SR-89 at Tahoe City / SR-28
Live camera on SR-89, with the current status of the road it sits on and the forecast at the nearest pass.
Storm alerts
A notification on this device when chain control starts, changes or lifts, or a road closes or reopens. Pick your roads:
An alert is a heads-up that something changed, not a road report, and it can arrive a few minutes after the change. Before you drive, check Caltrans QuickMap or Nevada 511 (nvroads.com), or call 511. A few alerts a day at most; no account, no email, and you can turn them off here any time (what we keep).
Camera offline since . Caltrans's video feed for this camera is not answering. Last good picture .
Weather at Donner Summit
- Today
- Sunny
- Temperature
- 67°F
- Wind
- 5 to 12 mph
- Zone
- CAZ133
This forecast could not be refreshed on the last run and may be out of date.
Forecast read
Where this camera is
This camera is the red marker; the blue dots are the other cameras on SR-89. Click one to open it.
What this camera shows
This camera sits at 6,246 feet, placing it right at the heart of the Tahoe City chain-control zone. Because it shares an elevation profile nearly identical to the official control point, the conditions visible here are a reliable indicator of what authorities are seeing when they make decisions about tire requirements. If this view shows clear pavement while higher elevations like the nearby Fairway Drive or Granlibakken cameras show active snowfall or accumulation, it often suggests that chain controls are being held at higher elevations or are about to be lifted.
Since this is a continuous live feed, it shows movement rather than a single moment in time. If the frame appears dark or obscured by heavy fog, wait for a subsequent refresh to confirm the visibility before relying on the current image. This specific vantage point is low enough that it often remains clear even when the mountain passes above are experiencing significant weather, making it a critical baseline for gauging the transition from valley to mountain conditions.
SR-89: questions answered
Chain-control points on SR-89
Caltrans does not control the whole road at once — it sets controls at whichever point matches the snow level, so the same storm produces controls at different places on different days. These are the California-side points, highest first:
| Point | Elevation | Near | Now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Luther Pass | 7,732 ft | Markleeville | Clear |
| Bliss State Park | 6,840 ft | Tahoma | Clear |
| Emerald Bay | 6,624 ft | South Lake Tahoe | Clear |
| Christmas Valley | 6,505 ft | South Lake Tahoe | Clear |
| Little Truckee Summit | 6,430 ft | Loyalton | Clear |
| Tahoma ( Co line / Sugar Pine ) | 6,332 ft | Tahoma | Clear |
| Tahoma - Eldo / Placer Co Line | 6,305 ft | Tahoma | Clear |
| Harper's Grade | 6,292 ft | Tahoma | Clear |
| Ebrights | 6,289 ft | South Lake Tahoe | Clear |
| Tahoe City | 6,246 ft | Tahoe City | Clear |
| Olympic Valley | 6,171 ft | Olympic Valley | Clear |
| Onion Valley - 17 Miles n/o Truckee | 6,059 ft | Sierraville | Clear |
The cameras either side
More cameras on SR-89
- SR-89 at Truckee / West River
- SR-89 at Olympic Valley
- SR-89 at Tahoe City / Alpine Meadows
- SR-89 at Olympic Valley / Rampart
- SR-89 at South Lake Tahoe / US-50
All the cameras around Tahoe City →
Other roads
Camera: Caltrans. Chain-control status and closures: Caltrans District 3 (public domain). Nevada Explorer is not affiliated with any of them. Always confirm at roads.dot.ca.gov or nvroads.com before you travel.