Best live cams in the world right now

There are tens of thousands of public cameras online, and many of them are dead, frozen or not what they claim. Our picks follow three rules: the camera is published by its owner, it shows a wide, interesting public view, and it is working when you open it (each card shows its live status). This page is updated monthly with what is in season; this edition is for October 2026.

This month’s highlights

• Fat bears in Alaska. The Katmai bear cams are in their last weeks of the season, with the bears at their heaviest after a summer of salmon. Fat Bear Week, the National Park Service’s online contest, takes place in early October.
• Aurora season. Long, dark nights have returned to the far north. Aurora cams in Alaska, northern Canada, Iceland and Scandinavia have their best months from now to March.
• Fall colors. Mountain and lake cams in New England, the Rockies, the Alps and Japan’s highlands turn gold and red through October.
• End of the dry season in southern Africa. Waterholes are at their busiest before the rains arrive.
• Spring in the south. In Australia and New Zealand it’s nesting time for many seabirds and raptors.

When to watch: day and night around the world

A quick rule: when it’s evening in Europe, it’s daytime across the Americas and night in Asia. Hawaii’s volcano glow is best watched during the European day; Japanese and Australian cams are in daylight during the American evening.

Wildlife

The most watched category on the internet. In October the stars are the brown bears of Brooks Falls, Katmai National Park, streamed by the National Park Service and explore.org, plus African waterholes and coastal seabird colonies. Read wildlife cams by season for the full calendar.

Live nowYouTube liveGiant pandas, Chengdu Panda Base, ChinaZoo and aquariumLive nowYouTube liveKalahari Desert waterhole, NamibiaDesertLive nowYouTube liveNamib Desert waterhole, NamibiaDesertLive nowYouTube liveOkaukuejo waterhole, Etosha National Park, NamibiaWildlifeLive nowYouTube liveFarallon Islands live, off San FranciscoWildlifeLive nowYouTube liveAfrican penguin colony, California Academy of Sciences, San FranciscoZoo and aquarium

Volcanoes

Volcano observatories publish some of the most dramatic views anywhere. The USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory livestreams Kīlauea’s summit crater on YouTube, and its snapshot cameras cover Mauna Loa and the rift zones. Check the USGS alert level before you watch; our volcano cam guide explains it.

WorkingStill imageKīlauea: Hōlei PaliVolcano · every 5 minWorkingStill imageKīlauea upper East Rift Zone from MaunauluVolcano · every 5 minWorkingStill imageKīlauea: Halemaʻumaʻu and Kaluapele panoramaVolcano · every 5 min

Space and the Earth from orbit

NASA’s official stream from the International Space Station shows the Earth from about 250 miles up, going dark every orbit as the station crosses the night side. Weather satellites give a near-live view of the whole planet every 10 minutes. See is the ISS feed real? and Earth from space now.

Live nowYouTube liveHigh-definition views from the International Space Station (official NASA stream)Earth from spaceLive nowYouTube liveInternational Space Station live (official NASA stream)ISSLive nowYouTube liveStarbase live: SpaceX Starship site at Boca Chica, TexasLaunch pad

Beaches and surf

Beach cams are the most relaxing views on the map and a practical tool for surfers and swimmers. Hotels, towns and surf clubs run many of them. In October, the Southern Hemisphere is warming up, the Caribbean is near the end of hurricane season, and big autumn swells reach Atlantic and Pacific coasts.

Live nowYouTube liveFort Lauderdale Beach, FloridaBeachWorkingStill imagePort Erin Bay, Isle of ManBeach · every 5 minWorkingStill imageDouglas Promenade, Isle of ManBeach · every 5 min

Ski and mountains

Early-season snow arrives on the highest glaciers in the Alps and the Rockies in October, and some resorts open lifts on glaciers. Mountain cams also show the first snow on the peaks against fall color in the valleys. Most are run by the ski areas themselves.

Live nowYouTube liveGrand Teton view, Jackson Hole, WyomingMountain panoramaLive nowYouTube liveSnow King Mountain mid-mountain, Jackson, WyomingSki slopeLive nowYouTube liveGrand Targhee Resort summit, WyomingSki slope

Cities and landmarks

City cams show the rhythm of a place: busy crossings, canals, squares and skylines at sunset. The best are high, wide views run by tourism boards, hotels and broadcasters. Some famous city cams belong to closed networks that only allow viewing on their own websites; we link to those rather than embedding them.

Live nowYouTube liveAshland, Virginia railroad (Virtual Railfan)Train and railLive nowYouTube liveJackson Town Square, WyomingSquare and plazaLive nowYouTube liveShinjuku Station area, TokyoStreet

Harbors, ports and airports

Ships and planes give these cams constant movement. Harbor and marina cams show sailing boats and ferries; port cams follow container ships; airport cams run by enthusiasts and airports are a plane spotter’s favorite.

Live nowYouTube liveKey West harbor, FloridaHarbor and marinaLive nowYouTube liveMonterey Bay live, CaliforniaHarbor and marinaWorkingStill imageRamsey Harbour, Isle of ManHarbor and marina · every 5 min

Live nowYouTube liveMiami International Airport runway 9/27Airport and runwayLive nowYouTube liveHaneda Airport Terminal 1, TokyoAirport and runwayLive nowYouTube liveHaneda Airport Terminal 2, TokyoAirport and runway

Weather and the sky

Storm, sky and aurora cams are at their best in changeable weather. In October, look for autumn storms in Europe, the first snow in the Rockies and aurora in the far north after dark.

WorkingStill imageBuoy 51101: Northwestern Hawaii Two – 186 NM Nw Of Kauai Is., HIOpen ocean · every hourWorkingStill imageBuoy 51004: Southeast Hawaii – 205 NM Southeast Of Hilo, HIOpen ocean · every hourWorkingStill imageBuoy 51003: Western Hawaii – 205 NM Sw Of Honolulu, HIOpen ocean · every hour

Traffic and roads

Official road agencies run thousands of cameras for drivers: California’s Caltrans, New York’s 511NY, Washington’s WSDOT, London’s TfL JamCams, Finland’s Fintraffic and Norway’s road authority among them. Most show a fresh still image every few minutes. They are the best way to check a mountain pass before you drive. More in how traffic cameras work.

WorkingStill imageHighway 4, Sodankylä Petäjämaa KPass and road weather · every 10 minWorkingStill imageHighway 1, Salo Hepomäki länsiPass and road weather · every 10 minWorkingStill imageHighway 1, Salo Hepomäki itäPass and road weather · every 10 min

Worth bookmarking all year

Some cameras deserve a permanent place in your bookmarks, season after season. All of these are run by the organizations that own the view:

Build your own video wall

Can’t choose? Our video wall puts several cameras side by side in a 2×2, 3×3 or 4×4 grid: a beach in the morning sun, a city at dusk and a volcano at night, all at once. Start from a ready-made wall such as “World sunrise”, “Big cities”, “Beaches”, “Volcanoes” or “Ski resorts”, or build your own from any cameras on the map; your walls are saved in your own browser, with no account needed. One tile plays live video at a time while the others show refreshing snapshots; click any tile to make it the active one, or let the wall rotate through them every few minutes. That keeps it light on your phone and data plan and respects the video platforms’ rules.

Watching on a big screen

Live cams make a beautiful window on a TV. Most of the cameras here stream on YouTube, so you can open the same stream in the YouTube app on a smart TV or cast it from your phone. Snapshot cameras and timelapses look best on a big screen in full-screen mode from a laptop. Leave a calm beach or aquarium cam on in the background; it’s surprisingly relaxing.

Our categories at a glance

How we pick and check

Every camera on LiveLocation is published on purpose by its owner or an authority, framed wide on an outdoor or public view, and played from the owner’s official player; we never record or re-host it. We check each camera automatically and show its status: “Live now”, the age of the latest snapshot, or “Offline since”. Viewers can report a camera that isn’t working. Read the details in How we choose cameras, and if you run a great camera yourself, submit it.

Why a favorite cam may disappear

Cameras come and go. Seasonal cams switch off at the end of their season, storms and lightning damage equipment, owners change their streaming setup, and YouTube streams restart with new addresses. When a camera stops working we mark it offline rather than leaving a broken player, and when an owner withdraws a camera we remove it at once. If a cam you love has vanished, check its owner’s website or come back next season; many return year after year.

Do these next

1. Open the world map and filter by what you love.
2. See cameras near you, or anywhere you’re about to travel.
3. Plan next month with the wildlife calendar.

Last reviewed October 7, 2026 by the LiveLocation team. General information, not legal or electrical advice.