Live cameras in Pekin, United States

Pekin sits on the east bank of the Illinois River a short drive south of Peoria, and it is the county seat of Tazewell County. With about 31,700 residents in the 2020 Census, it is the second-largest city in the Peoria metro area. The town was founded in 1824 and, the story goes, named after Peking (Beijing) in the belief that it lay on the opposite side of the globe. Today it is a working river town, home to the headquarters of Pekin Insurance and a federal correctional institution, with a historic downtown near the water.

Pekin’s own cameras, about seventy of them, are Illinois DOT road views gathered by the state’s Gateway system and also shown on Getting Around Illinois. Expect pavement, ramps, bridges and the sky overhead rather than scenery. Illinois Route 29 runs right through town on 8th, 5th and 2nd streets and briefly shares the road with Illinois Route 9 near the Pekin Bridge over the river. Images refresh every few minutes and some may appear as still snapshots between updates.

When to check in

Pekin keeps Central Time. Summer light lasts well past eight in the evening, while winter afternoons fade around five, so daytime views are easiest from late morning to mid-afternoon in December and January. The river valley can hold dense fog on calm mornings in spring and fall, and passing winter storms bring slick roads worth watching. Each September the Marigold Festival fills Mineral Springs Park and draws extra traffic downtown; the event honors Senator Everett Dirksen, a Pekin native who pushed to make the marigold the national flower.

• Peoria and East Peoria lie just upriver, with their own cameras in the wider radius.
• Interstate 474 is reached through the Creve Coeur interchange on Route 29, north of town.
• Mineral Springs Park offers a lagoon, a restored pavilion and a water park.

Pan the map out a little and you will pick up cameras around Creve Coeur, Morton and the Peoria riverfront, useful if you are driving the whole corridor.

Sources: Pekin, Illinois – Wikipedia · Illinois Route 29 – Wikipedia · Interstate 474 – Wikipedia · Pekin Marigold Festival taking place Sept. 9-13 at Mineral Springs Park – WCBU.