Viewpoint (Or Lookout) sights in USA
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Makapu'u Point
Makapu'u Point has a precipitous view of the ocean from its 647ft pedestal. The coastal lighthouse at its tip marks the easternmost point of O'ahu. The gate to the mile-long service road is locked to keep out private vehicles, but hikers can park off the highway just beyond and walk in. Although not difficult, it's an uphill walk, and conditions can be hot and windy. The path and the lighthouse lookout give fine coastal views and, during winter, whales are sometimes visible offshore.
About a third of a mile further along the highway, a scenic roadside lookout spies across the coastline at aqua-blue waters outlined by white sand and black lava beds - an even more…
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Northern Lights
For many visitors, Fairbanks' primary pulling power lies in a natural phenomenon: the Aurora Borealis, better known as the Northern Lights. As solar winds flow across the earth's upper atmosphere, they hit gas molecules which light up, much like the high-vacuum electrical discharge of a neon sign.
What you end up with is a solar-powered light show of waving, diaphanous light streaming across the night sky. In the dead of winter, the aurora often fills the sky for hours. Other nights, 'the event', as many call it, lasts less than 10 minutes.
This polar phenomenon has been seen as far south as Mexico, but Fairbanks is the undisputed aurora capital. The best viewing is from…
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Atigun Pass
The ascent of Atigun Pass is where the real fun begins. At an elevation of 4739ft this is the highest highway pass in Alaska, and marks the continental divide. While clawing your way 2 miles up the washboarded 12% grade, watch for downward-bound trucks and try to ignore the guardrails mangled by rockslides and avalanches. The view from the top - with the Philip Smith Mountains to the east and the Endicotts to the west - will steal your breath away.
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Westin St Francis Hotel Glass Elevators
For a bird’s-eye view of Union Square, head for the front desk (in the new building), find the glass-walled tower elevators in the corner and soar 32 stories high for drop-dead vistas. Shhh! Don’t tell ’em we told you.
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