Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, a wild ocean place near an urban world, sits east of Boston, Massachusetts between Cape Ann and Cape Cod. Historically important as a fishing ground, the sanctuary now reigns as a premier whale watching destination and continues to support commercial and recreational fishing. Its shipwrecks serve as time capsules of our nation's maritime history. Visitors can enjoy this wild ocean near an urban area by whale watching, bird watching, diving, and fishing.

The sanctuary is an 842-square-mile area at the mouth of Massachusetts Bay, about 25 miles east of Boston. The sanctuary stretches from three miles southeast of Cape Ann to three miles north of Cape Cod.