Point Udall: First Light in the United States

Ten minutes past the villa's gate, the road simply runs out of country. Point Udall is the easternmost point of the United States — the first American ground the sunrise touches — and the East End's daily reminder that you're staying at the edge of the map.

The point itself

A winding drive climbs the last headland to a paved overlook where dry hills fall away to open Atlantic on three sides. The point was named in 1969 for Interior Secretary Stewart Udall (its Pacific twin, Guam's westernmost point, honors his brother Mo — the Udalls bracket America). On the platform stands the Millennium Monument, a stone sundial raised for January 1, 2000, when this spot marked the U.S.'s first sunrise of the millennium and a crowd came up in the dark to meet it.

The sunrise ritual

That crowd never entirely stopped. Sunrise at Point Udall is the East End's standing appointment — villa guests do it with coffee in travel mugs and blankets against the trade wind. The sun comes up over open water, first light in the nation, and you're back at the villa before the pancakes. Our journal entry records one such morning; the experience repeats daily, weather permitting.

Below the point

From the parking area just before the monument, the Nature Conservancy's trail drops into the Jack and Isaac Bay Preserve — 301 acres holding two undeveloped, turtle-nesting, snorkel-blessed beaches reachable only on foot. The East End beaches guide covers them; budget a morning and carry water.

Small print

There are no facilities at the point — it's a view, a sundial and the wind. Go for sunrise or the golden last hour; midday is bare and bright. And look up at night: with nothing east of you but ocean, the point is also the East End's best free observatory.