a show or not, it is a good place to get some information and get out of the wind if you happen to be there on a not-so-nice weather day. You know, ten months out of the year.

Josh N.

Really neat set up here to view the vast depths of the ocean. We saw some whales out doing there thing. Very easy to pull off the road and take a peak at nature. I loved it.

Frances L.

Although it can get a little crowded, the rangers do an excellent job of keeping it maintained. They are informative and knowledgeable about the marine life in the bay. They have 2 giant TVs that they live stream the bays marine activity if you don't have binoculars or you don't want to join the crowds at the window. Lots of interactive hands on artifacts. Their resident grey whales are mostly active after March, but the last two weeks of the year see about 20,000 pass by the coast On their way to Mexico and you have a great chance at spotting them feeding in the kelp during these times. We didn't have any luck spotting any from here so the ranger suggested we drive up to cape foul weather and in less then 20 minutes we had already spotted 9. Great fun we stopped at as many whale spoken here signs we could find and spotting the whales became more like a treasure hunt. Definitely something to partake in at once in your life.

Leo U.

Small, very informative, and great staff to answer questions. The video TV display of some whales out there was useful too.

Faye L.

Lovely little whale watching education center. Two Oregon Park rangers are stationed there year round and are super friendly to talk to. They're happy to talk about the marine life that float along and around the bay. Restrooms are on the bottom floor for those that need to pee.

whale sighting!

See all

5 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

1 year ago

Helpful 3
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0
Photo of Jodi W.
1
22
15

9 months ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 1
Love this 1
Oh no 0

9 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

2 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

10 months ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of Jen K.
517
2038
7692

15 years ago

Helpful 6
Thanks 0
Love this 4
Oh no 0
Photo of Josh N.
40
1355
2229

9 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 1

7 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 2
Oh no 0
Photo of Leo U.
75
34
63

8 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

8 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

8 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

14 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

10 years ago

Helpful 4
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0
Photo of Shay S.
10
63
35

10 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0
Photo of Etha C.
18
90
0

14 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

8 years ago

Helpful 2
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0
Photo of J B.
0
46
45

7 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

7 years ago

Must try! Loved the experience! The captain was informative and we saw so many whales.

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

17 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

7 years ago

Great tour, informative guides, great restaurant beside. Worth the trip

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

6 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0
Photo of Rosquete B.
22
1320
568

16 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

14 years ago

Helpful 5
Thanks 0
Love this 4
Oh no 0
Photo of Kristy W.
1
195
35

7 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

15 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 1
Oh no 0

10 years ago

Helpful 1
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

17 years ago

There we lots of gray whales visible here feeding near Depoe Bay's narrow harbor. Awesome!

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

15 years ago

Really wish I could've seen a whale. But all in all - great place! Even with all the water damage they're repairing right now.

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0
Photo of T B.
2
440
510

9 years ago

Helpful 0
Thanks 0
Love this 0
Oh no 0

Ask the Community - Whale Watching Center

Review Highlights - Whale Watching Center

They're happy to talk about the marine life that float along and around the bay.

Mentioned in 2 reviews

Read more highlights

Verify this business for free

People searched for Whale Watching Tours 135 times last month within 15 miles of this business.

Verify this business

Whale Research Eco Excursions - Bouy in the bay with sea lions

Whale Research Eco Excursions

4.7(95 reviews)
0.1 mi

I reserved this trip for my best friends birthday and it did not disappoint!! We went out on the…read moreKrazy Koda and Andrew was our Captain. We were expecting rain and really cold weather for our trip given the forecast and we almost rescheduled anticipating rough conditions. We were so glad we didn't reschedule! From the lady that greeted us and checked us in, the wonderful lady volunteer that went out with us and of course, our Captain - they all made the experience so amazing! Captain Andrew had an amazing sense of humor and was so nice. Captain Andrew talked about the seals, sea lions, birds, Depoe Bay history and of course - the whales. We got to experience several sightings and are pretty sure we saw a female and male. The one whale got much closer than we expected and we absolutely loved it all! The entire experience was amazing and we absolutely would recommend it to anyone. If we really had to stretch for any critique at all, it would be to update the short video you watch just before your tour. It explains what to look for and the different types of whales that frequent Depoe Bay. Also, we absolutely recommend the smaller boats like the 6 seater we rode. The larger boats had no seating and it didn't feel as personal due to the amount of passengers they had. And lastly, my bestie said it was the coolest experience yet and best birthday ever!!

Carrie and the entire team at Whale Research Eco Excursions are amazing! I was pleased to see how…read moremuch effort is placed on education, with an informative video presentation prior to the tour. Don't skip the video or the opportunity to view the exhibits in the museum, there is much to learn about these amazing creatures. Depoe Bay is blessed with a plentiful food source, and a protective environment for grey whales. I've lived in the Pacific Northwest most of my life and have taken for granted just how accessible whales really are in this region. During peak migration months it's possible to view the whales right from your car as you're driving down Highway 101! From the moment we booked our $55 tickets for a six-person, 90-minute whale watching tour along the coast, everyone at Eco Excursions made us feel welcome. It's evident these folks really love what they do, because everything just fell into place. Booking tickets was easy, checking in was a breeze, any concerns about locating and boarding the boat were taken care of. Our guide was friendly and informative, and really went out of his way to make sure we had a pleasant experience. There's something so magical about viewing these gentle giants in their natural habitat. Experiencing whale breath, viewing them so closely you can count the barnacles attached to them, and repeatedly seeing them surface and fluke... nothing compares! It's difficult to explain the pure joy I felt out on the water with a team who clearly bring their A-game to work every day! Thank you so much, Whale Research Eco Excursions - your tour ranks very highly in the list of my most treasured life experiences.

Photos
Whale Research Eco Excursions
Whale Research Eco Excursions
Whale Research Eco Excursions - On the boat

See all

On the boat

Depoe Bay State Park - Pretty place!!!

Depoe Bay State Park

5.0(4 reviews)
0.0 mi

One of my favorite stops on our drive down the coast, even though (for me) it was incredibly…read morefrustrating trying to spot all the whales that everyone else was seeing so easily!! We had originally planned to get here early enough to take a whale watching boat tour, but it was so incredibly foggy, we decided to just park and see what we could on the walkway on the main street though town. While a trip out on one of the many boats that leave from here would have been fun, since they all seem to come right near to the shore to see the same whales we were seeing, we saved a few bucks and had a great walk through town instead. There's an informative whale info center, with some great views from their second floor observatory (we even saw a sea lion or two lounging out on the rocks!) along with all the usual gift shops and some pretty good restaurant choices, all in easy walking distance. I'd say go EARLY, both to take the whale watching tours, which seemed to be selling out pretty quickly, in spite of the fog, and to avoid the MUCH larger crowds that seemed to be arriving just as we were heading out around lunch time. Don't let the crowds scare you too much though; it's a great stop and DEFINITELY worth a visit!!

One of our favorite spots! The waves crashing in, it's an amazing sunset area, whales are in the…read morecove sometimes and there are amazing shops across the street. It's awesome when it's sunny and bright and it's amazing when it's stormy and waves are crashing hard.

Photos
Depoe Bay State Park - Sunset

Sunset

Depoe Bay State Park
Depoe Bay State Park - Sunset

See all

Sunset

Whale Watching Center - whalewatchingtours - Updated May 2026

Loading...
Loading...
Loading...