I am just now seeing this thread.
I live in Solvang and was in the Space business for 40 years working for local Santa Barbara Research Center and later as a contractor/consultant to NASA. I have seen many launches from Vandenberg both from on base viewing sites and off-base sites
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I like to use a viewing spot up on Figueroa Mtn Rd. There is a good pullout just before the Forest Service Work center driveway that has a great view of the base and you can actually see the ocean on a clear day. You can see the launch tower of SLC 4 & 5 from the Figueroa viewing site and the other launch pads are just below the line of site blocked by the Solomon Hills between Buellton and Lompoc.
There are other viewing sites much closer to Vandenberg but as Alley Kat wrote you cannot see the gantry from any of them.
The reason I like this spot is that it is often above the coastal fog deck and you can see the rocket go far downrange. Is it especially spectacular at night. Usually there are not many people although the road is winding and narrow so drive cautiously as there will be vehicles going up and down (there are some folks who live up there).
If you have a camera with appropriate lens, at night you can do a timed exposure to get a nice wide field of view image with the rocket lifting off and an arc of light going up and down range.
An added bonus for this site is that there is a campground (no water) about a mile or two further up Figueroa Mtn Rd. Be advised however that the campground is now staffed with a host and they charge $20 a night. (priort to last year there was no host at this campground and most people who stayed there did not pay - it is a nice campground but without water it is kind of pricy and not really convenient to other recreation sites in the area.
There are three other campgrounds in the area much further up the road. Two are down Sunset Valley rd to Davey Brown and Nira. Depending on season and number of campers both can be nice places to camp and they both have water but it will take at least a half hour to drive to them from the launch viewing site. There is also one other small campground on the way down to Happy Canyon Rd.
There is (or used to be) one other campground I almost forgot about up past the top of Figuroa Mtn rd. The only time I have been to it the road was not in good shape and there is no water - it is a half mile or so past the picnic area and old watch tower and is downhill to the West from the top of the peak. I have not been up there since the fire a few years ago so not sure it is open for camping anymore or not. In fact the last couple of trips up there I noted that the gate across the dirt road up to the old lookout has been closed and locked.
Figueroa Mtn Rd makes a loop from Los Olivos to Happy Canyon rd that comes out near the intersection of Hwy 246 and Hwy 154 near Santa Ynez. The loop takes a couple of hours to drive. Sunset Valley Rd is a dead end at Nira campground and provides access to trials into the Wilderness area of the Sisquoc River and Manzana creek.
It is possible to boondock on Catway Rd (turnoff just before the road up to Figuroa Mtn lookout.) when the gate in not locked but it has been locked the last couple of trips I have been up there (most recently for the JPSS J1 Satellite launch in December.
By the way: Jalama Beach campground is frequently closed during launches as it is down range and in the event of a launch incident could be a hazardous location (falling debris, corrosive propellants, etc). Also there is no vehicle access to West Camino Cielo between Refugio Rd and Gaviota Pass (101) due to a property owner blocking the road - even to the Forest Service - near the former Reagan Ranch).
I have driven West Camino Cielo both ways between Refugio Rd and San Marcos pass many times over the years and its condition in recent years has been pretty bad but I think it has been repaired as a result of the recent fire fighting activity. There are a few potential viewing sites up there but none as good as Figueroa Mtn in my opinion (the large binocular downrange tracking station is located up off West Camino Cielo however)
The launch viewing site is past the "picnic spot" and just before you get to the Forest Service Ranger Station/Work Center (about where the yellow "... Oak Trees)" is.
Regards,
Craig