LIVE CAMERA NETWORK
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade 2026 — Live Cameras
The next parade is Thursday, November 26, 2026 — 29 days out. Watch the route fill, the march down Sixth Avenue and the finish at Herald Square. Free, no signup.
Thanksgiving morning in New York belongs to the balloons. The parade steps off on Central Park West beside the American Museum of Natural History, turns at Columbus Circle, and marches down Sixth Avenue to the finish in Herald Square — giant character balloons overhead, floats and marching bands below, and a crowd several deep behind the barriers the whole way. The cameras on this page are the city's own: the public street and traffic feeds that watch those avenues every day of the year.
The honest framing, as on every event page here: no public camera gives you the television shot of a balloon sailing between the towers, and this page does not pretend otherwise. What the cameras show is the parade at street level — the route the night before, when the balloons are inflated on the Upper West Side streets to a wandering crowd; the avenues closed and filling from dawn; the march passing intersection by intersection; and the moment it ends, when Herald Square lets go of a million people at once.
Start on Wednesday evening with the route wall for inflation night. On Thursday, keep the route wall open from the step-off, and switch to the Midtown wall for the finish and the dispersal — the city's biggest morning emptying back into its streets is a show of its own.
The route — step-off to Herald Square
Every public camera in the directory within 2 km of the four points that define the route: the step-off on Central Park West — where Wednesday's balloon inflation happens on the streets around the museum — Columbus Circle, Sixth Avenue and Herald Square. Street-level feeds: they watch the avenues the parade travels, not the sky above them.
Herald Square & Midtown — 5 km
Every public camera within 5 km of Herald Square: the finish, the Midtown avenues that feed the crowds in, and the Penn Station blocks the dispersal pours through.
The whole field — 10 km of New York
Every public camera within 10 km of Herald Square — the full Thanksgiving-morning picture: the route, the park, the crossings and the avenues carrying the city to and from its parade.
The three views — camera counts
| Area | Cameras |
|---|---|
| The route (four points, 2 km each) | 6 |
| Herald Square & Midtown (within 5 km) | 15 |
| The whole field (within 10 km) | 84 |
Counts are public cameras in the WorldEye directory per selection; the walls overlap, and the page total counts each camera once.
How to watch parade day on the cameras
- 1Wednesday evening: open the route wall and watch inflation night on the Upper West Side — the balloons rising between the museum blocks.
- 2Thursday from dawn: the route fills behind the barriers; the Midtown avenues close and the crowd settles in.
- 3During the march, follow the route wall south — the parade passes Columbus Circle, then Sixth Avenue, then Herald Square.
- 4At the finish, switch to the Midtown wall: the dispersal through the Penn Station blocks is the morning's second spectacle.
- 5Later in the day the same avenues carry the city's quietest afternoon of the year — the third wall shows Thanksgiving in New York winding down.
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade — FAQ
When is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade?+
Can I watch the balloons on these cameras?+
What is balloon inflation night?+
Which cameras are closest to the parade?+
Are the parade cameras free to watch?+
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