Best Stargazing Spots in America

Cherry Springs State Park, PA

A former fire tower lookout in the Pennsylvania Wilds became the accidental darkest spot in the eastern US, and now amateur astronomers drive from Boston and DC just to lie on its two open fields. It was one of the first parks to earn Gold-tier Dark Sky status, and on a clear moo

Bortle Class (approx., 1=darkest): 2Dark Sky Designation: Gold-tier Dark Sky Park (2008)Elevation: 2,300 ftStargazing Quality: 9.5/10

added by IJR

Death Valley National Park, CA

The hottest, lowest, driest place in America turns out to also have some of its blackest skies, a paradox that makes its Gold-tier certification feel earned rather than given. Badwater Basin at night, 282 feet below sea level with the Milky Way arcing overhead, is one of the sign

Bortle Class (approx., 1=darkest): 2Dark Sky Designation: Gold-tier Dark Sky Park (2013)Elevation: -190 ftStargazing Quality: 9.5/10

added by IJR

Big Bend National Park, TX

Big Bend has measured some of the darkest skies ever recorded in the continental United States, thanks to its remote position along the Mexican border with almost no light pollution for a hundred miles in any direction. The Chisos Basin overlook at 2am is where astrophotographers

Bortle Class (approx., 1=darkest): 1Dark Sky Designation: Gold-tier Dark Sky Park (2012)Elevation: 3,000 ftStargazing Quality: 9.5/10

added by IJR

Natural Bridges National Monument, UT

This tiny Utah monument made history in 2007 as the very first International Dark Sky Park ever designated, launching the whole certification movement that now spans the globe. Photographers still chase the shot of the Milky Way framed inside Owachomo Bridge's stone arch, arguabl

Bortle Class (approx., 1=darkest): 2Dark Sky Designation: First-ever Dark Sky Park (2007)Elevation: 6,500 ftStargazing Quality: 9/10

added by IJR

Great Basin National Park, NV

Stuck in the middle of Nevada with barely any nearby population, Great Basin hosts an annual Astronomy Festival that draws thousands to its bristlecone pine slopes for a weekend of telescopes and ranger talks. Its isolation is almost accidental — nobody built infrastructure out h

Bortle Class (approx., 1=darkest): 2Dark Sky Designation: Gold-tier Dark Sky Park (2016)Elevation: 6,825 ftStargazing Quality: 9/10

added by IJR

Mauna Kea, HI

At nearly 14,000 feet above a third of the atmosphere, Mauna Kea's summit hosts the densest cluster of world-class research telescopes on Earth, from Keck to Subaru, chosen precisely because the seeing conditions here are unmatched anywhere in the country. Tourists gather at the

Bortle Class (approx., 1=darkest): 1Dark Sky Designation: Not formally certified (observatory site)Elevation: 13,800 ftStargazing Quality: 9.5/10

added by IJR

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

Every June the South Rim hosts a week-long Star Party where rangers line up dozens of telescopes along the canyon edge, turning one of the world's most famous daytime views into an equally famous nighttime one. Its 2019 Dark Sky Park certification was a genuine surprise to visito

Bortle Class (approx., 1=darkest): 2Dark Sky Designation: Gold-tier Dark Sky Park (2019)Elevation: 7,000 ftStargazing Quality: 8.5/10

added by IJR

Chaco Culture National Historical Park, NM

The Ancestral Puebloans who built Chaco's great houses a thousand years ago aligned structures like Casa Rincon with solstice sunlight, and archaeoastronomers still study the site's astronomical precision today. Rangers now run night-sky programs that connect that ancient sky-wat

Bortle Class (approx., 1=darkest): 2Dark Sky Designation: Gold-tier Dark Sky Park (2013)Elevation: 6,200 ftStargazing Quality: 8.5/10

added by IJR

Bryce Canyon National Park, UT

Bryce's hoodoo-filled amphitheater already looks otherworldly by day, and its full-moon hikes plus summer Astronomy Festival turn it into a genuine nighttime destination too. Rangers claim you can see 7,500 stars here with the naked eye versus roughly 2,500 from a typical rural s

Bortle Class (approx., 1=darkest): 2Dark Sky Designation: Gold-tier Dark Sky Park (2019)Elevation: 8,000 ftStargazing Quality: 8.5/10

added by IJR

Denali National Park, AK

Denali offers something almost none of the desert parks can: aurora borealis dancing alongside the stars during the dark winter months, when the park's six million acres of wilderness go essentially light-free. It has never pursued formal Dark Sky certification, but with Alaska's

Bortle Class (approx., 1=darkest): 1Dark Sky Designation: Not formally certified (aurora destination)Elevation: 2,000 ftStargazing Quality: 9/10

added by IJR

Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO

Climbing North America's tallest dunes at dusk and watching the Milky Way rise over their rippled silhouettes is the signature Colorado stargazing experience, and the park's 2019 certification confirmed what visitors already knew. The high, dry San Luis Valley air adds extra clar

Bortle Class (approx., 1=darkest): 2Dark Sky Designation: Gold-tier Dark Sky Park (2019)Elevation: 8,200 ftStargazing Quality: 8.5/10

added by IJR

Capitol Reef National Park, UT

Overshadowed by its flashier Utah neighbors like Zion and Bryce, Capitol Reef quietly earned Dark Sky certification in 2015 and offers arguably less crowded, equally dark viewing along its Waterpocket Fold. The park's low visitor numbers relative to its size mean you can often fi

Bortle Class (approx., 1=darkest): 2Dark Sky Designation: Gold-tier Dark Sky Park (2015)Elevation: 5,500 ftStargazing Quality: 8.5/10

added by IJR

Black Canyon of the Gunnison, CO

The sheer 2,000-foot cliffs of this Colorado canyon frame a sky so dark that rangers run dedicated star parties on the South Rim, pairing the vertigo-inducing gorge with equally dramatic night viewing. Its 2015 certification recognized skies that were already drawing dedicated as

Bortle Class (approx., 1=darkest): 2Dark Sky Designation: Gold-tier Dark Sky Park (2015)Elevation: 8,000 ftStargazing Quality: 8/10

added by IJR

Joshua Tree National Park, CA

Close enough to Los Angeles for a weekend trip yet dark enough to still show the Milky Way, Joshua Tree became the desert escape hatch for millions of Southern Californians who'd never otherwise see real stars. The park has never sought formal Dark Sky certification and encroachi

Bortle Class (approx., 1=darkest): 4Dark Sky Designation: Not formally certifiedElevation: 3,000 ftStargazing Quality: 7.5/10

added by IJR

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, CA

Borrego Springs became the first Dark Sky Community in California, meaning the entire town adopted lighting ordinances to protect the park's namesake desert skies. Its metal sculpture trail of prehistoric creatures scattered across the sand makes for surreal night-sky photography

Bortle Class (approx., 1=darkest): 3Dark Sky Designation: Dark Sky Community (2018)Elevation: 600 ftStargazing Quality: 8/10

added by IJR

Voyageurs National Park, MN

A watery maze of lakes and boreal forest along the Canadian border, Voyageurs earned Dark Sky Park status in 2020 and offers the rare chance to watch aurora borealis reflected across still northern lake water. Its remote, boat-access-only interior keeps light pollution essentiall

Bortle Class (approx., 1=darkest): 2Dark Sky Designation: Dark Sky Park (2020)Elevation: 1,100 ftStargazing Quality: 8/10

added by IJR

Headlands International Dark Sky Park, MI

Jutting into Lake Michigan near Mackinaw City, the Headlands became the Midwest's first International Dark Sky Park in 2011 and now runs one of the most active dark-sky programming calendars in the country, with weekly astronomy talks all summer. Its lakeside horizon gives an unu

Bortle Class (approx., 1=darkest): 2Dark Sky Designation: Dark Sky Park (2011)Elevation: 600 ftStargazing Quality: 8/10

added by IJR

Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, TX

A massive pink granite dome rising out of the Texas Hill Country, Enchanted Rock earned Dark Sky Sanctuary recognition and draws Austin and San Antonio residents for its combination of a dramatic summit hike and genuinely dark night skies. Climbing the dome at dusk to watch stars

Bortle Class (approx., 1=darkest): 3Dark Sky Designation: Dark Sky SanctuaryElevation: 1,825 ftStargazing Quality: 7.5/10

added by IJR