Big Spirit Lake
Iowa's largest natural lake, carved by a glacier and busy with boats all summer.
About this view
Big Spirit Lake is the largest natural lake in Iowa — about 5,684 acres, four miles long and three across. A glacier left it behind roughly 13,000 years ago as a meltwater pothole, and it has never been deep: 17 feet on average, 24 at its lowest point.
This is the top of the Iowa Great Lakes, the cluster that also holds West and East Okoboji. In summer the water fills with fishing boats, pontoons and sailboats; the shoreline is cabins and docks. Come winter the whole thing freezes hard enough for ice houses to appear on it.
Sunset is the reliably good hour here, straight across open water. Late spring through September is the busy season; January and February bring the ice fishing, which is its own slow spectacle.
Frequently asked questions
- Where is the Big Spirit Lake live cam located?
- The camera looks over Spirit Lake, Iowa, in United States. Its position is 43.450°N, 95.100°W, which you can open on our world map.
- What time is it at the Big Spirit Lake camera?
- Spirit Lake, Iowa runs on UTC−5, and the live clock at the top of this page shows the current local time and whether it is day or night there. It is worth checking before you watch: this view changes completely between the middle of the night and the busiest hours of the day.
- Are there other live cams near Spirit Lake, Iowa?
- Yes — the closest ones are Council Bluffs, World's Largest Buffalo Monument and Kansas City. They are listed under "Nearby cams" further down this page, and every camera we carry is plotted on the world map.
- Is this stream really live?
- Yes. This is a real 24/7 live feed broadcast by EarthCam, played through the official YouTube player — free, no account needed. Every stream in our catalogue is checked automatically before each update to confirm it is still live and watchable.
