Aerial view of the Big Sur coastline near Monterey, California, USA

Coasting along Big Sur. Spotting whales from Big Sur

In late winter and early spring here on the US Pacific coast, thousands of grey whales, many with calves in tow, swim past California's Big Sur as they migrate from the warm waters of Mexico to their summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea.

As winter returns, they pass by again as they swim south. The entire trip there and back clocks in at about 12,000 miles, making grey whales among the longest migrators of the animal kingdom. Because they travel close to the coastline, it's also one of the few whale migrations you can see from the shore.