Not fancy, no accommodations. A hill, a parking lot, a handful of benches and a panoramic view of planes coming and going from all directions. The city skyline in the background adds a fun dimension to the view and photos.All roll up to make this overlook the perfect place to have a wonderful throwback activity for yourself or little ones.You can park and enjoy the view from your car, sit on one of the 10 or so benches, safely distanced, or do what I do with my grandson.We take a picnic blanket and snacks and jump up and down every time a plane comes and goes.We wave to each departing plane asking every flight, Where are you going? telling everyone on board, Go see your friends!Wheels up and Welcome home! And you can do it, go, go, go are cheered on appropriate occasions.The joy on my three-year-old grandsons face makes this carved out niche a very special place, making it 5 stars for us.Thank you so much #CLTAirport.#JojoAndNana

One of our best discoveries yet!! My husband as well as all 5 of our kids were fascinated by watching the planes take off!! We stumbled across it by accident but, we will definitely be visiting again! My only wish is that a landing strip was more visible! Overall it is an amazing free entertainment!

Nice spot to enjoy lunch or just get the kids out of the house. The parking lot is a decent size so you can social-distance and there are a few benches spaced apart with signs. Planes take off and planes land. Theres also a nice view of the Charlotte skyline. I recommend grabbing some take out and parking here. (Its also free)

Timeless FREE fun! Great environment for all ages and personality types. Sit on the grass or your tailgate and enjoy the views of CLT airport and all the planes taking off.

This local treasure will forever have a place in my heart. It was one of my Moms favorite Charlotte attractions. The view of the skyline is prefect on a clear day or evening and you can likely witness both outgoing and incoming flights.There are places to park and sit, or there are park benches and picnic tables also available on grounds.Youll find everyone from photographers, families, artists and writers enjoying the energy at the Overlook.

What an amazing view of the airport! It’s really fun to come here and watch planes come and go. Really relaxing and nice environment. Everyone is quiet and respectful.

I really like that this exists. It was a bit crowded with people which means a lot of other people like it exists as well. Its biggest downfall is there didnt seem to be trash cans or porta potties anywhere. The view of the city was not as visible as Googles top 10 best locations ranking though.

If you love aviation, good place to spend sometime at. Take offs and landings are throughout the day. Unobstructed view. Plenty of parking.

This is a great spot for anyone and everyone. Beautiful place for a picnic with loved ones. It also boasts one of the most amazing views of Charlotte. Especially at night time when all the lights come on. And it is amazing to watch the planes jump take off. One of my favorite spots in Charlotte!

I love this place. Neat and clean. Beautiful location. Best place ever to view aircraft. Highly recommend. Just wish it wasnt 100 miles away.

Very nice place to watch planes takeoff and land. Plenty of parking and seating. They could use a few more pick-nick tables, but it was a great visit.

Ive grew up coming here to watch plans when I was little...now me and husband love to come out here at watch them together and share our love for the beautiful world of aviation.

The airport was so quiet compared to normal schedules! Please put a food truck there with coffee snacks and sandwiches!

Free, easily accessible, and a great view. Definitely recommend for watching the sun set.

Great place to come and chill with some friends. The view is great of plans taking off and Charlotte seen in the background

Very cool spot to watch the planes take off. Great view, lots of parking. It can get busy though, so either come early or be prepared to wade through some traffic.

Such a great way to spend a beautiful day with the family! Making memories.

Such a cool little spot. It’s been especially great during the pandemic as an easy spot to take the kids for free entertainment and social distancing. It’s especially fun when the planes are coming in.

Peaceful place and watch the plans take off bc its right at the lane they take off from. Lots of benches and parking space.

Love this place, seeing the airplanes land and take off is a thing

It was a nice place to go and have a picnic and watch the airplanes taking off. My granddaughter loves to go there.

Good place to watch planes land and take off.

Fantastic place to take the kids is they like airplanes! I was surprised how busy it was here... we took lunch and sat on the bench and watched the airplanes while we ate. Perfect get out of the house activity!

Nice place .. you can park your car , sit on it and enjoy the show..

Absolutely love bringing my kids here to watch the aircraft takeoff and land on 36C/18C. Usually there is a police presence in the parking lot which is nice. Food trucks now come on the weekends which is great! There schedule can be found on the airport website if interested in more information.

Its ok ,,, it does however lack some kind of facilitys ,,, eg: portapotties.

Great place for plane spotting, very good view of runway.

Its pretty awesome me and my family go out there and watch the airplanes take off. The only suggestion would be maybe some bathrooms out there. Other then that for what it is. Its pretty awesome.

One of the few airports left that have an overlook. Great vantage point though for plane watching when they take off to the south. No restroom facilities, so be advised.

Great place to take small kids and family to enjoy family time.

Cool place. Wish the roads/parking lot was in a little bit better condition but other than that I had a great time

Im so glad we have the overlook at our airport. Ive always enjoyed watching planes take off and land and I got to share it with my grandson! So many people enjoy going there!

I love taking me kids to watch the airplanes as they fly off. It never gets boring for them. Just bring lunch and enjoy the view.

I rarely give a full 5 stars... But this place is so good yet so plain (pun intended)... It is so simple yet so fun to hang out at..... Even when its busy there is a place for you to watch the planes take-off... My kids LOVE coming here and so do I and my camera!! Im talking up close, bring ear muffs, professional pictures are not hard to get, even with a cell phone.... Im almost afraid its too good to be true, I hope they never take this place from us!!

It has a great view of runway but you cannot see ALL runways. Traffic volumes vary from day to day and you may see a variety of aircraft taking off or landing. You are able to photograph and there are police and security that monitor and patrol the area. Along the fence they have some benches but to be on safe side park so you can see or bring chairs with you. Great way for kids to see aircraft up close and personal and at no cost, it is free.

Always a good time with my kids! They normally have a police officer in the parking lot to keep the bad people out. I would give 5 stars but I would like to see some major improvements. Maybe even redo the grass and have some picnic tables for families to eat. Even if they had to charge $1 a car or even $5 it would be nice for then to update that place. Make it more family friendly for a good family time!

Quiet place for a meal or a nap. Great view of one of the runways. Lots of grass. A few picnic tables. A nice, long walking path.

My great grandma would always love coming here to watch the airplanes fly since she wasn’t able to fly due to old ages and after she passed away I came here more and more but also for more of a stress relief. This place really helps calm me and relaxes me to think clearly, sometimes there will be kids who yells but it’s almost quiet. News channels come by sometimes so if you also wanna be on the news then this is also perfect for you lol. I like to come here with a picnic basket sometimes too. It’s nice during the day but it’s beautiful and peaceful at night.

Great place to spend time when you dont want to spend money. Going at night will give you the best show and less mosquitos.

I love going here on date night with my fiance and have a picnic. If you have never been I highly recommend going

For our first time coming here it has great view of the planes taking off and arriving. My kiddos enjoyed it so much and I did too. The only thing there is no place with shade and it gets really hot just sitting there and the seats are too hot to even sit on. Id wish they had some picnic tables near by close to the view and not back far away. But i do reccomend just coming by with family or alone or friend.

Wish it had badthroom and alittle more picnic tables closer to fence area. But its fun watching the planes takw off. Kids enjoyed.

Great place to watch planes land and take off. Picnic tables are a short distance from the overlook, so its better to sit on the benches or eat first, then watch the planes. I dont know of any sinks or restrooms on site.

I absolutely love this place. It’s my quiet place, when I need to chill out and think to myself. You can see the city skyline and it’s beautiful at night. Even the sound of airplanes taking off is really relaxing.

Great place to make memories! Took my grandson for a picnic and enjoyed watching the planes take off and land while we are our lunch.

Amazing place to watch planes take off and land! They even have a chemical toilet, which by the way is amazingly clean!

Great place for kids, but very popular

Great place just no public bathroom

Great place to photograph Aircraft.

I have been to many airports, but this experience is different in a nice way. My 2yo had fun watching the airplanes takeoff.

Great place to just chill and collect your thoughts or see the planes.

Great spot to hang out and watch the planes take off and land on a hot summer night!

Very relaxing love to go and watch planes

Very chill in the day. It is calm and peaceful. Can get a bit loud when the planes take off but it is so very relaxing. It can be weird in the evenings as the frogs croak and there are a ton of them. The sounds that those many frogs create can get annoying after a while with some crickets chirping in between to break the monotony of croaks.

Great spot to see planes land and leave!

Exactly what youd expect-- a place to chill and watch planes take off. Good for anyone looking to unwind and kill some time. Parking lot is not very well upkept though, and more benches would be a plus.

Excitement for any age and no cost entertainment for the kids.

An Great place to visit and watch the planes coming and going from Charlotte Douglas international airport. It is the 6 busiest airport in the us so plenty of air traffic to see. A great place to buy some takeouts close buy and come and enjoy them while watching. Quote a few benches and the area was clean and tidy with quite a few other like minded folks watching the comings and goings and taking pictures.

This is the best free attraction in Charlotte besides Freedom Park. You get a great view of the airplanes taking off (usually) or sometimes landing. Its mesmerizing and hypnotic to watch them take off. This is a great place to go with a romantic partner, by yourself, or with the whole family. Not only is watching the airplanes fun, its also fun to see all of the little kids running around excited about the airplanes and adults taking pictures of the airplanes. This place is ALWAYS busy with families and people of all ages. Do yourself a favor and grab some fast food, the friend or loved one(s) of your choice, and sit and eat a meal and talk and watch the airplanes.

A rarity for airports in the United States, this overlook is very popular for locals in the know. Bring a blanket, a picnic, and watch the planes come and go with the beautiful skyline in the background. The overlook is right on the runway so the big planes really create energy that you can feel. See it while you can since there is a new runway proposed right over the top of it.

What an exciting place! You seem closer to the planes than you would be inside. I dont know what time they open but they close at 10pm; Id love to go at night and see all the lights!

Great view of airport operations with stunning uptown Charlotte skyline in background

Been coming here for picnics since I was little and now enjoy bringing my family. Ants can be a problem here and the picnic tables need some work. Very happy this place has stayed around given all the changes to the airport grounds.

Excellent place for airplane enthusiasts to enjoy!

LGreat place to take a family, went and had a great of time. We took lunch and made a day of it.tjanks babe. You make the Best chicken salad on the plant. And yesterday delivered like always

Good place to take a break or eat lunch

Perfect for small kids. Bring a picnic blanket, snacks, and there are public trashcans. Within 20 mins from 1130 to 12pm, we saw atleast 4-6 aircraft take off.

One of the most happiest places in CLT. Its something about seeing the planes take off that gets me hype!

Its a great place to brings kids and a great place for aviation lovers to see the airport in its full capacity

If youre ever at the airport early or if you know someone but fascinated by aviation, this is definitely the place to go. Great View of the west side of the airport, right at the end Runway 36C/18C.This is the runway that most of the heavies use for their evening departures to Europe

Good place to kill time before your flight

Absolutely a great place to spend a whole afternoon here. It’s also a wonderful choice for plane spotters.

Love sitting there w/Live ATC going & knowing what flight it is.

Great views of the airport & City

What a great place to watch the planes taking off...! Very open and plenty of places to park. Also lots of benches for sitting to view the airplanes.

Great place to have a picnic and see planes coming and going

Great place!! Closes at 10:30pm

Awesomeness...

Nice to watch airplanes taking off.

Very cool place. However the parking lot is a bit dilapidated, and the ground around benches looks like its eroded out. Needs some maintenance.

Was really beautiful at night...enjoyed the lights definitely going back

Great place to come and watch the planes and views of uptown charlotte.

So much fun. Great place to be.

Really great way to watch air planes takes off. Great area for doing something free with the kids. Unfortunately there are no bathrooms. Theres only one Portable toilet and probably there because of construction.

One of the few official aircraft observation locations available in the country and in the world. Great for photography or just relaxation!

Really nice and close for kids to see and enjoy looking at the planes up close.

Amazing place to watch the airplanes and the skyline!

This is by far one of the best places for plane spotters. We were originally here to visit family, but as an aviation enthusiast and avid plane spotter I thought I would give it a try since I’m most of the areas I visit, there isn’t any designated plane spotting area. But when I got there it definitely did not disappoint, it was fun eating lunch and watching the American and Southwest 737s taking off (even saw a engine burnout). I think it’s really nice that they provide this service. The only time where it kind of disappoints is where planes are taking off from the other side of the airport so you can barely see it. :(Ps: If you want to see the larger A330s coming from Europe, be there at around 1:00 PM

Great view of planes taking off. Relaxing. FYI: Be aware there are no restrooms.

A great place for an aviation enthusiast or a regular person to go and check flights take off and landing. Place to pass your time and watch the engineering in action.

Awesome place to watch aircrafts take-off and land. You can sit in your parked vehicle or sit on various park benches. Very neat spot!

Nice place to watch planes take off. Add a porta potty

Great place to take the family or a date for a picnic. Its really beautiful at night with all the lights.

There arent too many places like this still around, and thats unfortunate.

It was peaceful and exciting at the same time

Clean environment, nice view, fun to watch planes take off and land

Awesome place to enjoy airplanes.

We LOVE watching the planes take off! Its so fascinating to see the planes so close and watching the magnificence and majestic airplanes lift off the ground. Its best to check the website for take off times. We have been several times and not seen anything for a good 15 minutes. So, its best to check the website if youre traveling a good distance to witness the flights in action.

Great spot to spend with the little ones, a lot of friendly people. We had a great experience.

Air field overlooks are so relaxing. This one was perfect on a windy day like this.