Pch Points

Join the migration to Dana Point Harbor and the city as the celebration gets underway March 5-6 and 12-13, 2011 for the 40th Annual Dana Point Festival of Whales. I’ve lived with my family in South Orange County, California, about five minutes from the Dana Point Harbor, for more than 26 years.

These are the top events we’ve enjoyed over time, but there are family activities at the harbor year round as well.

Honoring the Whales

There's a great chance you'll see the gentle giants – from a boat -- during their migration off the coast of Dana Point from November through March every year. For thousands of years the California Gray Whales have left Alaska in the fall and headed to Baja, Mexico to mate or give birth to their calves. Experts say the headlands at Dana Point, next to the harbor, serve as a landmark to the whales that use the 250-foot cliffs to check that they're on the right path.