Chetek Webcam – Watch Pokegama Lake at Gilligans Tiki Bar

The Chetek Webcam looks out over Pokegama Lake from Gilligans, a tiki bar, restaurant and lodging spot on the Chetek Chain of Lakes in northwest Wisconsin. A sandy patio with hexagonal wooden picnic tables fills the foreground, and a lawn runs down to the shore, where bright pink benches and a red, white and blue Adirondack loveseat face the water. On the right, the US flag flies beside the dock system, and across the lake a wooded shoreline of cabins and private docks lines the far side. On a still morning the water lies flat enough to mirror those trees. In summer the docks fill with boats and the tiki bar hosts live music, and in winter the lake freezes over and the view turns to snow and ice.

About Gilligans and Pokegama Lake

Gilligans sits at 2542 8 1/4 Avenue, about 1.9 kilometers (1.2 miles) in a straight line from downtown Chetek in Barron County. The building dates from 1979, and the business calls itself a year-round stop for food, friends and fun. It has a restaurant, a seasonal tiki bar, an expansive lakefront patio, a stage for live entertainment and an extensive dock system for guests who come by water. Three lodging units, one of them a four-season cabin, share the 0.77 hectare (1.9 acre) property. Travel Wisconsin counts it among the state’s boat-up bars, with sand underfoot and tropical drinks waiting at the tiki bar, and suggests it as the pit stop for a day of boating on Pokegama.

Pokegama Lake covers 204 hectares (505 acres) and is one of six connected lakes that make up the Chetek Chain, also known as Six Lakes: Prairie, Pokegama, Ojaski, Chetek, Moose Ear and Ten Mile. Together they cover about 1,522 hectares (3,761 acres) at an elevation of 316 meters (1,037 feet), yet the deepest point in the whole chain is only 6.7 meters (22 feet). Boats move between all six lakes through channels, with no-wake zones posted under every bridge and channel. Prairie Lake is the largest at 625 hectares (1,545 acres), and a dam on the Chetek River, owned by Barron County, sets the water level for the entire chain.

The town takes its name from Zhede, the Ojibwe word for pelican. English spellings varied until 1872, when the first post office opened and the name was fixed as Chetek.

Weather and Climate in Chetek

Summer is the warm season. July averages highs of about 27°C (80°F) and nights near 17°C (62°F), and this is when the camera is busiest, with boats pulling up to the docks, people on the patio and the tiki bar in full swing. Spring comes late, with April highs around 11°C (52°F) and nights close to 0°C (32°F), while May warms to about 19°C (67°F). By October highs drop to around 13°C (56°F), and the trees around the property scatter brown leaves across the lawn, the sand and the brown metal roof in the foreground.

Winter is long and cold. January highs average about -5°C (23°F) and lows about -14°C (7°F), cold enough to freeze the chain for ice fishing, skating and snowmobiling. Snow can bury the lawn and benches, and the far shore becomes a line of dark trees above white ice. November sits between the seasons, with highs near 5°C (41°F) and lows near -3°C (27°F). On a calm grey November morning the open water can be glassy enough to reflect every cabin across the lake.

Things to Do Near Chetek

The lakes are the main draw. Anglers fish the chain for walleye, northern pike, smallmouth and largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill and perch, and the fishing carries on through winter on the ice. Because Pokegama is linked by channel to the other five lakes, a boat leaving the Gilligans docks can reach Prairie Lake or Lake Chetek without ever touching land. Chetek is also home to the Hydroflites Water Ski Show Team, which performs on the water in summer, and Veterans Memorial Park near Prairie Lake has picnic tables, fire pits, a playground and short hiking trails.

In town, Little Main Street Park sits downtown and Gotham Park, with its pavilion, faces Lake Chetek. The Calhoun History Museum covers local history. The city calendar runs Liberty Fest on the Fourth of July, Harvest Fest in September and Winter Fest in February, and once the lakes freeze, ice anglers, snowmobilers, skaters and dog sledders head out across them. Rice Lake is 21.6 kilometers (13.4 miles) to the north, and Eau Claire is 58 kilometers (36 miles) to the south.

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Vanliga frågor

Where is the Chetek Webcam located?

The camera is at Gilligans, 2542 8 1/4 Avenue in Chetek, Barron County, in northwest Wisconsin. It overlooks Pokegama Lake about 1.9 kilometers (1.2 miles) from downtown Chetek. In a straight line, that is 58 kilometers (36 miles) north of Eau Claire and 134 kilometers (83 miles) east-northeast of Minneapolis.

What can you see on the Chetek Webcam?

The sandy patio and lawn at Gilligans, pink benches and an Adirondack loveseat on the shore, the flagpole and the dock system, and Pokegama Lake with its wooded far shore. In summer, boats tie up at the docks and the tiki bar fills with people.

What is the weather like in Chetek?

Summers are warm, with July highs around 27°C (80°F). Winters are cold, with January highs near -5°C (23°F) and lows near -14°C (7°F), and the lakes freeze over. April and October highs sit around 11°C to 13°C (52°F to 56°F).

Which lake is Gilligans on in Chetek?

Pokegama Lake, a 204 hectare (505 acre) lake in the Chetek Chain of Lakes. It connects by channel to Prairie Lake, Lake Chetek and the rest of the chain.

How many lakes are in the Chetek Chain of Lakes?

Six: Prairie, Pokegama, Ojaski, Chetek, Moose Ear and Ten Mile. Together they cover about 1,522 hectares (3,761 acres), and navigable channels link them, so a boat can reach all six from the Gilligans docks.

Can you get to Gilligans by boat?

Yes. Gilligans has an extensive dock system for guests who arrive by water, and Travel Wisconsin lists it among the state’s boat-up bars. The docks on the right of the frame are where boats tie up in summer.

What fish are in the Chetek lakes?

Walleye, northern pike, smallmouth and largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill, perch, rock bass and bullhead. The chain is fished all year, including through the ice in winter.

Is the Chetek Webcam on all year?

Gilligans says its webcam streams a live feed year round, so the view follows Pokegama Lake from open water in summer to ice in winter. The tiki bar is seasonal, so the liveliest scenes on camera come in the summer months.

Source: Gilligans