Humpbacks, finbacks and minkes feed in the Gulf of Maine through spring, summer and autumn, and the National Park Service says do not expect to see them from shore.
In season in Maine right now: Humpback whale, Fin whale, Minke whale, North Atlantic right whaleEvery window below is the wording of the agency that publishes it, reproduced exactly, with a link. Where two agencies describe the same animal differently, both are shown.
April 1 to October 31
“During spring, summer and fall these whales are found most often around the sloping sides of the banks and ledges of the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank and the continental shelf south of the Islands.”
Maine Department of Marine Resources
What you are looking for: A tall columnar blow, a small dorsal fin on a hump, and the black and white underside of the tail as it dives. The only large whale that routinely breaches clear of the water.
April 1 to October 31
“Same areas as the humpback whale, but not always at the same time.”
Maine Department of Marine Resources
What you are looking for: The second largest animal on earth, and a fast, low, straight-line traveller. A tall narrow blow and a dorsal fin that appears long after the blow, well down the back.
April 1 to October 31
“Same as Humpback and Finback whales, but also found in closer to shore.”
Maine Department of Marine Resources
What you are looking for: The smallest baleen whale here, with a pointed snout, a curved dorsal fin visible almost at the same moment as the blow, and often no visible blow at all. Maine says minkes come "closer to shore" than humpbacks or finbacks.
June 1 to November 30
“Winter/Spring in Cape Cod Bay & Great South Channel.. Summer/Fall in Bay of Fundy & Roseway Basin.”
Maine Department of Marine Resources
The Bay of Fundy and Roseway Basin are Canadian waters. Maine sits between the two halves of the right whale year rather than inside either.
What you are looking for: No dorsal fin at all, a broad black back, a V shaped blow from two separated blowholes, and rough white callosity patches on the head. If you think you have seen one, NOAA runs sighting hotlines: (866) 755-6622 from Maine to Virginia, (877) 942-5343 from North Carolina to Florida.
Maine Department of Marine Resources publishes the only per-species seasonal table any state agency on this coast puts out, and it is the reason the fin and minke windows on this page exist at all. NOAA Fisheries' own fin whale and minke whale species pages give hemisphere-scale generalities and no Gulf of Maine months.
Checking the most recent public whale record in Maine…
The National Park Service is unusually direct about this at Acadia: "Although the harbor porpoise is in the whale family, it is rare and unlikely to see a whale in the bay or from shore." It adds that whales "are spotted further out in the ocean and are best viewed from whale watching tours and excursions."
National Park Service, Acadia National Park
No federal or state agency names a specific Maine shore lookout in its own words, so none is listed here; the agencies' own assessment of shore viewing on this coast is above.
Approach distances differ by species and by region, and the differences are large enough that a number remembered from another coast can put you in breach of federal law. Below, the rule for each species that has a published season here, quoted from the agency that issues it.
“In Hawaii and Alaska, it is illegal to approach a humpback whale within 100 yards, by land or sea. It is also illegal to approach humpback whales in Hawaii within 1,000 feet (333 yards) by air.”
NOAA Fisheries, Humpback Whale: Resources
Note the phrase "by land or sea". NOAA states this rule two different ways on two of its own pages: the species resources page says "by land or sea", while its general viewing guidelines page frames the same 100 yards as a requirement on vessels. Outside Hawaii and Alaska the 100 yards is guidance rather than a humpback-specific law.
“Remain at least 100 yards away, about the length of a football field, unless other rules apply.”
NOAA Fisheries, Marine Life Viewing Guidelines: Guidelines and Distances
“Remain at least 100 yards away, about the length of a football field, unless other rules apply.”
NOAA Fisheries, Marine Life Viewing Guidelines: Guidelines and Distances
“NOAA Fisheries has regulations that prohibit approaching or remaining within 500 yards (1,500 feet) of a right whale.”
NOAA Fisheries, North Atlantic Right Whale
This is five times the distance that applies to every other whale, and it is the strictest approach rule for any whale in US waters. NOAA words the restriction as applying to approaches "whether by vessel, aircraft or other means", and a separate line requires aircraft and drones to maintain a 1,500 foot minimum altitude over right whales. A drone launched from a beach is covered. No agency page states whether the rule reaches a person standing still on the sand. If a right whale comes to you, NOAA's instruction is to "immediately depart from the area at a slow, safe speed in a direction away from the whale."
Never approach a whale to get a better view, and never put a drone over one. If an animal comes to you, the instruction from NOAA is to move away from it, slowly, not to hold position for a photograph.
The chart below counts research-grade public observations by month. It is not a season. It is a record of when somebody was standing in the right place with a camera and knew what they were looking at, and that depends at least as much on tourism and daylight as on whales. Winter is systematically under-counted everywhere on this coast for exactly that reason.
It earns its place because when it disagrees with the agency window, the disagreement usually has a cause worth understanding.
Reading the public observation record for Humpback whale in Maine…
Gray whales pass twice, southbound from December and northbound from mid-February, and California has more agency-named shore lookouts than any other state.
Agencies name shore sites hereThousands of gray whales pass mid-December to mid-January going south and from late March going north, and about 200 stay all summer.
Agencies name shore sites hereGray whales pass the outer coast in spring, and the inland waters hold killer whales under the strictest state approach law in the country.
Shore viewing is possible but agencies are cautiousThe summer feeding ground for the humpbacks that spend their winter in Hawaii, and the National Park Service says they feed within a mile of shore.
Shore viewing is possible but agencies are cautiousHumpbacks are here November through April with the peak from January through March, and the sanctuary itself says you can see them from shore.
Agencies name shore sites hereHumpbacks arrive in April and are in large numbers through the summer, and right whales fill Cape Cod Bay in late winter under a federal January to May shipping rule.
Shore viewing is possible but agencies are cautiousHumpbacks are close to shore in summer and autumn in the New York Bight, and right whales are detected in spring and winter.
Agencies say do not expect to see whales from shoreThe only known calving ground on earth for the North Atlantic right whale, occupied from mid-November to mid-April.
Shore viewing is possible but agencies are cautiousThe southern half of the right whale calving ground, mid-November to mid-April, and the one state whose wildlife agency says the whales are often visible from the beach.
Shore viewing is possible but agencies are cautiousA winter state, unusually: humpbacks concentrate off the Virginia coast in January and February while New England is empty.
Agencies say do not expect to see whales from shoreNot seeing your state? The hub names every coastal state without a page here and explains why, including the whole Gulf coast and most of the mid-Atlantic.
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Seasons and approach distances on this page are quoted from the agency named beside each one, with a link. Nothing is modelled or averaged. Monthly observation counts are read live in your browser from the iNaturalist API and record when people reported whales, not when whales were present.
Hero image: “Fin whales spouting” by James Brooks, CC BY 2.0