Two live beach cams on Lake Michigan — watch First Street Beach and Fifth Avenue Beach, see the Manistee North Pierhead Lighthouse, and check the wind and waves before you head to the pier.
Live view of First Street Beach in Douglas Park, on the south side of the Manistee River channel. A great look at Lake Michigan surf, swimmers, and sunsets on Manistee's main public beach.
Live view of Fifth Avenue Beach on the north side of the channel, overlooking the Manistee North Pierhead Lighthouse and the pier — the classic Manistee lighthouse cam for waves, storm watching, and golden-hour sunsets.
Webcams courtesy of the City of Manistee.
Conditions shown are for general information only and may be inaccurate or delayed. Not for navigation or safety decisions — always verify with official sources. See full disclaimer.
Real-time NOAA wind and wave data for the Manistee area of Lake Michigan
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Hour-by-hour wind conditions for Manistee beaches
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Extended weather outlook for Manistee
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Manistee Surf Cam brings together the City of Manistee's two live beach webcams in one place so you can check Lake Michigan before you drive to the water. The First Street Beach cam looks out over Manistee's main public beach in Douglas Park, on the south side of the Manistee River channel, while the Fifth Avenue Beach cam watches the north side, framing the Manistee North Pierhead Lighthouse at the end of the pier. Together they give you a real-time Manistee webcam view of surf, swell, and sky from both sides of the harbor.
This is the Manistee live cam locals and visitors reach for to check conditions on Lake Michigan. Surfers and kiteboarders use it to see whether the waves are lining up, anglers watch the pier for salmon and steelhead runs off the Fifth Avenue side, and photographers wait for the light to hit the lighthouse. Whether you searched for a Manistee beach cam, the First Street Beach webcam, the 5th Avenue Beach cam, or a Manistee lighthouse webcam, you are looking at the same two cameras the community relies on.
Below the cameras you will find a live Manistee surf report built from NOAA data: current wind and wave readings from nearby Lake Michigan stations and buoys, a 72-hour wind forecast for the Manistee beaches, and a 7-day outlook. Pair the live camera view with the numbers to judge swell, wind direction, and whether it is worth heading to First Street Beach, the pier, or the lighthouse. For a full kite and wind forecast, use the WindStoke widget near the top of the page.
The cameras are the free public webcams operated by the City of Manistee. Manistee Surf Cam simply gathers them alongside live Lake Michigan weather so checking the Manistee harbor, pier, and beaches takes one quick look.
Manistee webcams, the lighthouse, and checking Lake Michigan conditions
Yes. Manistee Surf Cam streams two free public beach webcams provided by the City of Manistee: the First Street Beach cam on the south side of the river channel and the Fifth Avenue Beach cam on the north side, next to the Manistee North Pierhead Lighthouse. Both show live views of Lake Michigan around the clock.
The Fifth Avenue Beach webcam looks out over the Manistee North Pierhead Lighthouse on the north pier. It is the best live view of the lighthouse and the pier, where you can watch waves, sunsets, and boat traffic entering the Manistee River channel.
There are two City of Manistee beach cams: First Street Beach (in Douglas Park, on the south side of the channel) and Fifth Avenue Beach (on the north side, by the North Pierhead Lighthouse). Both are embedded here so you can compare conditions on either side of the harbor before you go.
Watch the live First Street and Fifth Avenue beach cams to see the water, then scroll down for real-time NOAA wind and wave readings from nearby Lake Michigan stations and buoys, a 72-hour wind forecast, and a 7-day outlook for Manistee. Together they give you a full surf, wind, and wave picture before you drive to the beach.
Yes. The First Street Beach and Fifth Avenue Beach cams are the City of Manistee's free public webcams. There is no login, no sign-up, and no fee to watch them here.