Jaunted

The Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach offers a $62.95 ticket that includes a whale-watching cruise.

Farther south, in Sonoma County, the community arts organization Gualala Arts in Gualala celebrates the gray whales' migration with the Redwood Coast Whale & Jazz Festival in April. The month-long fest features events like photo-lectures about whales by award-winning nature photographers. Or try the Point Reyes Peninsula, which juts out 10 miles into the Pacific Ocean, to see the gray giants, especially around Chimney Rock and Point Reyes Lighthouse in Point Reyes National Seashore.

San Francisco is another good whale-watching perch, since it sits at the eastern edge of the Pacific and near the Farallon Islands, a marine sanctuary where the the blowhole breed passes yearly. Along the San Mateo County coast, whale-watching tours leave from Pillar Point Harbor. And at the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, you can just take a stroll and see whales jumping out of the water.

Moving further south into SoCal, parks in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties have a nice view of the blubbery creatures, including San Simeon State Beach, Estero Bluffs State Park and El Capitan State Beach. In Ventura County, you can plan trips through Island Packers, Channel Island Sportfishing Center or Captain Hook's Sportfishing.

Or visit the Redondo Sport Fishing Pier in Redondo Beach for daily docent-led trips daily, with dolphin, shark, sea lion and marine bird sightings in addition to whale watching. The Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific sells a wildlife and whale cruise combo ticket, which allows you to embark on a boat excursion to see whales, explore whale conservation issues and hang at the aquarium. In Newport Beach, Davey's Locker Whale Watching Cruises has been doing whale-watching tours for more than 30 years.

The southernmost site in Cali to see the mammals up close is San Diego; hop into a kayak and join La Jolla Kayak's tours. Or climb aboard the America, a 139-foot-long sailing yacht and a historic replica of the world's first America's Cup winner. The yacht's low-sweeping deck gives you a good vantage point for snapping photos of the cutie whales.

Now that we've given you a full rundown of the whale hotspots, fish you your binoculars and get to booking your trip.

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[Photos: Shayan (USA) and Aquarium of the Pacific's Facebook]