Pacifica Whale Watching Guide

This is not intended as a comprehensive whale-watching guide. This is largely just a way to quickly/easily answer the question we often get: "What time should I come see the whales?" This is also targeted strictly at whale watching in Pacifica from shore.

Guides and Resources​

• Whale Photography - Guide to photographing whales
• Whale Watching Glossary - Glossary of terms related to whale watching
• Pacifica Livecams - Live cameras showing the area around Mori Pt and the Pacifica Pier
• Pacifica Weather - Weather station located near the Pacifica Pier

Last Updated - March 26, 2025

Contents​

• Forum Guides
• Please Be Respectful
• Safety
• Current Information
• When to See the Whales
  • Time of Year
  • Time of Day
• Where to See the Whales
• How to Track and View the Whales
• Types of Whales Seen Here
• Reporting your Sightings
• Reporting Entanglements and Troubled Whales
• Whale Watching Boats

Forum Guides​

There are a variety of guides and informational posts in the Pacifica Whale Watching Information forum including specific guides for common locations. This post is intended as an overall guide with links to some of those posts. If you want more information, you may want to look through some of the other posts there.

Please Be Respectful​

Our sleepy little town has had a noticeable uptick in visitors coming to see the whales this year. This is generally a wonderful thing, and
we're happy that more people are learning about the wonders of our town. This isn't a large town, and influxes of people can cause a strain. We ask that people try to be respectful of the people, property and businesses here.

Many of the popular viewing places have been crowded on nice days. It can be difficult to get into a good viewing position, but if everyone treats each other with some respect and people work together to help each other get a good view, everyone's day will be more pleasant.

Things can be especially challenging on the pier, as whale watchers and fishermen jockey for position. Some of the fishermen can feel like "their pier" is being overrun by whale watchers. And some whale watchers can be inconsiderate of the fishermen. Again, if everyone tries to be respectful and work together, everyone's day will be better.

Some of the viewing locations are in or near residential neighborhoods. We get cars stopping in the middle of the road to watch the whales, blocking traffic. We get cars parking illegally and parking in front of driveways. We get people trespessaing on private property. Please make sure you are being considerate, driving and parking legally and be respectful to the residents who live here.

It should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway - please don't leave trash. Leave the area as clean (or cleaner) than when you arrived. And if possible, please try to visit some of our local businesses to help them out.

Safety​

The beaches around Pacifica can be dangerous. Most of the beaches have steep drop-offs, which can lead to strong undertows from the waves. And so-called "sneaker waves" are a real thing. A sneaker wave is a wave that is noticeably larger than the average waves hitting the beach on a given day. You may be walking along, at what you think is a safe distance from the water, when a large wave comes in, knocks you down and pulls you out. Always be wary around the ocean, and try never to turn your back on the ocean.

If you do get knocked down and pulled out, try not to panic. Work your way back to the surface. As you try to get back to shore, you might notice yourself getting pushed further out to sea. Often there are "channels" where the water funnels back to the ocean. If you swim diagonally toward shore, you should eventually work your way out of the channel. And if you look at the beach, you can often see where these channels are likely to be. If the beach undulates (has high points and low points), then the low points are where you will often find the channels funneling water out to sea. This happens because, as the wave hits the shore on the high points, it washes sideways into one of the low spots, collecting there and getting funneled out. So you want to try and aim for a high point on the beach as you come in. If you see someone get washed out, unless you know what you're doing, think twice about trying to help them. You're just as likely to cause two casualties. The walkway along Beach Boulevard has life preservers attached to the railing. Your best bet is to get one of those preservers, toss it to the victim and immediately call 911.

To show how quickly things can go from a nice day at the beach playing with your kids in the water, to a terrifying day where there's almost multiple drownings, here is a video I pulled from my webcams showing Sharp Park Beach.

Pay attention to the people playing near the pipe. My intent is not to unduly scare people, I just want to encourage a healthy respect for the ocean and to be vigilant.

Current Information​

The best ways right now of knowing when/where the whales are to follow the Pacifica Whale Sightings Forum and the Facebook group Pacifica Whalespotting. Members report when and where they see whales. If you see a whale, we strongly encourage you to post a message.

In addition to posting here when you see a whale, also consider helping the researchers by Reporting your Sightings.

You can get a reasonably good idea of what conditions are like by viewing the Pacifica Livecams. There are three cameras showing views of the area from the pier to Mori Point. If the whales are in that area, you can also see them on the cameras. Some people whale watch virtually on the cameras. It helps to have a high resolution screen, and you should force the resolution to 4K (2160p). Youtube tends to default to 1440p even on high resolution monitors, and it usually defaults to 720p on any mobile device.

There is also a weather station located near the pier which you can access by going to: Pacifica Weather

When to See the Whales​

Time of Year​

Gray Whale Migration​

Between mid-December and April is the time when the Gray Whales are seen on their annual migration along the West coast, between their Arctic feeding grounds in the Bering Sea and their breeding grounds in Baja California. They migrate South in December-February. They travel North in March-May, when mothers with calves can often be seen.

In the past, the Gray Whales have not stopped in our area, at least not for long. However in the past few years, there have been some Gray Whales which have stopped to feed for a while and the same whales have been spotted repeatedly along the Pacifica Coast as well as in the San Francisco Bay.

Humpback Migration​

The North Pacific group of Humpbacks that we see in Pacifica are not "migrating through" like the Gray Whales. They have made the North Coast their feeding grounds. They breed in Mexico in the winter and come to the California coast to feed in the summer. Sometimes they move up as far as British Columbia, but unlike many of the migrating whales, and other Humpback populations, this population does not go up to Alaska.

The Humpbacks can be seen as early as late April and can be seen as late as November. They may spend many weeks at a time in the Pacifica area, but you may also see them for only a few days. It really depends on where the food is. I always treat every day watching them like it is the last day of the season, because they may disappear the very next day.

There are charts which have been created by Chris Campo, documenting each day a Humpback or Gray Whale has been spotted in Pacifica, based on information from this forum and the Pacifica Whalespotting Facebook group. Those charts can be found in the Historical Sighting Data for Whales Seen Near Shore In Pacifica post.

Time of Day​

Unfortunately there isn't a very good answer to this question. Some swear they're mostly active in the morning. Some say that evening is best because the sun (if there is sun ... ) lights up the spout spray. In all the years I've been living here and watching the whales I haven't really discerned any real pattern except that you'll find the whales when and where the fish are. I've looked at the time stamps of my whale photos and I've gotten good shots at every hour of the day.

While there isn't a time of day that's best, there may be some correlations to tides, currents and winds. However I haven't put the time in to try and make those correlations. One loose correlation I think I've noticed is that when there have been fairly windy days, the whales seem to be more common. If I were to hazard a guess, I'd say that the wind action may bring up cooler water from down deep which helps bring nutrients that the bait fish like.

As a photographer, and being land-based, I do tend to prefer trying to photograph the whales in the morning because the lighting tends to be better. So I do have more photographs from the morning hours, but that's almost certainly a selection bias due to spending more time photographing in the mornings.

Where to See the Whales​

Where to see them depends on a variety of factors. First-and-foremost I'll reiterate that the whales tend to be where the food is, so there are no hard-and-fast rules. It also depends on what type of view you're looking for, what type of access you want and how much time you have. Chris Campo created this map which shows the general locations of most of the viewing spots in Pacifica. Some of the spots will be described later. This map helps give an overview when reading the descriptions. You can also see this map in the Pacifica Place Names Map post.

Pacifica Pier​

If luck is on your side, I can't think of a better place to whale watch than the Pacifica Pier. It is not uncommon for whales to come literally right up to the pier - to the point that you are looking nearly straight down on them. I've had times where I would have needed a wide angle lens to properly photograph a whale that was almost directly beneath me. The pier also provides a pretty good view up-and-down a lot of the coast. There's a cafe at the pier so you can grab a bite to eat or a hot drink to keep you warm as you watch. There are bathrooms, which is a definite plus if you have the time and patience to wait for the whales to show up.

For more information on this location, see the Pacifica Pier Guide.

Mori Point​

Mori Point provides probably the most expansive view. You can see north all the way to Mussel Rock and south all the way to Pedro Point, as well as a relatively decent view into the Rockaway Beach area. It's a little bit of a walk and climb, but there are stairs going up the hillside and the trails are relatively well-maintained. The whales sometimes come fairly close as they round the point, or hang out in the areas just north and just south of Mori Point.

For more information on this location, see the Mori Point Guide.

Mussel Rock​

Mussel Rock is another location that provides a pretty expansive view and the whales occasionally come somewhat close. Unlike Mori Point, you can basically drive there and there is some parking. You may also get to watch the paragliders while you wait if it's a windy day.

For more information on this location, see the Mussel Rock Guide.

Esplanade​

Just south of Mussel Rock, there are several viewing spots that generally get lumped into "Esplanade". There's a short trail just north of the RV park called Esplanade Overlook Trail. There are a few benches and a short paved trail. If you walk a bit further north, past the post office, right by Oceanaire apartments (which used to be Lands End apartments) there is an overlook area right by a trail heading down to the beach.

For more information on this location, see the RV Park Guide.

Linda Mar Beach (Taco Bell Beach)​

Linda Mar Beach doesn't get as deep as fast as some of the more northern areas, so the whales tend not to come in quite as close, but they do still come in moderately close. Viewing from the beach gets you closer, and you can also grab food at the Taco Bell. If you have binoculars and/or a long camera lens (or you just want to see spouts) - Roberts Road can be a good place to try.

For more information on this location, see the Linda Mar Beach Guide. You might also want to look at the Aramai Point Guide.

Rockaway Beach​

Rockaway Beach is just north of Linda Mar Beach. There are a couple of free parking lots there - one on the north end of Rockaway Beach and one on the south end of Rockaway Beach. One place to view the whales here is behind Moonraker Restaurant in the large concrete plaza area that has a sculpture of a whale tail in it. Another good spot is in the parking lot of Nicks Restaurant (though parking in that particular lot is for Nicks' customers only).

For more information on this location see the Rockaway Beach Guide. You might also want to look at the Aramai Point Guide.

Pedro Point​

This is another one that requires some walking/hiking but arguably provides an even wider view than Mori Point. You typically won't be able to see the whales come as close, but if you want to see if there are whales pretty much anywhere in the Pacifica area, this is a good place to go.

For more information on this location, see the Pedro Point Headlands Guide

Devil's Slide Trail​

When they opened the new tunnel on Highway 1, they turned the old section of Highway 1 into a walking/biking trail. There are beautiful cliff-side views from this trail. If you're also interested in birds, this is a nice place to look. If you're lucky, you'll catch a view of some of the Peregrine Falcons which hang out there.

For more information on this location, see the Devils Slide Trail Guide.

Other Locations​

There are guides for additional locations in-and-around Pacifica. Each location has a dedicated post in the Pacifica Whale Watching Information forum.

How to Track and View the Whales​

If your primary interest is in seeing spouts, or just seeing the whales with your eyes (no binoculars or camera), this often isn't too difficult. It's even easier if it's a more calm day. On more windy and rough days, the white caps can make it difficult to see the spouts and whale action. And even on a calm day, if there are a lot of pelicans around, they can fool you into thinking you're seeing whale spouts when it's just splashes from pelicans diving into the water.

If you want a better view of the whales, for example with binoculars or a good telephoto lens on your camera, you might want to read through the section of the Whale Photography guide about Shooting Strategies.

And as mentioned in the Whale Photography guide, the most important part of how to see the whales ... Be There! It often takes time, patience and persistence. Unless you're very lucky, you can't just roll up to some specific spot at some specific time, see a bunch of whales and then leave. Watching the Pacifica Whale Sightings forum and the Whalespotting Facebook group helps quite a bit, but even with that, you'll often need some patience. The nice part is that there's almost always a nice view and other interesting things to look at while you wait.

Time/Distance Estimates​

If you see a post that says "Whale at the pier, headed north". You might wonder where you should go to try and see it. Often that involves trying to estimate how far the whale will travel in a given amount of time. While whales and dolphins are very hard to predict, if they're headed in a particular direction, a reasonable estimate is that they will be traveling at about 3-5MPH. That is the average speed a Gray Whale travels while migrating. It also seems to be approximately how fast the Humpbacks and Bottlenose Dolphins typically travel. So when I'm trying to gauge whether I have time to get to a particular site, I use the 5MPH estimate and that usually gets me there before the whale. It's not a guarantee of course - sometimes they'll stop and linger at a spot or they'll turn around and head the other direction (dolphins do this quite a bit). But it's a good place to start. There is a chart that shows the distance and times (based on 5MPH) between the primary Pacifica locations here: Distance/Time for Whale Travel.

Types of Whales Seen Here​

The NOAA guide to whales, dolphins and porpoises of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is a good way to familiarize yourself with the types of whales, dolphins and porpoises we have around here. While it is targeted at Monterey Bay, the information largely applies to the Pacifica area too. Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises of the MBNMS.

Since this guide is primarily about whale watching from shore, I'll point out that you'll primarily only see two types of whales here: Humpbacks and Grays. The Blue Whales stay further offshore and transit closer to The Farallones. However their spouts are huge, so on a clear day you can see their spouts, even from shore. The Minke Whales are around and I believe I've seen them on a few occasions, but they don't seem to be as easily spotted. The Orcas also occasionally come by, but like the Blues, they seem not to come very close to shore around here.

As mentioned earlier, the Grays typically don't hang around, we primarily see them as they cruise on by to/from Alaska/Baja. Recently we've had a few Grays which have been hanging around and feeding. The Grays are the ones that often come in prettty close to shore. They typically feed by scooping up stuff from the sea floor and often come shallow to do so. The Grays are fairly "sedate" in terms of viewable behavior. They typically just cruise along, occasionally coming up to breathe. They do have a fun behavior often called "sharking" where they roll on their side and stick up their pectoral fin and often part of their fluke. They'll swim along like this, looking almost like a shark fin.

Here's a photo I got of one of them doing that in the surf.

The Humpbacks are often more acrobatic and visually interesting to watch, as they lunge feed, breach and/or tail slap. If you see a whale coming up out of the water and/or tail slapping - that's almost certainly a Humpback.

Reporting your Sightings​

When you spot whales, you can help your fellow Pacificans out by reporting your sightings to in the Pacifica Whale Sightings Forum.

If you'd like to help the researchers by being a citizen scientist, you can report your sightings to the Marine Mammal Center or Happywhale. If you have photographs, they can sometimes ID the exact animal you saw. If you have Humpback whale fluke (tail) shots, your best bet is to submit those to Happywhale. Other whale, dolphin or porpoise sightings would generally go to the Marine Mammal Center. They are especially interested in Bottlenose Dolphin sightings.

Submit Humpback Whale fluke sightigs to Happywhale. Note that happywhale now has a subscription based service that gives an instant identification (normal submissions can take a while). If you pay the monthly fee, you can upload images and get a response with seconds if the tail is identified and in their database. This is not a substitute for submitting images in the normal manner (which is free). You still need to do that if you want your photos to be recorded and become part of the whale's history/journey. But if you want a quick answer on whether your whale is in their databsae, this is a great option. You can get more information here: Happywhale WhaleID.

Submit other whale, dolphin and porpoise sightings to The Marine Mammal Center.

Reporting Entanglements and Troubled Whales​

This information is also included in the Reporting Entanglements and Troubled Whales post for quick/easy access.

It's a good idea to have a few phone numbers programmed into your phone in case you encounter a distressed marine mammal.

To report entangled marine mammals:

• Entanglement Reporting Hotline: 1-877-SOS-WHAL or 1-877-767-9425
• U.S. Coast Guard: VHF Ch. 16

To report harassments and other violations to law enforcement:

• NOAA Enforcement Hotline: 1-800-853-1964

To report derelict gear:

• Derelict Gear Hotline: 1-855-542-3935

To report a dead, injured, or stranded marine mammal

• From San Luis Obispo to Mendocino - The Marine Mammal Center: 1-415-289-7325 (SEAL)
• In Washington, Oregon, or California - West Coast Region Stranding Hotline: 1-866-767-6114

Whale Watching Boats​

There are a few whale watching boats which come down to Pacifica when the whales are active. This can be a great way to get closer views of the whales. There are currently two whale tour boats which have shown to be ethical and responsible around the whales and also who participate positively and regularly in the Pacifica forums. For more information, including how to track the boats, visit the Whale Watching Boats - SF area post.

That's all for now!