The Whale Trail B.C.

Land-Based Whale Watching Initiative

East Point, Saturna Island (Photo credit: Miles Ritter)

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History

Learn more about the background and history of The Whale Trail in B.C.

Learn More

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Partners

The Whale Trail is a collaborative effort. Find out who our Whale Trail B.C. partners are.

Find Out

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Report Your Sightings

Download the WhaleReport app and report your cetacean sightings to aid in conservation.

Report a Sighting

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Species Identification

Check out our species ID guide to know what to look for on the water.

View the Guide

The Whale Trail’s mission is to inspire appreciation and stewardship of whales and our marine environment by establishing a network of viewing sites along the Salish Sea and the Pacific Coast.

Follow The Whale Trail to watch whales from shore. What will you discover?

Explore the trail using the interactive map or check out the full list of sites in British Columbia below. When you click on a site, you will be directed to thewhaletrail.org for more information.

Bamfield Marine Sciences Center

Carmanah Point Lighthouse, Pacific Rim National Reserve

East Point, Saturna Island

Gorge Harbor, Cortes Island

Kitimat

Lighthouse Park, West Vancouver

Summit Lodge, Sea to Sky Gondola, Squamish

Telegraph Cove

Wild Pacific Trail, Ucluelet

Bellhouse Park, Galiano Island

Fred and Bette Cotton Community Park, Mayne Island

Discovery Passage, Campbell River

Gowlland Point, South Pender

Milner Gardens, Vancouver Island University

Oak Bluffs, North Pender

Prince Rupert

Thieves Bay, North Pender

Work Channel

Cape Roger Curtis, Bowen Island

Drummond Bay, South Pender

East Limestone Island

Georgina Point, Gulf Islands National Reserve

Port of Kelsey Bay

Moresby Camp, Haida Gwaii

Pedder Bay Marina, Victoria

Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea

Tonquin Trail, Tofino

Click here for sites in Washington, Oregon and California and for more information about visiting the Whale Trail

Ocean Stories: The Whale Trail B.C.

Brush up on your whale ID skills before you go!

Join us on a tour of sites on Vancouver Island

Exploring The Whale Trail B.C. and beyond, is a great way to reduce the following threats to cetaceans:

Vessel Disturbance

Collisons

Noise

Whale whale whale… where is Surf?

by B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network Ocean Wise | June 18, 2022 | Conservation, Sightings, Whale Trail B.C. | 0 Comments

Written by Ashley Bachert, North Coast Coordinator Every year in Prince Rupert, locals await the annual spring visit from a family of northern resident killer whales known as the A42s. The A42 matriline is led by A42 “Sonora”. Accompanying her are her 5 offspring and...

Happy World Oceans Day from Ocean Wise’s Whales Initiative!

by Jessica Torode | June 8, 2022 | Conservation, Contaminants, Events, Research, Sightings, Threats, Vessel disturbance, Whale Trail B.C. | 0 Comments

Today marks the international celebration of World Oceans Day. Originally brought to fruition in 1992 at the United Nations Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, the goal of the day was to inspire appreciation and stewardship of the ocean. By 2008 the UN General...

Following The Whale Trail: Land-Based Whale Watching on Vancouver Island’s East Coast

by B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network Ocean Wise | April 6, 2022 | News, Sightings, Whale Trail B.C. | 0 Comments

By Kayla Jones, BCCSN Coordinator Recently, SVICRI’s Aaron Purdy and I took a trip up the east coast of Vancouver Island to visit a few of B.C.’s many land-based whale watching locations, known as “The Whale Trail BC”. These locations were established in partnership...

The BCCSN Welcomes BC Ferries to the Whale Trail

by Sarah Wilson | September 10, 2020 | News, Whale Trail B.C. | 0 Comments

The B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network (BCCSN) is very excited to welcome BC Ferries to the Whale Trail! Based in Seattle, WA, The Whale Trail’s mission is to inspire appreciation and stewardship of whales and our marine environment by establishing a network of...

Unexpected Urban Whales: City Slicker Cetaceans Sighted During Coronavirus

by Sarah Wilson | July 14, 2020 | News, Sightings, Whale Trail B.C. | 0 Comments

Written by: Lauren Dares, B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network Coordinator It has been an unusual and uncertain start to 2020. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised that a year that started off with pro-democracy mass protests in Hong Kong, Australia declaring a state of...

Life isn’t smooth sailing for a whale – it’s our job to make it a little easier: A look back on our efforts from 2019

by Sarah Wilson | January 29, 2020 | Collisions, Threats, Uncategorized, Underwater Noise, Vessel disturbance, Whale Trail B.C. | 0 Comments

It’s tough being a whale these days. Your average killer whale might not have to worry about increasing fuel prices, nor does a humpback whale stress about getting a work assignment done on time. But, imagine inadvertently ending up in a shipping lane – essentially a...

Watching Whales From Shore

by Caitlin | August 28, 2015 | Sightings, Whale Trail B.C. | 0 Comments

Recently the B.C. Cetacean Sightings Network received some very exciting reports of whales, including large …