Humpbacks 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.
In season in Massachusetts right now: Humpback whale, Fin whale, Minke 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 15
“Humpback whales that started arriving in April, appear in large numbers with mothers bringing their calves; other whales, like fins and minkes, come for the food, too.”
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
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.
January 1 to May 15
“Critically endangered North Atlantic right whales cruise Cape Cod Bay and the sanctuary, each eating up to a ton of copepods each day.”
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
The dates on the ribbon are the federal Cape Cod Bay Seasonal Management Area, January 1 to May 15, which is NOAA's own dated statement of when right whales are expected there. Massachusetts has additional state rules of its own, published on mass.gov.
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.
April 1 to October 15
“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 15
“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.
Stellwagen sets expectations plainly: "A whale watch is not an amusement park ride and sightings may vary widely." The sanctuary also notes that "most companies offer trips from the beginning of May until the end of October", which is a boat schedule, not a whale season. The right whales are there from January.
Checking the most recent public whale record in Massachusetts…
Two federal agencies say slightly different things and both are worth knowing. NOAA's Stellwagen Bank sanctuary writes that "since there is little land-based whale watching on the Cape, Stellwagen Bank is the ultimate destination". The National Park Service writes that "Visitors can see whales from Cape Cod beaches, especially on clear days during the spring season and near Race Point." The reading that fits both: Race Point in spring is a real exception, not a pattern.
Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and the National Park Service
National Park Service
“In the spring whales can often be seen from shore and fishermen with their long surfcasting rods are a common sight at the water's edge.”
The only piece of Atlantic sand where the National Park Service says, in its own words, that whales can be seen from the beach. The federal Off Race Point shipping restriction runs March 1 to April 30 over the same water.
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.
“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."
“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
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 United States restricts vessel speed in specific areas during specific annual windows to reduce ship strikes on North Atlantic right whales. These are shipping rules rather than viewing guidance, and we reproduce them because they are the federal government’s own dated statement of when this species is expected in this water. The ones touching Massachusetts:
Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts
The late winter and early spring feeding aggregation. This is the one place in the United States where a large fraction of the entire species can be in one bay at once.
The waters off Race Point, at the tip of Cape Cod
The federal window sits exactly on top of the one stretch of Atlantic sand where the National Park Service says whales can be seen from the beach.
The Great South Channel, east of Nantucket
Far offshore. Listed for completeness: there is no shore view of this one from anywhere.
Reproduced from NOAA Fisheries, Reducing Vessel Strikes to North Atlantic Right Whales. These are vessel speed restrictions, not viewing guidance; they are reproduced here because they are the United States government’s own dated, mapped statement of when right whales are expected in a given piece of water.
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 Massachusetts…
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, 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.
Agencies say do not expect to see whales from shoreHumpbacks 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: “North Atlantic right whale, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, NOAA Permit 633-1762-01” — NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries — Public Domain