Mountain Pass Webcams for Winter Driving — Real-Time Road Conditions
Live webcams at major US mountain passes — Donner, Snoqualmie, Loveland, Stevens, Tioga. Check conditions before you drive into snow.
State DOTs run hundreds of cams at mountain passes for one reason: to keep drivers from getting stuck. If you’re driving into the mountains during winter (or fall, or spring storms), checking pass cams before you leave can save you from chains, closures, or worse. Here’s the guide to the major US mountain passes and where to watch each one.
California / Sierra Nevada
The Sierra has the heaviest snow loads of any US mountain range — 30+ feet annual snowfall at the highest passes. Caltrans (California DOT) runs an extensive cam network.
- Donner Summit (I-80) — the famous historical pass. Multiple Caltrans cams along the summit area. Truckee on the east side, Soda Springs on the west.
- Tioga Pass (CA-120) — Yosemite’s eastern entrance. Open seasonally May-October typically; the cams stay live year-round to track when conditions allow reopening.
- Carson Pass (CA-88) — alternate Tahoe access route, often open when Donner has chain controls.
- Sonora Pass (CA-108) — high pass, late-spring opening, dramatic.
Bookmark: Caltrans QuickMap overlays all road cams plus chain control status.
Pacific Northwest
WSDOT (Washington) and ODOT (Oregon) cover the Cascades comprehensively.
- Snoqualmie Pass (I-90) — main east-west route across Washington. Multiple cams covering both sides of the summit.
- Stevens Pass (US-2) — secondary route, ski resort makes the cam content dense.
- White Pass (US-12) — passes Mount Rainier; ski resort + dramatic weather.
- Santiam Pass (US-20) — Oregon main east-west route via central Cascades.
- Willamette Pass (OR-58) — alternate Oregon Cascades route.
Bookmark: WSDOT Travel page and TripCheck Oregon.
Colorado / Rockies
CDOT runs one of the best cam networks in the country. Hundreds of cams across mountain corridors.
- Loveland Pass (US-6) — high pass (11,990 ft), often closed when I-70 is open.
- Vail Pass (I-70) — main east-west I-70 corridor.
- Wolf Creek Pass (US-160) — heaviest snow in Colorado typically; dramatic switchbacks.
- Berthoud Pass (US-40) — ski-resort access, popular weekend route.
- Cottonwood Pass / Independence Pass — seasonal closures, scenic drives when open.
Bookmark: CDOT Travel page.
Wyoming / Montana
- Teton Pass (WY-22) — popular ski/work commuter route between Jackson Hole and Idaho.
- Beartooth Pass (US-212) — Montana/Wyoming, seasonal (closed October-May), spectacular when open.
- Going-to-the-Sun Road (Glacier NP) — seasonal, July through mid-September typically. NPS cams.
Alaska
- Thompson Pass — receives some of the highest snowfall in North America (700+ inches some seasons).
- Hatcher Pass — winter access dependent on plowing schedule.
Alaska 511 covers state highway cams; DOT&PF for backcountry pass coverage.
How to read a winter pass cam
- Check the cam timestamp. Some cams refresh every minute; others every 15-30 minutes. A 30-minute-old image isn’t real-time during a fast-moving storm.
- Read the road surface. Wet/dark = above-freezing. White/bright = snow. Black ice doesn’t show on cam — DOT chain controls are the only reliable signal.
- Layer in the weather radar. A cam showing clear pavement now means nothing if a storm is moving in. Pair cam with NWS radar.
- Check chain control status. Most state DOTs publish chain control levels (R0/R1/R2/R3 in California, “Stage” in Colorado). Cam visual + chain status = real picture.
- Look at vehicle traffic. No vehicles in 5 successive snapshots usually means closure. If you see traffic moving, the road is at least passable.
Best practices for mountain driving in winter
- Carry chains. Even if the cam shows clear conditions, mountain weather changes in 30 minutes.
- Check the cam at multiple altitudes. A pass might be wet pavement at the summit but black ice on the descent shoulder.
- Have an alternate route. When primary passes close, the alternates fill up. Knowing your option saves hours.
- Don’t trust cams alone for safety decisions. They’re a planning tool, not a substitute for current chain laws and DOT advisories.
Why pass cams matter beyond winter
Mountain passes are dramatic year-round. Spring snowmelt, summer thunderstorms, fall foliage on the corridors — pass cams capture some of the best scenery in the country, even when conditions are clear.
For Tahoe-area trips, the Donner Summit cam stack is one of the best ways to plan a drive. For Glacier, the Going-to-the-Sun Road cam is the canonical “is the road open” indicator.
The aggregator at Port of Cams collects mountain pass cams alongside the rest of the live cam network — useful when you’re trip-planning across multiple states.
