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Spring Whale Watch Week
February 26, 2007
(Newport, Oregon) – The Spring Whale Watch Week along the Oregon coast happens March 24 - 31, and the central coast town of Newport offers a large array of possibilities to help you enjoy this cetacean spectacle, including the highest concentration of Whale Watch Spoken Here sites on the entire coast.
For those seven days, volunteers will be stationed at overlooks and parks all over the central coast from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., helping both children and adults learn about – and spot – gray whales in the ocean.
Newport has three official whale watching sites, four others close by, a plethora of whale watch vantage points and cruises, and two aquarium centers with loads of whale information, making it the hub of whale sighting fun.
Visitors can make Newport their base of operations with ready access to three Whale Watching Spoken Here sites: Don Davis State Park, in the historic Nye Beach neighborhood, Yaquina Bay State Recreation Site and Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area. The latter two each have their own lighthouse, while the Yaquina Head area has tide pools and an interpretive center. Four other official sites are a short drive away: the state’s Whale Watching Center in Depoe Bay and the Depoe Bay Sea Wall, Rocky Creek State Scenic Viewpoint, Cape Foulweather and the Devil's Punchbowl State Natural Area. All are just a few miles to the north. Trained volunteers will be ready and waiting at those sites, daily from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., March 24 - 31.
The state's program takes place at the peak of the southbound migration of gray whales. Marine mammologists estimate that 18,000 whales pass by between March and June, as they head north to the Arctic and Alaska's Bering Sea. According to Whale Watch Spoken Here officials, juveniles pass by first, followed by single adults. Last are the mothers and babies. Some of the whales come close to shore to feed on Oregon's great food supply.
With a little help from a volunteer, you can watch them in transit – especially those close by (see www.whalespoken.org).
Visitors can learn even more with a healthy dose of fun by heading to Newport's Hatfield Marine Science Center, which offers storytelling, interpretive programs and other events during the Whale Watch Weeks. While they’re there, they can meet the resident giant pacific octopus, Reuben, learn at the touch pool, shop the marine-centric bookstore or take a walk on the estuary trail (hmsc.oregonstate.edu/visitor/).
The Oregon Coast Aquarium (www.aquarium.org) also offers a whale's mouthful of information about the great beasties that will entertain the whole family on many levels. The aquarium also hosts numerous spring break events that coincide with the Whale Watch Week.
For most people, however, seeing a spout from a distance only whets their appetite for more. Visitors can see a whale up close by simply purchasing a spot on the deck of a charter boat. They come in all shapes and sizes in Newport, which is home to the largest charter and fishing fleet on the Oregon coast. Weather permitting, these seasoned captains can get visitors closer to nature than they've ever been before – and nothing compares to the shine on a whale’s fluke, massive and jaw-dropping, 100 feet away.
After all that excitement, find some recreation or good eats at Newport's vibrant Bayfront, complete with fishing boats, restaurants, galleries, candy stores, Ripley's Believe it or Not and Undersea Gardens (www.marinersquare.com).
Also, take a historic turn in Nye Beach, where upscale shops and cafes exude a new attitude. It's here where Don Davis State Park sits, but there are numerous high vantage points bordering the neighborhood's cobbled streets from which to view passing whales as well. Try the end of NW 3rd St., next to Sylvia Beach Hotel and Village Market & Deli, or the bottom of NW 11th, where the castle ruin-like remnants of a condo provide prime viewing from high up.
For more information on Newport's attractions and lodging opportunities, head to www.DiscoverNewport.com, or call 800-262-7844.
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Newport, Oregon
The coast you remember.
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