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Travel & Experiences

Great places to whale-watch in California

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Monterey County This small state park, adjacent to Big Sur in the Los Padres National Forest, borders the coast and includes towering ridges and coastal bluffs, with panoramic views of the ocean. Take the Overlook Trail, which runs along the top of the cliffs, and find a comfortable spot where you can sit with a pair of binoculars. If the whales are scarce, at least you can see the gorgeous and much-photographed 80-foot waterfall that splashes from a granite cliff into the beach.

Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, Monterey County

This small state park, adjacent to Big Sur in the Los Padres National Forest, borders the coast and includes towering ridges and coastal bluffs, with panoramic views of the ocean. Take the Overlook Trail, which runs along the top of the cliffs, and find a comfortable spot where you can sit with a pair of binoculars. If the whales are scarce, at least you can see the gorgeous and much-photographed 80-foot waterfall that splashes from a granite cliff into the beach.  (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

Gray whales

San Simeon State Park, San Luis Obispo

This park, about five miles south of Hearst Castle, has a vast, green wetland. But to see whales, head toward the southwestern end of the park, where a mile-long boardwalk borders Moonstone Beach. The wooden walkway stretches from the bluffs down to the shoreline. Benches along the path make for perfect whale-watching rest stops. At left, a whale spout off the coast.  (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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