This webcam cache is located at the Algonquin Provincial Park Visitor Centre. The webcam provides the same spectacular panoramic view as the one enjoyed by thousands of visitors each year. From the viewing deck at the Centre, visitors can see various habitats such as coniferous forests, deciduous forests, a spruce bog, Fork Lake, Sunday Creek, and more.
The webcam is available for live streaming 24/7, except at the top of each hour (the camera takes a panoramic shot once each hour). Besides the live feed, achieved images area available to be viewed, stretching back to August 2013. Archive shots are collected at 2 minutes past the hour, every hour, every day.
To view the Algonquin Live Web Cam, visit: http://www.algonquinpark.on.ca/virtual/webcam/index.php and click the "Live" tab.
To log this cache, you must visit the Algonquin Park Visitor Centre (there is a fee to stop at any facility in the park, including the Visitor Centre. See below for more details). Once you have entered the Centre, make your way to the viewing platform and look for the section of platform which juts out from the main deck. That is the section of the viewing deck which is (typically) visible on the camera feed. Typically visible? Yes, there will be times when no segment of the deck is visible. More about that in a minute.
Okay, now that you are standing in the right spot, you need to save the image. There is free Wi-Fi at the Centre, so getting the image should not be too hard. Other options for getting the image include:
1) use your smart-phone with data coverage to collect the image yourself (coverage in the park can be spotty, but the major Canadian network should all have coverage at the Centre. I cannot guarantee this of course)
2) Use the phone-a-friend option (you know the drill - you stand in front of the camera while a friend, in a far-away-land sitting at a computer saves the image
3) Take a chance that you made it into view at the moment when an archival image was collected (2 minutes past the hour, every hour) and at a convenient time view the archives, find the image with you in it, and save it.
Okay, now let me clarify what I mean when I say "the section of the viewing deck which is (typically) visible on the camera feed". When looking through the archived images, I noticed that the camera was zoomed in on the landscape for a large part of the main tourist season last year (March 18 2014 - September 21 2014), and that the viewing deck was not visible in the images. Although the viewing platform is visible in the available archived imaged from 2013 (including August). I’m not sure when and why the camera is sometimes zoomed in on the landscape. Also, there are a few days each year when the camera is focused on the bird feeders instead of being aimed on the horizon. For example, see the archived images for March 28, 2014. So, it seems that this webcam cache may be most obtainable during the fall and winter months.
To save the webcam image (from a regular browser window): below the live image, there are four links above the text "Share Image" The links are, in order: Email, Save, Facebook, and Twitter. Clicking on the "Save" icon (some small yellow object) will bring up a screen with the option to save the image. On mobile devices, the option to save the image might not appear, and in those cases you will need to do a screenshot or use some other way to save the image.
Algonquin Park Visitor Centre: Hours and Fees: Anyone using the park facilities, including the visitor centre, must have a valid day-use or camping permit. Permits are available from the Park Offices located at the East Gate and West Gate to the park (along Highway 60). There are a number of excellent public campgrounds located in the park, as well as a few private resorts. The Visitor Centre has limited hours during the "off-season". Check the park webpage or call the Centre before you go. "The Algonquin Visitor Centre is open with reduced services for winter weekdays (excluding holiday periods). Visit us by chance or by appointment from 9:00am to 4:00pm winter weekdays. Call ahead to confirm availability at 613 637-2828, since inclement weather and staff scheduling priorities may close the facility to visitors on some days. The Visitor Centre is fully operational on winter weekends and holidays"
About Algonquin Provincial Park (from Wikipedia): Algonquin Provincial Park is a provincial park located between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River in Central Ontario, Canada. Established in 1893, it is the oldest provincial park in Canada. Additions since its creation have increased the park to its current size of about 7,653 square kilometers (2,955 sq mi). For comparison purposes, this is about one and a half times the size of Prince Edward Island or about a quarter of the size of Belgium. Its size, combined with its proximity to the major urban centres of Toronto and Ottawa, makes Algonquin one of the most popular provincial parks in the province and the country. Over 2,400 lakes and 1,200 kilometers of streams and rivers are located within the park. The park is considered part of the "border" between Northern Ontario and Southern Ontario. The park is in an area of transition between northern coniferous forest and southern deciduous forest. This unique mixture of forest types, and the wide variety of environments in the park, allows the park to support an uncommon diversity of plant and animal species. Algonquin Park was named a National Historic Site of Canada in 1992. [source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algonquin_Provincial_Park; accessed 28-Feb-2015]