Friend of mine used to own Point Sal... which is just north of Vandenberg. Vandenberg once had an "open house" for nearby land owners and my friend and I went and toured the new launch site.

We were heartbroken when Challenger ended the project. We had the perfect viewing spot, about 10 miles north with an unobstructed view. With binoculars you could see the launch pad easily. Point Sal was in the area that was supposed to be evacuated for the shuttle launch but we had plans to view anyway. We used the ranch for hunting... it was not developed at that time... not sure about today. - JamesJM