The best wildlife show in Summit County is streaming 24/7 — and it’s free

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PARK CITY, Utah —There’s a free, 24-hour window into one of Park City’s wildest landscapes.

The Swaner Preserve’s live webcam, mounted atop the EcoCenter’s observation tower, streams a real-time view of the 1,200-acre wetland just off Kimball Junction. Right now, in the thick of spring migration, it’s one of the easiest ways to see what’s moving through the valley on any given day — before you even leave the house.

“Spring has arrived on the Preserve, and it’s bustling with life out there,” said Hunter Klingensmith, Swaner’s director of visitor experience and exhibits. “On the wetland portion of the Preserve, we’re seeing sandhill cranes, mule deer, ducks, birds of prey, and so many migratory songbirds. On the upland areas, we’re already seeing some early spring wildflowers like arrowleaf and cutleaf balsamroot showing their beautiful yellow blooms.”

New species are showing up daily. Recent arrivals include Northern Shovelers, Cinnamon Teals, and Ring-necked Ducks, according to Rhea Cone, Swaner’s conservation director. Wildflowers are also starting to bloom on the Glenwild hillside north of I-80 — the most botanically diverse area of the preserve.

The webcam streams around the clock at extension.usu.edu/swaner/webcam — worth checking over morning coffee or pulling up with kids after school. But it’s best used as a starting point, not a substitute for the real thing.

“Some of my favorite ways to look for signs of spring at Swaner are to take a walk on the trails from the Spring Creek Trailhead, watch our live webcam, join a naturalist for a Saturday Morning Nature Walk, or visit the Wetland Discovery Trail,” Klingensmith said.

Longtime webcam watchers may notice one change this spring. For more than a decade, a pair of sandhill cranes has nested in the pond just outside the EcoCenter, directly in view of the camera. This year, no nest building has been observed there.

“It’s possible that the pair who usually nests here has aged, passed on, or chosen a different nesting site,” Klingensmith said. “We have seen evidence of cranes nesting elsewhere on the Preserve, but unfortunately not within range of our webcam.”

There’s still plenty to watch. As of this week, the camera was trained on a herd of mule deer — and with migration season far from over, tomorrow could bring something new.

The EcoCenter is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at 1258 Center Drive in Park City.