What’s the Best Time of Year to Go Whale Watching in New Jersey?

I’ve been running whale watching trips aboard the Jersey Girl out of Belmar, New Jersey for nine years. One question I get more than almost any other on the Jersey Shore Whale Watch dock is simple: when’s the best time to go whale watching in New Jersey?

Here’s my honest answer — and a few things about the 2026 season that people should know before booking a trip aboard the Jersey Girl in Belmar.

Our Season Runs April Through December

Jersey Shore Whale Watch, operating aboard the Jersey Girl in Belmar, New Jersey, runs one of the longest whale watching seasons anywhere on the East Coast. We sail from April through December, which means even September and October — when the summer crowds thin out and the light on the Atlantic turns golden — can be some of the absolute best times to experience whale watching in New Jersey.

Every season is different though. The ocean doesn’t follow a calendar.

2026 Update: The Whales Are Running Late

This year, unusually cold ocean temperatures off New Jersey have pushed much of the whale activity later than normal. Based on what we’re seeing from the Jersey Girl right now, I expect mid-June through November to be the prime whale watching window for the 2026 season out of Belmar.

We still expect to maintain our roughly 90% whale sighting success rate aboard the Jersey Girl — and we stand behind it with our whale guarantee — but if you have flexibility, summer into fall is shaping up to be exceptional for whale watching along the Jersey Shore this year.

What You’re Actually Seeing Out There

About 95% of the whales we see from the Jersey Girl are humpback whales. These are the showoffs of the ocean. Younger humpbacks will sometimes breach 20 or 30 times in a row if they’re fired up. They average around 40 feet long, and seeing one surface next to the boat off Belmar, New Jersey never gets old.

Occasionally we’ll encounter fin whales. Think submarine. These giants can reach 60 to 70 feet long. They rarely breach, but when one surfaces beside the Jersey Girl, the entire boat usually goes silent.

We also see minke whales, which are fast and easy to miss if you’re not paying attention — almost like oversized dolphins at 15 to 20 feet long.

And on very rare occasions — less than 1% of trips — we’ve spotted North Atlantic right whales off the coast of New Jersey. There may only be 360 to 400 left alive in the world. Seeing one from a whale watching boat is something you never forget.

Why Are Whales So Close to New Jersey?

Two reasons: cleaner water and bait fish.

Water quality off the Jersey Shore has improved dramatically over the years. At the same time, large commercial netting operations are prohibited within three miles of the New Jersey coastline. That allows massive schools of menhaden — oily bait fish humpback whales absolutely gorge themselves on — to stay close to shore near Belmar and the rest of the Jersey Shore.

The whales follow the food. The Jersey Girl follows the whales. Simple as that.

And it’s not only menhaden. We also regularly see whales feeding aggressively on sand eels. I’ve personally watched humpback whales use their snouts to root sand eels directly off the ocean floor off New Jersey. That’s the kind of thing you experience on a real whale watching trip — not something copied from a brochure.

Where Exactly Are We Talking?

The Jersey Girl’s whale watching range covers a huge section of the New Jersey coast, roughly from Brooklyn, New York down to Seaside Heights, New Jersey. On some trips we may find whales less than a quarter mile off the beach in Belmar. Other days we may run several miles offshore depending on where the feeding activity is happening.

The Jersey Girl crew stays in constant communication with local fishing boats and captains throughout the region. If whales are feeding somewhere off the Jersey Shore, word travels quickly.

Our lead naturalist, Dr. Danielle Browne — trained at Rutgers University — can often spot whale blows from incredible distances. When Danielle points, everybody on the Jersey Girl turns and looks.

The Bottom Line on Timing

If you’re asking me the best time to go whale watching in New Jersey during 2026, my answer is mid-June through November.

Summer weekends aboard the Jersey Girl out of Belmar tend to book early, especially July and August. But honestly, September and October may be the hidden gems of whale watching season at the Jersey Shore — fewer crowds, calmer ocean conditions, cooler air, beautiful lighting, and whales still actively feeding off New Jersey.