Whale alert! After a winter in the balmy lagoons of Baja, Mexico, nearly 20,000 gray whales are on the move north to Alaska. By the last week of March, they’ll be cruising up the Oregon Coast. Also out in force? Trained volunteers, more than 300 of them, stationed at a slew of state parks, ready to help visitors spot these majestic mammals.

Welcome to Whale Watch Week, going down this year from March 22 to 30 (which aligns conveniently with spring break for most Oregon schools). Here’s everything you need to know.

What is this event?

A state-organized program, Whale Watch Week dates back nearly 50 years and runs biannually (the other Whale Watch Week occurs around the holidays, during the grays’ southbound journey). Today, hundreds of volunteers, who receive training from researchers and rangers, post up at coastal state parks to help visitors understand the whales’ migration patterns and record their numbers. 

Where can I go?

Pop over to any of 15 state parks along the Pacific, spanning the whole length of Oregon: from Harris Beach, located just a few miles from the California border, to Fort Stevens, near the mouth of the Columbia River. A prime spot to visit is Depoe Bay, which bills itself as the whale watching capital of Oregon. The central coast town, two hours from Portland, is home to the Oregon Whale Watching Center, which sits on the seawall and offers sweeping ocean vistas from a big viewing deck, as well as loaner binoculars and informative displays.

How do I maximize my chances of seeing a whale?

Get up early. Winds, and therefore the waves, are mellower in the morning. Later in the day, the sun may cast a glare on the water. Experienced sea scanners (a.k.a. Whale Watch Week volunteers) will be at participating parks from 10am to 1pm.

If you’ve got binoculars, start by scanning with the naked eye until you see a puff of white—that’s a whale exhale, shooting as high as 15 feet and visible for about five seconds. Keeping your gaze there, raise your binos. Grays will often give three to five blows in a row, 30 to 50 seconds apart, with dives of three to six minutes in between.

I missed Whale Watch Week. What now?

We have good news for you: Whale Watch Week simply marks the first surge of whales northward, a migration that continues into June. Later in the spring, you’re more likely to see mothers with calves, who stick around longer in Baja’s warm breeding grounds, and who travel more slowly and closer to land to give the wee ones a break. (Wee is relative: Newborn calves clock in around 15 feet and 2,000 pounds. They will eventually reach about 50 feet and 90,000 pounds.)

Plus, Depoe Bay counts about 200 resident gray whales who skip the trip to Alaska to spend summer and fall in the food-rich waters here. Several of these, like Scarback, an elder female who survived an attack from an exploding harpoon some 40 years ago, or Comet, whose blowhole obstruction gives her a distinctive lopsided spout, have gained celebrity status. Visit the Oregon Whale Watching Center, open year-round, to learn more, or book an ocean excursion. Consider Whale Research EcoExcursions, run by marine biologist Carrie Newell, who’s widely considered the local expert. The outfit runs multiple daily charters on inflatable Zodiac boats, which the more curious grays are prone to nosing up against.