Whale Watching
An estimated 19,000 Gray Whales will travel right by Pacific Rim National Park every spring for the longest migration of any mammal.
Jacques Cousteau declared the Pacific Gray Whale “the most stupendous form of animal life in the seas”. In 1910 a naturalist declared the Gray Whale extinct. Fortunately, these 35-ton wandering giants have returned to patrol the waters off Canada’s rugged West Coast and have recovered well since their hunting was banned in 1947.
Adventurers on Vancouver Island wanting to catch a glimpse of these graceful mammals can follow the Gray Whale migration every spring and fall as they make their trek to breed in the warm lagoons of Mexico and back to the waters of the Arctic – a journey of almost 7,000 km.
The waters off Chesterman House offer exceptional viewing grounds. The area is also home to Orca and Humpback Whales, cougars and wolves, and 250 species of birds, from Bald Eagles to Rufous Hummingbirds.