Overlooks
25 places · Summit views & high vantages
Gorham, NH
Mount Washington Summit
The highest peak in the northeastern United States at 6,288 feet, Mount Washington offers panoramic views across the Presidential Range and beyond. The summit is accessible via the Auto Road, Cog Railway, or multiple hiking trails. Extreme weather conditions are common, with the summit holding the record for the highest wind speed ever directly measured on Earth's surface until 2010.
Bar Harbor, ME
Cadillac Mountain Summit
At 1,530 feet, Cadillac Mountain is the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard. From October through March it is among the first places in the United States to receive morning sunlight. The summit offers 360-degree views of Frenchman Bay, the Porcupine Islands, and the interior mountains of Acadia.
Lanesborough, MA
Mount Greylock State Reservation
Mount Greylock is the highest point in Massachusetts at 3,491 feet, crowned by the 93-foot Veterans War Memorial Tower completed in 1933. The summit offers views spanning five states on clear days, including the Taconic Range, Green Mountains, and the Catskills. The Appalachian Trail crosses the summit and the historic Bascom Lodge provides food and lodging.
Franconia, NH
Artist Bluff
Artist Bluff is a granite outcrop overlooking Echo Lake and Franconia Notch from an elevation of approximately 2,340 feet. The short but steep 0.5-mile trail leads to an open ledge with views of Cannon Mountain, Mount Lafayette, and the notch below. The bluff has been a popular painting and photography destination since the 19th century.
Provincetown, MA
Provincetown Harbor from Pilgrim Monument
The Pilgrim Monument is a 252-foot granite tower completed in 1910 to commemorate the Mayflower Pilgrims' first landing in the New World. It is the tallest all-granite structure in the United States. The observation deck at the top offers 360-degree views of Provincetown, the harbor, Cape Cod Bay, and the Atlantic Ocean.
South Deerfield, MA
Mount Sugarloaf State Reservation
South Sugarloaf Mountain rises 652 feet above the Connecticut River Valley and is capped by a red sandstone observation area offering sweeping views of the Pioneer Valley and the Berkshire Hills. The summit is accessible by car via a seasonal auto road or by a half-mile hiking trail. The Connecticut River oxbow below is the subject of Thomas Cole's famous 1836 painting 'The Oxbow.'
Great Barrington, MA
Monument Mountain Reservation
Monument Mountain is a 1,642-foot peak with dramatic quartzite cliffs known as Squaw Peak, offering panoramic views of the southern Berkshires. The mountain is famous as the site of an 1850 literary picnic where Herman Melville and Nathaniel Hawthorne first met. The Indian Monument Trail and Hickey Trail form a 2.6-mile loop to the summit.
Franconia, NH
Franconia Ridge Trail (Above Treeline)
The Franconia Ridge Trail traverses an exposed alpine ridge connecting Mount Lafayette (5,260 feet) and Mount Lincoln (5,089 feet). The above-treeline section offers continuous 360-degree views across the White Mountains with a knife-edge ridgeline profile. The ridge is part of the popular Franconia Ridge Loop, one of the most hiked alpine traverses in the northeastern United States.
Manchester, VT
Equinox Mountain Skyline Drive
A 5.2-mile toll road ascending to the 3,848-foot summit of Mount Equinox, the highest peak in the Taconic Range. The summit offers 360-degree views encompassing the Green Mountains, Adirondacks, Berkshires, and White Mountains. On clear days, five states and parts of Canada are visible.
Stowe, VT
Mount Mansfield via Toll Road
At 4,393 feet, Mount Mansfield is the highest peak in Vermont. The auto toll road ascends to a parking area near the summit ridge, from which a short hike reaches the Chin, the true summit. The ridgeline profile famously resembles a human face in repose, and the summit offers views across Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, and Quebec.
Boston, MA
Spectacle Island
Spectacle Island is a 105-acre island in Boston Harbor that was transformed from a landfill into a public park, reopening in 2006. The island's North Drumlin summit rises 157 feet and offers panoramic views of the Boston skyline and harbor. It is part of the Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park.
Camden, ME
Mount Battie Summit
The summit of Mount Battie in Camden Hills State Park provides sweeping views of Camden village, the harbor, and Penobscot Bay with its islands. A stone observation tower built in 1921 stands at the top. The mountain can be reached by a paved auto road or a 1-mile hiking trail.
Franconia, NH
Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway Summit
The Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway carries passengers to the 4,080-foot summit where a short trail leads to a 360-degree observation tower. Views extend across Franconia Ridge, the Kinsman Range, and into Vermont on clear days. The tramway has operated since 1938, making it the first aerial tramway in North America.
Jackson, NH
Mount Willard
Mount Willard offers one of the most dramatic viewpoints in the White Mountains relative to the moderate 1.4-mile hike required to reach the summit. The cliff-edge overlook at 2,865 feet provides a straight-on view down the U-shaped Crawford Notch. The trail follows the old carriage road from the Crawford Depot area.
North Conway, NH
Cathedral Ledge
Cathedral Ledge is a 700-foot granite cliff face that can be reached by car via a paved road to the summit. The top offers views east across the Saco River valley to North Conway and the surrounding Moat Mountains. The cliff is a popular rock climbing destination and climbers can sometimes be seen from both the top and bottom.
Middlebury, VT
Snake Mountain
A 1,287-foot monadnock in Addison with a 3.6-mile round-trip trail to a summit with panoramic views of Lake Champlain, the Adirondacks, and the Green Mountains. The summit features open ledges and the ruins of a 19th-century hotel. The isolated rise from the Champlain Valley floor makes it an excellent vantage point for landscape photography.
Newport, RI
Fort Adams State Park
Fort Adams is the largest coastal fortification in the United States, constructed between 1824 and 1857. The park sits on a peninsula at the mouth of Narragansett Bay and provides panoramic views of Newport Harbor, the Pell Bridge, and the East Passage. The fort's granite walls and tunnels create striking geometric compositions.
Providence, RI
Prospect Terrace Park
This small hilltop park on Congdon Street provides one of the most expansive views of the Providence skyline and the State House dome. A statue of Roger Williams overlooks the city from the terrace. The park sits on College Hill in a historic neighborhood of colonial and Victorian homes.
New Haven, CT
East Rock Park
East Rock is a 366-foot traprock ridge offering panoramic views of New Haven, Long Island Sound, and the surrounding Connecticut landscape. The summit is accessible by road or hiking trails and features the Soldiers and Sailors Monument erected in 1887. The park encompasses 425 acres of woodland along the Mill River.
Bar Harbor, ME
Great Head Trail
A 1.5-mile loop trail that ascends to a 145-foot granite headland overlooking Sand Beach and the open Atlantic. The trail passes ruins of a stone tea house and offers some of the most dramatic cliff-top views in Acadia. The headland provides unobstructed views eastward toward the ocean sunrise.
Lincoln, NH
Kancamagus Highway Scenic Overlook
The Kancamagus Highway (NH Route 112) stretches 34.5 miles through the White Mountain National Forest between Lincoln and Conway. Multiple overlooks along the highway provide sweeping views of the surrounding mountains, with the road reaching a maximum elevation of 2,855 feet at Kancamagus Pass. It is widely regarded as one of the finest fall foliage drives in the United States.
Jackson, NH
Wildcat Mountain Summit via Gondola
The Wildcat Mountain gondola provides access to the summit ridge at approximately 4,062 feet with direct views across Pinkham Notch to Mount Washington. The summit area offers one of the closest and most dramatic perspectives of the Presidential Range. Multiple viewing platforms are accessible from the gondola terminal.
Middlebury, VT
Sunset Ledge on the Long Trail
A west-facing rock ledge along the Long Trail near Lincoln Gap that provides sweeping views of the Champlain Valley and Adirondack Mountains. The ledge is reached via a 0.8-mile moderate hike from the Lincoln Gap Road trailhead. As its name suggests, the ledge is positioned perfectly for sunset photography facing west.
Rockland, ME
Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory
A cable-stayed bridge spanning the Penobscot River near Bucksport with an observation deck 420 feet above the river inside one of the bridge pylons. It is the only bridge observatory in the Western Hemisphere. The deck offers views extending to Cadillac Mountain, Penobscot Bay, and the surrounding river valley.
Woodstock, VT
Quechee Gorge
Often called Vermont's Little Grand Canyon, this 165-foot-deep gorge was carved by glacial activity along the Ottauquechee River. The gorge is spanned by Route 4, which provides an overhead vantage point, and a trail descends to the river below. The narrow chasm and rushing water are especially dramatic during spring runoff.