11 Amazing Stargazing Sites in The US

When was the last time you stargazed? Living in the city makes experiencing the full brilliance of a starry night impossible. Even on the clearest nights, artificial light and pollution from our cities obscure the natural darkness, making nighttime skies look a lot less majestic than they should. However, across the country, there is still a lot of wilderness that has a natural lightscape.

There’s nothing like camping under the night sky and relishing in all of the bright stars and constellations. Specialists have made specific efforts to protect the atmosphere for years to come. So, grab a telescope (or a pair of binoculars) and plan a trip to some of these parks with the dark skies for a stellar night. In these 11 destinations, you’re sure to be awestruck as you gaze up at the jaw-droppingly beautiful skies above.

Mauna Kea, Hawaii

60 times larger than the Hubble telescope and above a 14,000ft volcano, you’ll find the Mauna Kea observatory. This is a perfect location to view the stars due to its dry atmosphere and cloud-free skies. It gets minimal light pollution, especially since it’s smack in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It can be the perfect ending to your Big Island vacation.

This place provides visitors with a guided educational opportunity to learn more about the observatories on the volcano. At the same time, they can help amateur stargazers find the best views of the skies above. The trip up the mountain can be a bit challenging, so the Mauna Kea visitor center recommends visitors take a break halfway up to acclimate themselves to the altitude change before proceeding further.

Big Bend National Park, Texas

Big Bend National Park insists its skies are “dark as coal.” It’s in a remote area in southwest Texas along the Mexico border. It also happens to be in a secluded location and has very low humidity and infrequent cloud cover. If there was any doubt, the park went through a severe reduction in energy consumption and lighting in 2011 to obtain its gold certification as an International Dark Sky Park.

On a clear night, you can expect to see 2,000 stars, planets, and meteorites. Pro Tip: Winter is the best time for stargazing at Big Bend National Park. Not only are the nights longer than the days, but the skies are the clearest. Winter winds from the north bring in much less debris from Mexico and other parts of the U.S. than the summer winds can.

Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah

Natural Bridges has a program that will teach you everything you need to know about astronomy. Following these educational sessions, they provide you with telescopes to get a closer look at the beautiful spectacle of stars in this Gold International Dark Sky Park. About fifty miles west of the “Four Corners,” the Natural Bridges Monument is an excellent place for viewers day AND night. As evening approaches, the clear skies become dark and filled with thousands of bright and shining stars.

It’s an excellent place to lay back and watch the Milky Way rise over the Owachomo Bridge. The site also has a 13-site campground that’s open year-round for RVs, tents, and cars. The spaces are all first-come, first-serve, accommodating up to eight people and one vehicle each. The sites include a fire grill, picnic table, and tent pad but no running water, electricity, or hookups. Also, be sure to bring your own food and snacks because the nearest restaurant isn’t for another forty miles.

Big Pine Key, Florida

Due to its distance from the chaotic city, this island has very bright, clear skies and no pollution. It’s also the only place in the US where you can see stars usually only seen by those closer to the equator, including the Southern Cross constellation. Since Florida nights are hot, you’ll be comfortably stargazing in tank tops and shorts.

Located around 100 miles from Miami, Big Pine Key is a magnificent island in Florida’s lower Keys. Overnight visitors are encouraged to wander up the Old Bahia Honda Bridge, walk the shorelines or enjoy the scene in the sky from their boat, RV or tent.

Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico

With over 4,000 prehistoric archeological sites, Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a perfect spot to look at a night sky as pure and dark as when our ancestors did. A naturaly dark area thanks to its sheltered location in the San Juan Basin in northwestern New Mexico, Chaco reconfirmed its dedication to the night sky in 2013 with an International Dark Sky Park Gold Certification.

The Chaco Night Sky Initiative offers astronomy programs, solar viewing, and stargazing by telescope from April to October. Pro Tip: The remote park can only be accessed through dirt roads. Use the directions on the park’s website because the local roads recommended by some apps can be unsafe for regular passenger cars.

Death Valley National Park, California

There is no better viewpoint than Death Valley National Park for those wishing to see meteor showers or lunar eclipses. This place produces very little artificial light within its three and a half million acres, 91 percent of which is wilderness with no development.

But what truly makes this Gold-Certified International Dark Sky Park so unique is the mixture of a dry climate, clean air, and an expansive horizon that seems to start at your feet.

We suggest you steer clear of Death Valley in the summer, though. Temperatures can soar well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Instead, plan your visit from November to April, when temperatures are in the 70s, and park rangers lead night sky programs.

Cherry Springs State Park, Pennsylvania

As one of the darkest spots near the Mississippi, this State Park became a Gold-Certified International Dark Sky Park in 2008. Despite its closeness to residential areas, the 82-acre park is set on top of a hill and surrounded by 262,000-acres of the Susquehannock State Forest and gives you a 360 view of the sky free from light pollution.

In the summer, Cherry Springs serves up an extensive schedule of sky tours on Friday and Saturday nights. The State Park’s Night Sky Viewing area is always open, located north of Route 44, opposite the gated Astronomy Observation Field. You can find public parking and information kiosks here and just follow the walkway to get to the viewing field, which is shielded from passing vehicle lights.

The Headlands Park, Michigan

Nestled along Lake Michigan, Headlands is known for having a very dark sky at night. On certain evenings, you can even see the Northern Lights from here. They also have a program with plenty of events throughout the year, like Star Light Trivia on Friday nights. The Dark Sky Discovery Trail takes guests from the Headlands entrance to the designated Dark Sky Viewing Area along a one-mile paved path.

The area is free from most city light pollution, and the Headlands are located on the banks of the Straits of Mackinac, at the peak of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. As a 550-acre park, they became a Silver-Certified International Dark Sky Park in 2011. While the stargazing doesn’t quite compete with the remote sites in the Western US, the Headlands strive to make up for it with staff enthusiasm, and thorough programming offered free of charge.

Kitt Peak National Observatory, Arizona

The Kitt Peak National Observatory can be found on the Kitt Peak in the Quinlan Mountains of the Arizona Desert at a 2,096m height. It’s about 55 miles west-southwest of Tuscon, Arizona. The observatory is home to the most extensive collection of astronomical instruments globally and is managed by the National Optical Astronomy Observatory.

Founded in 1958, Kitt Peak National Observatory has three major night-time telescopes. It also caters to consortia, which operates 22 optical telescopes and two radio telescopes. The observatory guides will help you use the star charts to locate the constellations and enjoy a binocular tour of the night sky.

Black Canyon, Gunnison National Park, Colorado

It’s no surprise that some of Colorado’s best dark sky locations are at the national parks. While Black Canyon doesn’t have the same high ranking as some of Colorado’s other national parks, it is one of the state’s most incredible stargazing spots. It’s in the high desert of western Colorado with wide-open skies that turn pitch-dark by night.

They also have programs with astronomers by the South Rim entrance, east of Montrose, every evening throughout September. The canyon was certified as a Dark Sky Park by the International Dark-Sky Association in 2015. Since then, it has continued to improve astronomy programs for the public. This includes weekly programs during the summer months and an astronomy festival in autumn.

Denali National Park, Alaska

A stargazing guide wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the northern lights, aka the aurora borealis. This jaw-dropping marvel of greens, reds, blues, and purples dancing across the night sky occurs due to a massive burst of solar wind and magnetic fields interacting with elements in the earth’s atmosphere. The northern lights center on magnetic poles, making Alaska the best place in the US to catch them.

What better place than Denali National Park to see this? It’s six million acres of raw, wild landscape with just one road. But be aware, there is too much natural sunlight in the summer to see the stars in Alaska. Plan your visit around fall, winter, or early spring, when long hours of darkness make for ideal night sky viewing. Also, the northern lights are hard to predict, so consult the forecast from the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.