Lake Vermilion Webcam – Minnesota’s Lake of 365 Islands

The Lake Vermilion Webcam looks south from Vermilion Dam Lodge across Wolf Bay, at the western end of one of the largest lakes in northern Minnesota. A wooden walkway runs out to a railed square platform in the middle of the frame, long docks with boat slips line the right side, and reeds and dry grass edge the shore below a dark band of conifers on the far bank. On a still day the bay holds a mirror image of the clouds. Three more cameras from around the lake sit in the tabs on the player: Big Bay from Forest Lane Resort near Tower, Spring Bay looking south into the bay, and the lawn and docks of Pike Bay Lodge. Between them they cover both ends of a lake that runs 39 kilometers (24 miles).

About Lake Vermilion

Lake Vermilion covers 158.9 square kilometers (39,271 acres) of St. Louis County, which makes it the fifth largest lake lying entirely within Minnesota by the state Department of Natural Resources’ count. Its 365 islands and roughly 504 kilometers (313 miles) of shoreline break the water into a maze of bays and channels, so no single viewpoint takes in more than a small piece of it. The surface sits 414 meters (1,358 feet) above sea level.

The main camera belongs to Vermilion Dam Lodge on Randa Road, in the unincorporated community of Vermilion Dam. The settlement lies near the junction of County Roads 24 and 422, inside Kabetogama State Forest, 34 kilometers (21 miles) northeast of Cook, the lake’s western gateway. At the opposite end, Tower is the eastern gateway, home to 430 people at the 2020 census and incorporated on March 13, 1889. The town owes its start to the iron ore of the Soudan Mine just south of the lake, which was worked from the late 19th century until the 1960s. The Bois Forte Band of Chippewa holds a small reservation on the lake, and Fortune Bay Resort and Casino stands on it a few miles west of Tower.

The other three views fill in the rest of the lake. The Forest Lane Resort camera, on Everett Bay Road near Tower, looks north over Big Bay, with boat lifts on the lawn in the foreground and a long reach of open water beyond the bare trees. The Spring Bay camera faces south into Spring Bay between two wooded points, with a small building at the water’s edge on the right. The Pike Bay Lodge camera looks down a lawn crossed by footpaths and white-trunked birches to the lodge’s docks on Pike Bay.

Weather and Climate on Lake Vermilion

Winters here are severe. Climate normals for Tower from 1991 to 2020 give January an average high of -8.4°C (16.8°F) and an average low of -21.7°C (-7.0°F), and the town set Minnesota’s all-time record low of -51.1°C (-60°F) on February 2, 1996, the coldest reading ever taken in the United States east of the Great Plains. About 174 centimeters (68.7 inches) of snow falls in an average year. In midwinter the open water in these frames gives way to flat white bays, with snow banked along the shoreline and the dark conifers as the only color.

Spring comes late. April averages a high of 9.8°C (49.6°F), with nights still below freezing at -4.3°C (24.3°F). July is the warm peak, with highs near 25.1°C (77.1°F) and lows of 10.6°C (51.0°F), the season when the docks are busiest and the Pike Bay lawn is at its greenest. October cools to highs of 10.8°C (51.4°F) and lows just under freezing at -0.8°C (30.6°F), and the birches and other hardwoods often turn yellow before the leaves drop. Daylight is short by late autumn: in mid-November the sun climbs only about 24 degrees above the horizon at noon, so even midday frames carry long shadows and low, slanting light.

Things to Do Near Lake Vermilion

The biggest draw on shore is Lake Vermilion-Soudan Underground Mine State Park, on the south side of the lake near Tower. Open-pit mining began at Soudan in 1882, the work moved underground by 1900, and active mining ended in 1962. In summer, daily tours take visitors down to level 27, the mine’s lowest, 713.5 meters (2,341 feet) below the surface. The same workings housed the Soudan Underground Laboratory and its proton decay experiments. The lakeside part of the park was created after the state bought the land for $18 million, in a deal finalized in June 2010.

In Tower, the Tower Train Museum stands near the McKinley Monument, the first memorial erected to President William McKinley, put up shortly after his assassination in 1901. Fortune Bay Resort and Casino, on the Bois Forte reservation a few miles west of town, adds a casino and lakeside lodging. At the west end, Spring Bay Resort and Guide Service outside Cook offers guided fishing trips, and the Lake Vermilion Resort and Tourism Association lists golf, hunting, hiking and biking, ATV riding and a network of shore lunch sites among the things to do around the lake.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

More lakes and shorelines across northern Minnesota:

• International Falls Webcam
• Lake Bemidji Webcam
• Split Rock Lighthouse Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Lake Vermilion located?

Lake Vermilion is in St. Louis County in northeastern Minnesota, between the town of Tower at its eastern end and Cook at its western end. The main camera stands at Vermilion Dam, 34 kilometers (21 miles) northeast of Cook, looking into Wolf Bay.

What can you see on the Lake Vermilion Webcam?

The main view shows Wolf Bay and the docks of Vermilion Dam Lodge. The tabs add Big Bay from Forest Lane Resort, Spring Bay, and Pike Bay Lodge.

What is the weather like on Lake Vermilion?

Summers are mild, with July highs near 25.1°C (77.1°F), and winters are long and very cold, with January highs of -8.4°C (16.8°F) and lows of -21.7°C (-7.0°F).

Is Lake Vermilion frozen right now?

The cameras answer that faster than any forecast. Freeze-up and ice-out dates change from year to year, so check whether the bays on the Lake Vermilion Webcam show open water or a white sheet of ice and snow.

How big is Lake Vermilion?

The lake covers 158.9 square kilometers (39,271 acres), with 365 islands and roughly 504 kilometers (313 miles) of shoreline. It is 39 kilometers (24 miles) long and up to 16.7 kilometers (10.4 miles) wide, the fifth largest lake entirely within Minnesota.

How deep is Lake Vermilion?

Its deepest point is 23 meters (76 feet), but the average depth is only 7.6 meters (25 feet), so much of the lake is shallow bays and channels between the islands.

What fish are in Lake Vermilion?

The Lake Vermilion Resort and Tourism Association quotes the angler Al Lindner naming pike, walleye, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, crappie and bluegill as the lake’s fish.

How cold does it get at Lake Vermilion?

Tower, at the east end of the lake, recorded -51.1°C (-60°F) on February 2, 1996, which still stands as Minnesota’s record low.

Source: Lake Vermilion Resort and Tourism Association