Depoe Bay bills itself as the “Whale Watching Capitol of the Oregon Coast,” and for good reason. This tiny harbor town sits on a rocky bluff overlooking the ocean, where resident gray whales can be seen spouting just offshore for much of the year. The town itself is quaint and compact, with oceanfront restaurants, shops, and viewpoints all clustered along a walkable main strip.
One perfect day in Depoe Bay includes going on a whale watching tour, visiting the Whale Watching Center, and then driving the nearby Otter Crest Loop and Devils Punchbowl, where you view sea stacks and go tidepooling.
I’m Cheryl, and I love looking for wildlife. I did a whale watching tour and visited Depoe Bay as part of an 8-day research trip along the Oregon Coast. My husband and I write travel guides to help people visit the West. Today, I want to share with you the exact itinerary we recommend for Depoe Bay and our honest thoughts on our whale watching tour.
This itinerary is made for the regular traveler and can be done in half to three-quarters of a day. It will get you to the sites that you need to see to say that you have done Depoe Bay properly. The nice thing about Depoe Bay is that it is great for any traveler. There isn’t a lot of required walking or hiking (some of the whale tours have elevators to the bay), seeing and learning about whales is fun for all ages, and the activities are affordable- the Whale Watching Center is free and the chartered tours run ~$30-$55 per person!
This itinerary will work year-round. Although there is a whale migration that happens from March through June and mid-December to mid-January, 200 grey whales live in Depoe Bay year-round. Depoe Bay has only mild changes in weather throughout the year. One thing to be aware of is that Depoe Bay receives over 70 inches of rainfall and often has grey, cloudy skies. It’s also common for there to be fog in the morning. July and August are the most likely months to be sunny, but we had fog and very cold weather during our visit in July. And it was windy. Wear a rain jacket and pack an umbrella, and you should be comfortable. There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes!
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Depoe Bay is a tiny but fascinating little town on the Oregon Coast. The town itself sits along the world’s smallest navigable harbor — it’s only about 6 acres in size, and fishing boats squeeze through a super narrow channel that looks almost impossible to navigate until you see them do it.
The town got its name from a local Siletz Native American leader, Charles “Charley” DePoe, who was given land here in the 1800s. For decades, it was mainly a fishing village, but now, most visitors come for the chowder, saltwater taffy, and, of course, the whales.
Depoe Bay is really small. From one end of town to the other is about 1 mile. That’s just a 3-minute drive or about a 20-minute walk. It’s one of those places where you can easily park the car, walk along the strip of shops and restaurants, and take in the ocean views.
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Who is ready to explore Depoe Bay? Hopefully you are. I’m going to list activities in the order that we did them, but you will need to make adjustments for when you visit for two reasons.
This is one of the most scenic little detours off Highway 101. It’s only about a 10-minute drive. Heading south, turn right at the Otter Crest Loop sign and follow the narrow one-way road. The first half of the drive has wonderful views of the ocean. I loved looking at the sea stacks jutting out of the water. The second half takes you through the rainforest– also awesome! About halfway along the loop is Otter Crest State Scenic Viewpoint, perched atop Cape Foulweather at over 500 feet above sea level.
GOOD TO KNOW: It would be ideal to do the Otter Crest Loop as you drive into or out of Depoe Bay, but work around the tides and weather- even if it will require some extra driving.
Devils Punchbowl is a collapsed sea cave and is really interesting. At high tide, it fills with water and churns. At low tide, it empties and you can actually go inside it. I haven’t seen it at high tide yet, but I LOVED visiting it at low tide.
We did the short, packed dirt trail going down to the punchbowl. It was really neat to see it from above. There were large sea stacks that had dozens of birds coming and going. A nice volunteer for the Friends of Otter Rock Marine Reserve taught us about some of the bird species, including the family of black oystercatchers, that we could view with our binoculars. We actually saw the parents chase off an eagle to protect their chicks. It was super cool!
GOOD TO KNOW: The parking lot for Devils Punchbowl often fills by 11 am
We climbed into the emptied sea cave for some tidepooling. The walk down was steep and treacherous (be careful if you have small children!) Tidepooling is when the tide goes out and leaves behind little pools of water filled with ocean creatures like sea stars, anemones, sea urchins, and crabs. Devils Punchbowl had some of the best tidepooling we did on the coast. As we were leaving, I looked in a crack along the rock wall and saw dozens of tiny purple crabs. It was so memorable! Volunteers had also set up a small table with samples of creatures you may see in a tide pool. It was helpful to learn about some of the creatures we had just seen.
IMPORTANT: Devils Punchbowl will completely refill with water at high tide, so it’s important that you exit quickly if you see the tide coming in.
The Whale Watching Center at Depoe Bay is a real highlight! It’s absolutely free and has a great cement platform where you can look for whales. If you come at the right time of day, a volunteer will be outside teaching all about the 200 gray whales that make Depoe Bay their home year-round. He was a great presenter and we learned a lot.
They are usually around 45 feet long, the size of a school bus!
They are a baleen species that eats ~2,000 pounds of shrimp-like organisms daily
Their milk is 50% fat
They migrate to Baja to give birth, but return due to limited food down there
They travel at 3–5 mph; takes 3–4 months to return
They are covered in barnacles (up to 300 lbs!) and try to scrape them off
Whale Center volunteers know many of them by name and can tell them apart
by the barnacles on their faces and the shape of their tails
Inside, there are some great displays. There’s a whale skeleton and some items you can touch. They also have a big screen monitor that is hooked up to a camera that gives closer views of the ocean to help increase your chance of seeing a whale. There is also a whiteboard that lists several species of whales and the date they were last seen. There can be several whale sightings a day, just from the Whale Watching Center.
GOOD TO KNOW: The Whale Watching Center has unusual hours. Open 10:00–4:00, closed Mondays & Tuesdays. There is free parking along the sea wall. Parking stalls face west towards the ocean on Hwy 101. You can still try to view whales from the platform when it’s not open, but try to go when it is open. It’s excellent and the volunteers really enhance your experience.
Though it is common to see whales from the Whale Watching Center, you are almost guaranteed to see a whale if you go on a chartered tour. They are usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours in length and charge between $30-$55. It’s best to book them in advance, but walk-up tours are sometimes available. I’m going to give my full review of our whale watching tour in the next section, but here is a quick way to decide if a whale watching tour is for you.
| Do a Whale Watching Tour if you … | Don’t Do a Whale Watching Tour if you… |
| Want to increase your chances of seeing a whale | Struggle with seasickness |
| Want to get out on the ocean | Are on a tight budget |
| Want to learn more about whales |
Whale watching is one of the top things to do if you are on an Oregon Coast road trip and Depoe Bay is the best spot to do it. I originally booked a tour with marine biologist, Kari Newell, from Whale Research EcoExcursions because I liked the idea of learning more about the whales and that she goes out on a Zodiac boat, which sits low to the water and only carries up to 13 passengers.
I booked my tour a few months in advance (not necessary, but I am a planner) and was really disappointed to get a text that morning saying that my tour had been cancelled due to fog and wind. It was just too dangerous for us to go out at the scheduled tour time. They said they would let me know if they had availability later that day. They didn’t, so they issued me a full refund.
We went to the Whale Watching Center, and across the street, we saw booths for two other whale watching tours. Both Dockside Charters and Tradewind Charters had tours available that were departing that day! The weather had cleared up a little bit and they use bigger boats, so tours were possible. I was so excited. Dockside Charters had the soonest departure, so I went with them.
Here’s a quick comparison of the whale watching tour options in Depoe Bay.
| Tours and Prices | Accessible | Unique Features | |
| Whale Research EcoExcursions | $55, 1.5 hours | Some tours. Participants required to be able to get on the boat without a wheelchair | Led by marine biologist Kari Newell. Tours on Zodiac boats with 6-13 people. |
| Dockside Charters | $30, 1 hour | All tours | Large vessels (40+ passengers), family-friendly, no life vest required. |
| Tradewinds Charters | $30, 1 hour | All tours | Large vessels (40+ passengers), family-friendly, no life vest required. |
Each of these three companies receives very high reviews on Google, so you really can’t go wrong and you can book tours in advance with any of them. Dockside Charters and Tradewinds Charters are almost identical in the experience they offer. Whale Research EcoExcursions go out in Zodiac boats, which are small rafts that sit low on the water. For this reason, you must wear a life jacket at all times. Some of their tours are led by Kari Newell, who is a well-known marine biologist. She often brings her dog along.
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We drove to the dock and loaded onto our boat, the 50-ft Delta named Tacklebuster. It could hold 42 people, but our tour wasn’t full. There was outdoor seating and some seating in the cabin. The seats were hard (no cushions here!) and we were not required to wear life jackets, though they were on board if we wanted one.
There were all ages, including smaller children. We had a captain who narrated our tour and a shipmate who monitored the boat to make sure everyone was safe and had what they needed. We were told to dress warmly because it is colder on the ocean than on land. We were also told that if we got sick, to throw up over the edge of the boat, not in the onboard toilet. That is reserved for people who need to use the restroom.
GOOD TO KNOW: I asked the shipmate if it was common for people to get sick on the tour. His response, “I’ve only had 6 people sick today.” It was only 1:00 pm. No one on our tour got sick, but I was grateful I had put on a motion sickness patch that morning. If this is a concern for you, make sure you take proper precautions.
We saw harbor seals basking on the shore as we departed the bay. It was still overcast and windy, so the water was particularly rough. We traveled 10 minutes outside of the bay and we enjoyed watching the waves crash against the shore. Every time I get out on the ocean, I am amazed by how powerful it is.
The incredible thing about these whale watching tours is that the captains know exactly where the whales are. Every morning, fishing tours go out and they see where the whales are hanging out that day. They radio each other and let all the tour groups know where to go. I saw boats from other tour groups in the same area where we were looking for whales.
The captain explained to us to look for spouting. That is when the whales blow mist out of their blowhole. It can be up to 12 feet high. The whales will usually spout 3-5 times before they dive. As they dive, a portion of the whale’s body emerges from the water. It allows you to see how big they really are. The first time I saw this, it was magical! I couldn’t believe I was out on the water with whales.
We saw the same grey whale, an adolescent named Creamsicle, about 12 times on our tour. All the passengers on the boat would look for spouting and then point it out to everyone else, so we knew where to look. We were allowed to move around the boat so we could easily go to the side where the whale was appearing.
We never saw any breaching, where the whale comes completely out of the water, but I was satisfied with the dives. I saw the whale’s body, fluke (tail), and face. At one point, Creamsicle popped his head up to peek at us! Toward the end of our tour, we believe we saw a second grey whale. Although I could see whales with just my eyes, I was really glad we had brought our binoculars.
One hour was the perfect tour length. We got to see plenty of whale activity and…it’s hard not to get motion sick when the boat is stopped and you are just rocking in the waves. Plus, it seems like whale tours in other places can cost $100-$200 and take hours. I loved that we saw whales, that it didn’t take all day, and that it was affordable. I’m excited to visit again.
Looking for other fun things to do on the Oregon Coast? Check out my article 13 Absolute Best Things to Do on the Oregon Coast (+Where to Eat)
World’s Smallest Navigable Harbor– Just steps from the Whale Watching Center, this tiny working harbor is only 6 acres but serves as the departure point for fishing boats and whale tours. Stand on the Hwy 101 bridge to watch boats carefully maneuver in and out, often through choppy surf—often a spectacle of its own.
Depoe Bay Memorial Wall-Located just north of the harbor, this small and poignant memorial honors those who lost their lives at sea, including in rescue efforts. A thoughtful stop along the sea wall near excellent viewpoints.
Fishing Excursions – Dockside and Tradewind Charters offer fishing excursions for those looking to try their hand at deep-sea fishing. They also vacuum-seal your catch for easy take-home. Rockfish, salmon, and halibut are popular.
When to Start Your Day: Remember, it’s all about the tides. Schedule your day around low tide at
Devils Punch Bowl. Many of the businesses in Depoe Bay don’t open until 10 am,
so there is no reason to get up first thing in the morning.
What to Wear: Shoes you feel comfortable walking in and a rain jacket. If you are
going out on the ocean, wear a coat, a beanie, and gloves.
What to Bring: An umbrella! Depoe Bay is one of the rainiest places in the country.
Binoculars really help when looking for whales.
Cell Phone Service. Your phone will work well here.
Honestly, I made myself a PB & J and grabbed some caramel corn from the shop that was next to the Dockside Charter tour booth. But if you want something more substantial, here’s a researched list of where in town is good to eat.
If you are on a longer road trip along the Oregon Coast and want some great restaurants to try (that we actually ate at), check out my article 15 Best Places to Eat on the Oregon Coast (Seafood, Views & More).
We stayed at the SCP Depoe Bay (book here) and I thought it was really, really nice. We had some nice upgrades in our room, like a fireplace and a sound machine. The room was clean, and the facilities were also very nice. We had a private viewing deck of Depoe Bay from our room on the second floor.
The SCP Depoe Bay is all about relaxation. The amenities were great and included a huge lobby with some really comfortable seating, a yoga room, and a simple yet delicious breakfast of homemade granola. They had great laundry facilities and were a dog-friendly establishment.
Depoe Bay, in general, had more expensive lodging than the other towns we stayed in on the Oregon Coast. Our room was ~$250 a night here, and we averaged around $150 a night in other places.
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