Whale Watching Center, Scenic viewpoint and tourism office in Depoe Bay, United States.
The Whale Watching Center is a viewing facility with large windows and outdoor platforms positioned on Oregon's central coast. The site offers direct sight lines to the ocean and is staffed with people who help visitors spot and learn about the marine animals passing by.
The wayside was first established as a parking area on the Oregon Coast Highway in 1930. The concrete building was completed in June 1956 as a restroom facility, following designs by landscape architect Harold Spooner and highway department engineer Carl Schneider. It was transferred to Depoe Bay in 1988 and to Oregon State Parks in 2008, and has served as a whale-watching lookout since 2005.
The center has been used as a lookout for watching gray whales since 2005. It is staffed by Oregon State Parks, and its main level has housed a series of concessionaires, a condition imposed by the state so the property would be self-supporting. The building has been compared to a smaller version of Vista House at Crown Point.
The center provides binoculars and staff can offer tips about when viewing conditions are best based on the season and time of year. It is a good place to spend time, especially if you want to understand when whales are most likely to be seen.
The center sits above North America's smallest navigable harbor, where whales feed very close to shore. This unusual location gives visitors rare chances to watch the animals from very short distances.
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