UFO Watchtower

The San Luis Valley is one of the largest high-desert valleys in the world, a vast flat basin ringed by mountains with enormous skies overhead. It has a long-standing reputation for reports of unexplained lights, strange phenomena, and UFO sightings, woven into local lore.

Whatever one makes of those stories, the valley's setting explains its allure: dark, clear, expansive skies where anything moving overhead is easy to notice. The watchtower gives visitors a dedicated place to look up and take their chances at seeing something out of the ordinary.

The attraction centers on a modest raised platform, the watchtower, where visitors can stand and scan the horizon and sky. It is intentionally simple and homespun, run independently as a labor of love rather than a slick tourist operation.

Below the tower lies its most famous feature, a garden filled with trinkets, tokens, and mementos left by countless visitors over the years. The owner has long maintained that the spot sits atop an energetic portal, and the garden's growing collection of offerings has become an attraction in its own right, a quirky monument to the many who have stopped here.

Even for the skeptical, the UFO Watchtower delivers a genuine reward: superb stargazing. Far from city lights, the San Luis Valley offers some of the darkest night skies in the country, where the Milky Way arches bright overhead and stars crowd the horizon.

A small campground on site lets visitors stay the night and watch the sky at leisure, whether hoping for a sighting or simply soaking in the cosmos. On a clear, moonless night, the show overhead is spectacular regardless of what, if anything, unexplained appears.

The valley is a place of deep history and striking landscapes, part of the ancestral homeland of the Ute people and long shaped by Hispano communities whose roots here run deep. It holds wonders from the towering Great Sand Dunes to hot springs and wildlife refuges.

This makes the watchtower an easy, entertaining stop on a larger tour of the valley. The high desert can be hot by day and cold at night, and the attraction is seasonal, so visitors plan for the weather and hours. Whether for a laugh, a look at the stars, or a genuine sky-watch, it is a memorable slice of roadside Colorado.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is a place we chose through independent editorial review, never a paid placement.

The UFO Watchtower, near Hooper in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado, is a quirky and beloved roadside attraction dedicated to watching for unidentified flying objects in a region long known for reported UFO sightings. Created by a local rancher, it features a viewing platform for scanning the wide valley skies, a small dome, a gift shop, a campground, and a whimsical garden of trinkets and offerings left by visitors. Embracing the area's reputation as a UFO hotspot with humor and charm, the UFO Watchtower offers a fun, offbeat, and memorable stop under the vast, dark skies of the San Luis Valley.

The San Luis Valley has a long-standing reputation as a hotspot for reported UFO sightings and other unexplained phenomena, with many people over the years claiming to have seen strange lights and objects in its vast, dark skies. The valley's wide-open expanse, high altitude, and exceptionally dark night skies make for excellent sky-watching, which some connect to the frequency of reports. Whether or not one believes in the sightings, the area's mystique and the abundance of stories have made it famous, and the UFO Watchtower playfully embraces and celebrates this reputation as a gathering place for curious sky-watchers.

You can climb the viewing platform to scan the wide valley skies for anything unusual, browse the quirky gift shop full of UFO-themed souvenirs, explore the whimsical garden where visitors leave trinkets and mementos, camp overnight to take advantage of the dark skies for stargazing and sky-watching, and enjoy the lighthearted, offbeat atmosphere. It is a short but fun and memorable stop. With its sky-watching platform, quirky charm, dark-sky camping, and celebration of the valley's UFO lore, the UFO Watchtower offers a delightfully unusual experience in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado.

The watchtower can be visited during the day for the quirky attractions and gift shop, but clear nights are ideal for taking advantage of the San Luis Valley's exceptionally dark skies for stargazing and sky-watching, so camping overnight or visiting after dark on a clear night offers the fullest experience. The warmer months from late spring through early fall are most comfortable for the exposed high-desert location, especially for overnight stays. For sky-watching and stargazing, aim for a clear night, ideally in the milder months, to enjoy the dark skies this quirky spot is known for.

The UFO Watchtower is near Hooper and Alamosa in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado, close to the spectacular Great Sand Dunes National Park, the Colorado Gators Reptile Park, and within reach of the historic towns and scenery of the valley and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. That makes the UFO Watchtower a fun and offbeat stop to combine with Great Sand Dunes National Park, the Colorado Gators Reptile Park, and the other attractions of the San Luis Valley on a visit to southern Colorado.