#whale-watching

#whale-watching

For decades, whale watching has been a seasonal ritual along the Sonoma Coast, drawing locals to wind-swept bluffs, binoculars in hand. Now the pastime has earned national notice: Travel + Leisure has declared Sonoma County the best place in the country to see whales. In a story published Feb. 3, the magazine said there is no better place in the United States for whale watching than the stretch of coastline from Bodega Bay to Gualala and no better time than now.

Global travel booking website Skyscanner has named its top five destinations for solo travel this winter, and a Northern California favorite the Sonoma Coast made the list. The Sonoma Coast invites a different kind of stillness, the guide notes, praising the rugged shoreline as an antidote to crowded itineraries and overplanned escapes. The roundup also includes Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas, Tangier Island in Virginia, Olympic National Park in Washington and Red River Gorge in Kentucky.

The sight of Morro Rock has greeted countless visitors to this part of California's Central Coast for centuries, from the European explorers who came to the area enticed by its calm waters, to the modern-day surfers who ride the swells that break outside the bay. Morro Bay was once a bustling port city that primarily dealt in the shipment of dairy and beef from the local ranches in the area.

Seastreak offers fantastic whale watching cruises including opportunities to see humpback whales, bottlenose dolphins, pelagic birds, sea turtles, and other species, guided by a wildlife expert.

The sighting of two great white sharks just 10 miles off Gloucester's coast was a rare and exciting event for the whale watching company and its patrons.