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Airport Runway Vista
Category: Public Services & Government Landmarks & Historical Buildings Landmarks & Historical Buildings [Edit]
E Sunset RdLas Vegas, NV 89120
Neighborhood: Southeast
(702) 555-5555
9 reviews for Airport Runway Vista
9 reviews in English
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Review from Shawn J.
5/5/2012
Are airplanes fascinating to you? Then you need to come here. Find a place to park, read the signs and tune your radio to the frequency that rebroadcasts McCarran Air Traffic Control and prepare to be indulged. You may not know a 747 from a 767 and an Airbus may be a local bus with working air conditioning to you but that doesn't matter. When you see 5 or more planes stacked up coming in on final approach and they land right in front of you that inner kid inside of you will still go WOW! And when the Virgin 747 comes in from NYC you truly get a sense of how massive it is. (And how much tire smoke it kicks up when it touches down as you're that close!)
Takeoffs are also pretty impressive to watch too as they thunder down the runway and pull up into the sky at what looks to be the fence at Las Vegas Blvd. It looks close but the pilots have it all under control. If the runway in front of the parking area is active this spot will rarely disappoint you. And as for the kids if they like airplanes it doesn't get much better than this.
5 Stars: (As there's not a lot of places left in America where you can get this close and see so much. Plus it's FREE and in Vegas who doesn't love FREE with no strings?) -
Review from Bobby Y.
Cleveland, OH
10/11/2011
This is one of the nation's best plane spotting sites.
In this town, you need a place like this to go when you're out of money and waiting for 9:01pm and the ability to use your ATM to max it out again.
The runway sightlines are obstructed by a fence, but it really doesn't matter...the best view is seeing them line up for runway 25.
It's great in the post 9/11 world that such a vista still exists. -
Review from Nina I.
1/6/2012 1 Check-in Here
Cute little lot amongst the mountains but super close to the Strip so you get an amazing view as you land but far enough so the party animals don't get disturbed. Yay! I'm a fan. :]
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Review from Clint B.
10/25/2010
If you're looking for some different scenery while eating lunch grab some food and head here to watch the planes land. It's a small lot off of Sunset that faces the runways of McCarran. Seeing them land every couple minutes makes for a cool and unique view especially if you have kids that are into planes. They're gonna love it!
Aside from the planes you'll see all types of people here -- the amateur photographer looking for that perfect shot, people on their lunch break, and even couples making out in their cars (cheaper than getting a hotel room, I guess).Listed in: Kid-Friendly Activities in Las…, Cool Vegas Views
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Review from Bennett L.
Portland, OR
There's something about airports that puts me at peace. It's not the bratty kids, the Burger King cuisine or overpriced bottles of water at the gift shop. It's not the debilitating security procedures that make you wish you'd just gassed up the car, turned on the radio and just started driving. Nor is it the cramped conditions on the plane that put taking a decent nap on a long flight just barely out of your grasp.
What I love about airports is the shared experience. You look at people's faces. You don't know who they are or where they come from. You don't know their politics (but their headgear might give away their sports allegiances). Yet at that time, at that gate, everyone is the same, waiting for the same flight, all with the same objective. If you want to see the face of America, and the world, study the interactions at an airport.
In Southern Nevada there are many ways to get your mind off things. There are bars, burgers and brothels. But when I really want to find some peace, I go to the small lot on Sunset near Eastern that lets me watch the intersection of society. They come in, one after the other, a faint almost star-like gleam in the horizon as you look East. One after the other they get closer, larger and louder until touching down a few hundred yards and a chain link fence in front of my Suzuki Aerio. How can something so heavy and loud be so precise and graceful?
The perfect soundtrack for this experience is the radio frequency you can dial up to listen to air traffic control. Silence, intermittently interrupted by clear, calm commands. Southwest, US Airways, Delta, JetBlue, and the list goes on. I often sit there and wonder who is on the plane, why they are coming to Las Vegas, and what they hope to gain from their time here. What are they leaving? What are they returning to? While I'm here I forget about everything else. It's an unlikely escape zone and one I'm glad the city (county?) created. I sometimes fantasize about being an airport bartender and hearing people's stories. But this spot helps maintain the mystery. -
Review from Erik S.
Las Vegas, NV
3/9/2008 3 photos
Want something to do but don't want to pay anything for it? Stopping by this spot on East Sunset (it's on the airport side right before Eastern Ave.) for a few hours can let you relax and watch the planes take off and land. For some of us this can be an entertaining way to pass the time. For my son and I, we truly enjoy the time spent together talking about the different airplanes.
Another added benefit is that you can tune to 101.5 at just this particular spot and listen to the air traffic controller move the planes around the area. This is really neat to hear as you can listen to the pilots make their responses, too.
The parking lot is usually packed but there is almost always a free spot or two. Nothing is here to stop you from taking pictures or bringing a chair to sit back in. The only downside is when the planes aren't using the East/West runway specifically.
Lately they were landing on the NE runway coming over Fry's. If you want to do a little Wayne's World remake, you can park at the nearby Sports Park on the far side of the parking lot near the golf course (it's off of Sunset near Las Vegas Blvd.Listed in: Affordable Things To Do
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Review from Margret C.
Las Vegas, NV
9/20/2010
Been coming here for years- just to see the airplanes landing for FREE and I didn't know the official name for this place! Some people would hang out in their cars away from the wind and the noise (hmm, could they be?), others sit on the hood of the car, and yet others, are up close and personal with the fence, literally, noses pressed (kids).
There was one place in the Bay Area, where I would escape to, and it was Ocean Beach (still my favorite beach there- don't ask me why, just holds a special place in my heart), for years, this was the place for me to chill and reflect; quiet time, no problem seemed too big here. Apparently, others feel the same. For the most part, other people are doing the same exact thing- looking at the planes landing, and wouldn't bother you. Usually this would be a night-time visit. I think I came here once (after clubbing) in the morning, but it got really bright. There's a gas station/mini-mart down the way, if you wanted to get coffee or a sweet treat to enjoy while you're watching these planes. -
Review from Gladi G.
10/12/2010
I love planes and flying and anything about aviation!! One of the first things I did since being in Vegas is to find a place to view planes on days I just wanna go "Plane Watching", not people watching. The sound of jet engine and aviation lingo turns me on a special high.
There is this place on E. Sunset Road just between Las Vegas Boulevard South and Eastern Avenue...where I can bring myself to sit and watch planes go by, as they arrive on the runway, as they taxi onto the airport or the runway, and as they leave taking-off into the vast sky. This is a great plane spotting and viewing area! Parking lot spaces available before a perimeter fence. Parking is not a problem if you get lucky to arrive into an open parking space. I would plan on spending a few hours with my favorite beverages and a meal. My camera and binoculars next to me on my carseat. I like taking photographs of the planes with the airport and Vegas' casinos as background. I would come close to the fence and point my camera lens in between the fence grids to shoot my picture when I don't want the fence in my shot. At night it is a nice sight with the flickering lights of Vegas and the planes seen in the horizon. Also, the sight of at least 5 or 6 planes like little beams of light "lined up" on the sky hovering as they wait for landing turns on the landing runways....is coool! The best part of it is hearing the drones of the jets engines which I love and I like listening to Air Traffic Control Tower's Communication through my car radio frequency on FM 101.1. Tune in to this station to monitor air traffic. Listening to pilots & air traffic controllers speak in aviation terms, with my car windows closed and my car radio volume on loud....awesome! "2-5-Right" or "2-5-Left" heard from the communications stands for planes landing or leaving from the runways (25R or 25L) along this planes viewing area. Amidst all these viewing and listening, I get my "relaxation time".
This Plane Spotting & Viewing Place is a not-so-famous place for locals and tourists alike, but famous place for people who are meeting friends or relatives at the airport like to stop by here to see the plane touching down on the landing field before they pick them at the airport. After all, Vegas is the hottest spot on earth to meet people from all over the world at every turn and see famous places from all over the world in one city! There is a green sign posted on the fence that I agree upon that is about feeding birds is an aviation hazzard. I like birds but not around jets & airplanes....so "please do not feed birds".
Pick your spot, take pictures or camera shots, take in the sight, relax, eat, dri nk, enjoy. Great place from sunrise to sunset, although viewing area is only open to people & cars from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m.
For more information, http://nycaviation.com...Listed in: Romancing It, the Best of Vegas!, Jet Set Go
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Review from S R.
San Francisco, CA
10/2/2010
many people dont know about this. a friend that lives in vegas recently introduced me. i dont know of anywhere else you can watch planes land and take off at a busy airport at such close distance for free. they even provide an AM radio station that allows you to listen to the air traffic chatter. its definitely off the beaten path and fun. especially cool at night. it would be nice if it was a park with grass or something, but im still happy with it.
