The off-season is wildlife season on Cape Cod. North Atlantic right whales, which are critically endangered, typically arrive in Cape Cod Bay in early winter, and many stay through mid-May [1]. Gray seals live on the Cape year-round [17], and NOAA says harbor seals are here seasonally, from September through late May [16].
Here's when to look, where to look from shore, how close the law and federal guidelines let you get, and who to call if you find an animal in trouble.
When right whales are in Cape Cod Bay
Right whales have been known to gather in Cape Cod Bay in high numbers in early spring for centuries [3]. April is typically the peak of the season, with the densest groups of whales feeding at or just below the surface [4].
Seasons vary, though. In 2025/26, March was the busiest month in Cape Cod Bay, and only 40 right whales were sighted there in April, when many were seen north of the bay instead [3]. Here's how last season built, by the Center for Coastal Studies' aerial survey counts [3]:
| Month | Right whales sighted in Cape Cod Bay |
|---|---|
| December 2025 | 14 [3] |
| January 2026 | 39 [3] |
| February 2026 | 57 [3] |
| March 2026 | 83 [3] |
| April 2026 | 40 [3] |
- On January 10, 2026, the survey counted 33 right whales in Cape Cod Bay [5], the most it has ever sighted on a single day in January [3].
- Over the whole 2025/26 season, the survey team identified 188 individual right whales, including 17 mother/calf pairs; 155 of them were seen in Cape Cod Bay [3].
- For scale, NOAA Fisheries' most recent estimate for the entire population is approximately 380 whales [6].
- NOAA Fisheries reported that 23 right whale calves were born in the 2026 calving season, the highest number since 2009 [7].
Last season's first right whale was reported from Race Point Beach by a member of the public on October 26, 2025 [3]. The July 2026 season report said the aerial survey would begin again in autumn 2026; last season's first survey flight was on November 3, 2025 [3].
Watching right whales from shore
"Cape Cod is one of the best places on Earth to watch whales from shore," said Jesse Mechling, director of education at the Center for Coastal Studies, noting that it's not uncommon for whales to swim close to shore while feeding [8]. The center says right whales are often sighted in April [9], and that they often feed very close to shore, offering watchers on the beach unbeatable views [5].
- Race Point Beach, Provincetown. The National Park Service says whales can often be seen from shore here in the spring [10].
- Herring Cove Beach, Provincetown. The Park Service lists whale watching from shore among the beach's draws [11].
- Guided whale walks. In spring 2026, the Center for Coastal Studies offered guided whale walks from March 27 through April, departing from Herring Cove or Race Point beaches in Provincetown; the center says species commonly seen include North Atlantic right, humpback, fin, minke and sei whales [8].
Watch the center's website for 2027 whale walk dates.
How to recognize a right whale: a stocky black body, no dorsal fin, and a V-shaped blow [6].
Whale sightings that people post to iNaturalist appear on the Whale Spotter map in our app, with each observer credited in the sightings list. They're community reports, not confirmed sightings.
How close you can get to a right whale
Federal regulations prohibit approaching or remaining within 500 yards (1,500 feet) of a right whale [6]. The rule applies to vessels and aircraft, including drones, and to people on surfboards, kayaks, jet skis and other watercraft; any vessel within 500 yards must leave immediately at a safe, slow speed [6].
The Center for Coastal Studies reminds boaters, kayakers, paddle-boarders, swimmers, and light-aircraft and drone pilots that approaching a right whale within 500 yards without a federal research permit is illegal [5]. Massachusetts law also makes it unlawful to approach a right whale within 500 yards [12], and state regulations bar any vessel in state waters, or registered in Massachusetts, from entering the 500-yard buffer zone around a surfacing right whale, and require it to leave immediately if one surfaces nearby [15].
Thinking of flying a drone? Launching, landing or operating a drone from or on National Park Service lands and waters in the Cape Cod National Seashore is prohibited unless the superintendent approves it in writing [27], and Race Point and Herring Cove are both Seashore beaches [10][11]. Drones are also prohibited at Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge [28]. Wherever you fly, NOAA says that by law, drones can't be used within 1,500 feet of right whales, and it asks pilots to stay at least 1,000 feet from other marine mammals and sea turtles [13].
Boat speed limits
- Vessels 65 feet or longer: most must travel at 10 knots or less in Cape Cod Bay from January 1 to May 15, and off Race Point from March 1 to April 30 [14].
- Boats under 65 feet: under state regulations, they must travel at 10 knots or less from March 1 through April 30 in a restricted area covering Cape Cod Bay south of 42°08′ N and the waters north and east of Cape Cod west of 70°10′ W, and the Division of Marine Fisheries can adjust those dates by notice [15]. Waters inside Plymouth, Kingston, Duxbury, Barnstable and Wellfleet harbors are exempt [15]. In 2025, the division extended the limit through May 15 [12][14], then lifted it effective May 14 [29].
- Slow Zones: for 15 days after a right whale is detected, mariners are encouraged to avoid the surrounding Slow Zone or slow to 10 knots or less while passing through [14]. In 2025/26, detections in coastal Massachusetts at times and places without an active federal speed zone prompted eight Slow Zones [3].
Dates can change from year to year, so check the division's current notices before you head out.
See a violation? Call the NOAA Fisheries Enforcement Hotline at (800) 853-1964 [6].
Seals: who's here in winter
Gray seals live on Cape Cod year-round: NOAA wrote in 2019 that the gray seals now living here came from larger Canadian herds and had only recently started living on the Cape year-round again [17]. Harbor seals live year-round in eastern Canada and Maine, but NOAA's stock assessment says they occur seasonally from southern New England to Virginia, from September through late May [16].
- Gray seal pups: females in this area, at colonies such as Monomoy Island, give birth to a single white-coated pup from late December to mid-February [2].
- Rare visitors: harp and hooded seals occasionally turn up too, usually between January and May [18][19].
Where to see seals: Monomoy and Chatham
Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge. South Monomoy Island contains the largest gray seal haul-out site on the U.S. Atlantic coast, and between 30,000 and 50,000 seals rely on the refuge's lands and waters, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service [20]. That big haul-out is on the refuge's offshore islands [21].
From the mainland. The refuge's 40-acre Morris Island unit, attached to the mainland in Chatham, has a parking lot on Wikis Way and a trail system that crosses dunes and beach [20]. On the Morris Island trails, the refuge says, you may see "the occasional seal" [21]. Parts of the Morris Island Trail are intertidal and may not be accessible at high tide [30].
Bringing a dog? Pets are never allowed on South Monomoy, North Monomoy or Minimoy islands, and leashed dogs are allowed on the Morris Island trails only in the off-season, September 16 to April 30 [28]. Wherever seals are around, keep your dog leashed: seals have large canine teeth, will bite if they feel threatened, and can transmit diseases to pets [22].
How close you can get to seals
- Distance: NOAA's viewing guideline is to stay at least 150 feet (50 yards) from seals and limit your viewing to 30 minutes or less [13][23].
- The law: federal law prohibits harming or harassing marine mammals, and if your behavior changes theirs, that may be considered harassment [13]. Feeding them is against the law [13], and touching or trying to touch a seal violates the Marine Mammal Protection Act [22].
- Signs you're too close: seals vocalizing more, looking at you, moving away, waving their flippers or yawning more are telling you to back away [22].
- A pup alone isn't necessarily in trouble: mothers sometimes leave their pups alone on the beach while they go off to feed, and pups don't need to be put back in the water [22].
Found a stranded, injured or entangled animal?
Never enter the water or try to rescue an animal on your own [13]. Call:
- Cape Cod and southeastern Massachusetts: International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), (508) 743-9548 [24].
- NOAA's regional hotline: the Northeast Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Stranding and Entanglement Hotline, (866) 755-6622 [24].
- Entangled animals at sea: Center for Coastal Studies, (800) 900-3622 [24].
Cold-stunned sea turtles: November to mid-January
Late fall brings a different kind of stranding. Some young sea turtles get "trapped" by the hooked shape of Cape Cod or don't head south quickly enough, and as the water cools they become "cold-stunned," unable to swim or eat; onshore winds then wash them onto beaches, mostly along Cape Cod Bay [31]. Mass Audubon says these strandings mainly happen from November to mid-January, beginning when ocean temperatures fall below 55°F, and that most are juvenile Kemp's ridleys, the smallest and rarest of the sea turtles [31].
If you find one on the beach, Mass Audubon asks you to:
- Not assume it's dead, since turtles that appear lifeless are often still alive, and not put it back in the water [31].
- Move it above the high tide line, carefully, never grabbing or holding it by the head or flippers [31].
- Cover it completely with seaweed or wrack, never sand [31].
- Mark the spot with an obvious piece of debris such as a buoy or driftwood, or draw a big arrow in the sand [31].
- Call the Wellfleet Bay hotline at 508-349-2615, option 2, for instructions [31].
It's illegal under state and federal law to harass sea turtles or transport them without a permit [31].
Learn more in person: Mass Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary hosts an all-ages Sea Turtle Open House on Saturday, November 7, 2026, from 11 AM to 3 PM. It's free for Mass Audubon members and included with regular sanctuary admission; special programs cost extra [32].
Seals and sharks
The National Park Service's Cape Cod shark safety page says seals are the major prey of great white sharks, and that there are confirmed reports of white sharks feeding on seals close to shore [25]. Its advice: be aware that sharks hunt seals in shallow water, and avoid areas where seals are present [25]. The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy notes that the only way to completely eliminate the risk of a shark encounter is to remain on shore [26].
Plan your trip
- Bring binoculars or a long lens, and keep your distance.
- Check conditions first. Live water temperatures, sunset times and community wildlife sightings are in the free Totally Cape Cod app.
- Coming over the bridges? See live Sagamore and Bourne bridge delays before you leave.