Along the 'Cosmic Highway' is the UFO Watchtower. It is in the middle of nowhere but close to hot springs and Great Sand Dunes Park, don't miss it. The UFO Watchtower is an observation platform and campground where tales of UFO sightings have been reported. Located below the platform is a "healing garden" where visitors leave objects to hopefully receive some sort of healing. The garden has "three vortexes that several psychics say are in her front yard. The vortexes are guarded by two invisible beings. You can feel the power when you move close. Larry the supper nice owner and his informative trusty ex military assistant Lee and his rescued Lab Rats regale us with UFO stories. There have been many sightings here and when you climb the watchtower you can see why. The tiny indoor museum houses the remains and story of the mutilation and death of 'Snippy' the horse in 1967 which gained headlines due to unusual circumstances. The head was stripped bare to the bone. The precision cuts on the flank could not have come from a coyote or even a pack of them. A strong chemical smell akin to acetone lingered in the air. Indications of an aircraft landing on the terrain featured "circular exhaust marks", "squashed bushes", and circular indentations in the dirt. A geiger counter alleged reported high radiation counts around the exhaust marks and flattened bushes. Beginning in the 1970s, the US experienced waves of cattle mutilations which were likened to Snippy's death.Mutilation investigator Linda Moulton Howe revisited the Snippy case, interviewing witnesses for her 1989 book An Alien Harvest. A must for UFO fans and roadside attractions and the small entrance fee is worth it. Ask lots of questions and you will get lots of interesting answers. read more

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This place is absolutely absurd in all the right ways, if you enjoy quirky roadside attractions as I do. It's got a little history about mutilated livestock and strange sitings by campers through the years but, otherwise, it's just a great place to stretch your legs and enjoy a little fun. It's minutes from the highway, a little bit of a drive from the Great Sand Dunes. At a $5 cover and easy parking, with a menagerie of handcrafted oddities representing aliens and saucerships and other such things out of this world, why would ya pass it up? read more

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Kitchy little spot outside Great Sand Dunes NP. Neat little alien sculptures and satellite dishes, with other items guests have left over the years. No staff or other customers present when we were there - we paid our fee via the dropbox and wandered around talking pictures. Fun little roadside stop to break up the long drive. read more

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Ok let the quirkiness begin. Place is a must stop on the tour of Colorado. Has a horse skeleton of a first horse mutilation. The alien and vortex garden It is something see. You got to stop. read more

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This was not my favorite stop. The longer I was there the worse I felt. I don't know what has happened on that site but there is some bad energy happening. Once we left it took about 30 minutes driving away from it to reset and feel better. The person in the welcome center was nice and gave us history of the site and the horse remains in the museum. This was just my experience. If you are a UFO enthusiast, this would be a good place for you to visit. read more

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Stumbled across this on the way to a nearby national park, and to be honest I'm not sure wtf is going on at this place, but there are a few things that I learned while there. There's camping. It's a dark sky area for all you stargazers out there. It's got a super-oddball collection of random articles that have been left by travelers before you and that form a somewhat kooky art installation. Feel free to leave something of your own. It's 2 bucks per person, or 5 bucks per car, it appears to be on the honor system, and you put cash into a box connected to the only building. Some real crazy shit ya'll. Stop and check it out. read more

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Basically a somewhat tended trash garden surrounding a few plastic aliens sculptures in a beautiful setting with a deck. Great views from the deck, though! If you want to stop and stretch your legs after crossing over Poncha Pass on your way through, I could see it, but $5 a person (not car, and yeah I asked!) is too much for this. read more

This was a fun stop! We chatted with Judy and learned the history of the place. Toured the grounds and geeked out on all the UFO/alien/whatever "stuff". We managed to load up on a few items from the gift shop. Great fun, we'd highly recommend if you're chill. Uptight need not apply! read more

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Look, this is not to be confused with a big company looking for your money. Clearly, the $2 visit is just to maintain the property... and boy is it worth it! Just like the other reviews, this is a place to see if you're passing through. Spend 5 minutes or an hour and you'll leave with a smile on your face:) Don't forget to leave something for good luck! read more

UFO Watchtower - Campgrounds Near Me - Hooper, Colorado

Very fun and unique roadside attraction! Worth the stop if in the area. Owners are super sweet!

A little underwhelming. Once you get there you realize it s pretty small and the entrance fee is now $5 for a few minutes of walking around. Some of the trinkets people leave are interesting. The store was okay. I did feel a little woozy so I'm not sure if that was some vortex energy or just so much heat. The view is cool, though! read more

So I heard about this place years ago from a vice report, and it's been on my bucket list ever since. We camped here for a night, in order to check out the sand dunes (just 20 minutes away) and the gator farm (just less than 10 minutes away). It was like $15 to camp here for the night, and the watch tower was a great place to be at sunset. It's definitely a fun and unique place to check out, and there was plenty of space between our camping spot and the three other groups that were also staying there. read more

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Amazing dark sky place surrounded by mountains in Colorado. Very dark skies. There's a gator farm nearby that's interesting, and the little city of Alamosa about 30 minutes away. This place is worth an overnight. read more

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Like others, we stumbled across this place and we loved it. There are not many roadside attractions like this left and our kids loved it. It is what you want it to be. We left some offerings for our recently deceased dogs in the healing garden. Sometimes at night I lie in bed and think of our dogs and the offerings we left behind in the garden as UFOs quietly pass overhead in the vast beautiful Colorado sky and appreciate that they are not alone... read more

Upon pulling into the driveway, a car coming towards me starts flashing their lights. I stop and the woman in the car starts yelling at me about something. I am confused. I finally realize she is saying I was driving too fast. I was probably going 15-20 mph in a 10 mph zone. It took a bit for me to grasp that this random person is an employee. We pay the $5 fee and look around. The other person in the gift shop was super friendly and informative. She told us about the horse. Seeing the gifts (junk) that people left outside was interesting. As we are getting ready to leave, the woman in the car is chasing another visitor's car. She confronts him too. No pleasant introduction. Immediate yelling. This really diminished my view of the place. read more

This place is kitsch at its finest. True roadside America! For $2, you get gorgeous views, some great photo opps, interesting stories from the lady who owns the place and weird landmarks around the property, including a maze/path with an odd collection of trinkets and detritus where you are also encouraged to leave something for the "beings" guarding the vortexes, so they can grant you whatever you ask. Sadly, we didn't catch any glimpses of UFOs. Just nothing but blue skies. Not sure that this is one of those attractions you visit time and time again, but it definitely is worth a look. read more

Spent the night camping there, it was a great night to see the stars but that was all. The camp sites have a place for a fire also they pipe in propane for a small grill set up they have. Being in the middle of a field there were cows, horses and a lot of mosquitos. Gift shop was interesting And after a walk through the garden I think "they" will be happy with all the offerings. A great fun place to visit and take pics with "them" read more

UFO Watchtower - Alien offerings - Campgrounds Near Me - Hooper, Colorado

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Fun, kooky, eclectic, worth getting out of the car to stretch your legs on the way to the way to the Sand Dunes. Cost $5.00 for 4 of us, fun to see everything people have left for the Aliens. This isn't a Disney exhibit, but fun for 30 minutes to get out of the car. Views are amazing read more

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This place was awesome! Highly recommend to any ufo enthusiast. The property is a vortex and has a history of ufo sightings. There are alien art sculptures and a place to camp. The woman who runs it is super cool and was an eager ear for my ufo stories. Awesome views of the mountains in the daytime and great view of the sky at night. Plenty of real history and the first livestock mutilation skeleton, Snippy the horse. read more

It's a super cute idea I just wish people wouldn't put their "trash" as an offering. So that's where I encourage visitors that want to add to the magic - be creative! Great roadside attraction read more

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This seemed like such an odd place we had to stop and check it out. It was only $2 and it was pretty interesting. Great view from the watch tower deck. These folks take UFO's pretty seriously. It was a unique experience to stop here on the way to the dunes. You just never know what you will see while being here. Interesting. read more

Very interesting and quirky. I've always been interested in ET life forms and UFOs. It was cool to hear about experiences people have had and there's a wide variety of memorabilia for purchase. The tower itself is a bit sketchy. I see now why she kept saying over and over again that they aren't responsible for any injuries. It's just thin metal and a lot of it is rusting. As you walk on it you feel it bending and shifting which was terrifying. read more

Love this place, very fun looking for UFOs and camped there overnight!!!

Seriously - just $2 for a cool view of the valley, some energy vortexes, and some ufo trinkets It's on road side america, i bet it would be amazing at night just to see the sky if not some aliens! I had a fun! read more

This is a must-do if you're traveling along this route. The UFO Watchtower is a true oasis of oddities and fun. Follow the pointing alien signs to the domed visitor's center, which has never been open anytime we've been there. Bring some cash, as there's an honor box for entry--$4 per car, I think? And dude, if you don't pay up, the negative alien karma will be intense. After you park, your camera will be your best friend. Enter "the garden." Here, travelers have left offerings for the aliens over many years. A bank of pens shoved into a plot of land, jewelry dangling from weathered branches, alien bust after alien bust, spaceship shaped metal creations, figurines, old machines... Be sure to bring something with you that you can add to the garden as well. They offer camping, too, but it's been too cold to consider that option when we've been by. The views from the "watchtower," about 15 feet off the ground, are great. Stretch your legs, leave an offering for the aliens, drop a few bucks, acquire some good karma and take as many photos as you can. read more

Not sure what is not to love here! This should be a stop on everyone's list as they go by. I really enjoyed walking among the views and the collection of trinkets on the grounds. For just $2, you can get into the mind and history of the woman who started and breaths life into this site. Take lots of pictures. If you get some time with the owner, you will hear about some of the interesting things that have been seen in some of the visitor pics. read more

This is a very fun place to go for UFO lovers, but it's not a main destination. Plan to do other things in the area because if you're coming just for this, you'll be disappointed. It's cute and you can tell it was made by passionate people. We got to talk to a man who is a friend of the woman who built it and he was a pleasure. He was so knowledgeable about abductions, UFO sightings, and we even talked to him about hypnosis and religion. It was very interesting to say the least! We didn't camp out overnight or anything, but it's an interesting sight to see. read more

Americana at it's finest. A warm and friendly woman gave us great brief historical and modern day information on historical sightings in the area. $5 for a car load provided a unique experience. Thank you! read more

If you're driving by make the stop. This is a unique little place with a lot to see. No one was manning the watchtower when I was there -may add to your experience. There's a campsite too! read more

I am from the Uk and staying at Pagosa Springs CO I picked up an old tourist brochure in the house where i am staying and read all about Hooper So off we went the following day to Visit Hooper CO and see the mad old lady that was abducted at one time by the little green men. On arriving at the God foresaken place it was a dust deserted village with 30 houses, a closed gas station and a dog tied up outside of a house Obviously the aliens had returned and abducted all the local at some point but left the poor collie dog My findings are such That aliens obviously do exist accounting for the lack of people A gas station with lights on but closed Circular markings in the streets where the alien space ships have landed Oh I am sorry these were actually caused by similar idiots like me who have traveled God knows how far to the town and then turned around and rushed off . Just in case someone else thought them out of their minds to have believed such bull and visited the place Regards from the local nut house back in the UK read more