Photo: Joe Mabel / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Depoe Bay’s harbor is famously small, reached by a narrow rock channel under the US 101 bridge. Boats that go in and out have to time the swells, and visitors line the seawall to watch them do it.
Built around gray whales
The town promotes itself as a whale-watching capital, and the claim rests on gray whales. Thousands pass the Oregon coast on their winter migration south and their spring trip north, and a smaller group of resident grays feeds near the coast through the summer and fall.
A trade of small operators
Charter operators run short trips out of the harbor, and the business supports captains, deckhands and booking staff. Tours depend on the weather and the bar, so a run of rough days can cut deeply into a season.
Free viewing too
Oregon State Parks runs a whale watching center on the seawall, which gives visitors a free look and keeps them in town long enough to eat or shop. For many small businesses on the main street, that stop is the difference between a passing car and a customer.
Marnie Holcomb is the editor and publisher of Oregon Coast Daily News and covers Lincoln County government and community life.
