UFO Watchtower, Observation platform in Hooper, Colorado, US.

The UFO Watchtower is an observation platform and campground north of Hooper in Colorado's San Luis Valley. A converted barn holds a small domed gift shop, and outside steps lead to a 10-foot-high platform where visitors sit and watch the sky. The 620-acre ranch also allows camping.

A former cattle rancher opened this site in 2000 after getting county approval to turn her livestock property into a public attraction. The idea came from her personal interest in the unexplained lights and aerial events that people in this valley had been reporting for years.

Judy Messoline created a rock garden below the platform, outside the gift shop, which she calls a healing garden. She says it honours three vortexes that several psychics located in her front yard, guarded by two large beings. Visitors leave photos, business cards, pens, keys, toys and belongings of lost loved ones, hoping for healing.

Clear nights are the best time to visit, and warm clothing is a good idea since the open location at around 7,600 feet (2,300 meters) can get cold even in summer. The site sits along a quiet road in rural Colorado, so having your own vehicle is almost necessary.

The site keeps a logbook where visitors and locals write down their own accounts of lights and unusual movements in the sky, and it has gathered hundreds of entries over the years. The San Luis Valley is considered one of the most reported areas for such events in the entire country.