According to the historic site's museum, the spire also was likened to Bunker Hill Monument in Boston, the Trinity Church in New York City, a lighthouse, a steamer ship's smokestack and the then-uncompleted Washington Monument. Twenty-three miles west on the Oregon Trail, also off Highway 92, is Scotts Bluff National Monument. The monument is just across the North Platte River from Scottsbluff, which with 14,000 residents is by far the panhandle's biggest town. One of the park's best features is the North Overlook, offering a tremendous view of the river valley and town. The South Overlook, a short stroll away on the same bluff top, gazes across at other protruding mounds of sandstone and clay, down to the visitors center and over to Mitchell Pass, another milestone of the Oregon Trail.
Visitors can reach the overlooks via a road that winds up through three tunnels to a parking lot.
From there, paved, comparatively level paths lead to the vista points. Another option is the moderately steep Saddle Rock Trail, which like the road leaves from the visitors center and is 1.6 miles long. A round-trip hike takes about 90 minutes. Twenty million years ago, they were level with the plains. Something about their geological makeup makes them more erosion-resistant, however, and as such they literally are standouts on the landscape.