National Park Webcams

INTRODUCTION: Webcams exist at many locales in the national parks and other locations around the nation and around the world.  They provide a continuous flow of images — either as a series of stills or as a live stream. In some cases, the sites featuring still images “archive” those images which allows you to see a series of photos taken, for example, at fifteen-minute intervals. In the of case live streams some let you “rewind” to films taken earlier in the day.

Why do we care? At their best webcams provide an engaging way to study features within the parks and elsewhere.

BUT: They vary greatly in their quality and usefulness. We highly recommend the Montana State University Library’s “National Park Service Web Camera Database” for an overview of cameras in the parks.

Here is a list of some Current Favorite Webcams. (Updated – August 29, 2024.) We will update these regularly because a site which may be extraordinary at one time will have less activity, or none whatsoever later on. For example, some of our favorite sites are of eagles, but those birds perversely move occasionally from one place to another!

There are four main types of webcams:

1) Live Stream Images

These are particularly valuable where there is lots of movement in the subject. The “Puppy Cam” at Denali is a good example.  At certain seasons it shows the activities of the latest crop of puppies raised to be sled dogs in the park. (Note: this is a “seasonal” web cam — no puppies, no live feed.)

Old Faithful: Yellowstone National Park

https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/photosmultimedia/webcams.htm

We like this because it is a live feed that shows the iconic geyser’s eruptions year-round.

 

Yosemite Falls: Yosemite National Park

https://yosemite.org/webcams/yosemite-falls/

This webcam has a beautiful view of the falls year-round.

 

Statue of Liberty HarborCam: New York City

https://www.earthcam.com/usa/newyork/statueofliberty/index.php?cam=liberty_hd

This provides stunning views of the Statue of Liberty, downtown New York, and the harbor.

NOTE: You can click on the arrows next to the camera icon towards the bottom and switch to different views.

 

WAMO Cam: Washington D.C.

https://www.earthcam.com/usa/dc/washingtonmonument/?cam=wamo

Great views of the National Mall in D.C.

 

2) Live Stream With Rewind Capability

Say you go to a web cam that shows you “only” the current moment, for example, of a waterhole in Africa. You might arrive in time to see an abundance of animals gathered at the water, but you might also “arrive” in the middle of the night or during the day when the animals are nowhere in sight. These webcams allow you to rewind, typically for up to 12 hours, to search for places on the stream that are more interesting.

Africam: ol Donyo Lodge LIVE Africam Wildlife Stream – Kenya

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39uYW98qOV0&list=PL2NOmND0rLTtpaJbIGbzjhYlOR5QS0C1I

 

FOBBV (Friends Of Big Bear Valley) Big Bear Bald Eagle

Big Bear Bald Eagle Live Nest – Cam 1

This webcam depicts a regal eagle, she is often covered in snow during winter, dutifully protecting her eggs inside the nest.

 

Namibia Cam

Namibia: Live stream in the Namib Desert

This webcam has a view of a desert watering hole in Africa, where a variety of fascinating animals visit to quench their thirst.
Window to Wildlife – Captiva Island, Florida

 

Wolong Grove Panda Cam

https://www.youtube.com/live/3szkFHfr6sA

 

Live Stream Monkeys – Japan

https://www.mangolinkcam.com/webcams/zoos/snow-monkeys-japan.html

 

Live Stream Hummingbirds – California

https://www.mangolinkcam.com/webcams/birds/humming-bird-california.html

 

Brooks Falls Brown Bears

https://explore.org/livecams

 

Anacapa Ocean – Channel Islands National Park Cam

https://www.nps.gov/chis/learn/photosmultimedia/ocean-webcam.htm

 

3)  Sequence of Still Photos

Many webcams take pictures at a fixed interval, usually in the one-minute to fifteen-minute range. They are quite adequate for seeing the flow of lighting in a particular park — or checking out traffic on Snoqualmie Pass. Imagine how much fun it would be if your family lived in New York, and your were visiting Yellowstone National Park and stood in front of the camera, and called your family to look on the webcam while you are standing there.

 

Yellowstone National Park Old Faithful Visitor Center Wave To Your Family

https://www.nps.gov/webcams-yell/oldfaithful.jpg

This webcam updates every minute and gives a view of visitors to Old Faithful. NOTE: you need to back out and go back in to see an updated image.

 

4) Still Photos With “Archive”

These allow you to see a sequence of images recorded throughout a day. A good example is one of the webcams at Grand Teton National Park, which shows dawn on the mountains followed by images in fifteen-minute intervals throughout the day. However, you may find that the scene is hidden by clouds. There is a solution for that! On still photos with archive you can scroll back in time by hours, or even by days, and find pictures where the clouds disappear.

Grand Canyon (Archive)

https://www.nps.gov/AirWebCams/grca

This webcam shows how amazingly different the canyon can look at different times of the day, with the colors of the canyon walls constantly changing as the day progresses.

 

Grand Teton (Archive)

https://www.nps.gov/AirWebCams/grte

Similar to the Grand Canyon webcam, this webcam shows you amazing views of the Teton mountains as they change color throughout the day.

 

Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park, Lower Kaweah (Archive)

https://www.nps.gov/airwebcams/seki

This webcam shows you amazing views of Sequoia & Kings Canyon as it changes color throughout the day.

 

Bryce Canyon National Park (Archive)

https://www.nps.gov/airwebcams/brda

This webcam shows you amazing views of Bryce Canyon as it changes color throughout the day.