Stargazing Destinations

Stargazing is the act of observing the stars at night and is not something most people can do in their day-to-day lives. This is because to stargaze, you need no light pollution for miles, which for those living in cities and towns, is practically impossible. Luckily, many places in the United States are dedicated Dark Sky areas. This means that they have no light pollution and you can see millions of stars, provided there are no clouds. Most of these areas are National Parks, which provide accessibility as they are often very affordable to visit. The National Parks also host Night Sky Events which include guided stargazing, where you can get more information on what you are seeing.

While there are many areas you can visit to stargaze, these five are our favorite:

Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve

The Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve is almost a 1,500-square-foot dark-sky preserve. It is the first gold-tier dark sky preserve in the United States, meaning it is the darkest of skies. Local communities and governments take great measures to prevent street lights from polluting the reserve. Here you can see the Milky Way, Andromeda Galaxy, planets, and satellites.

Big Bend National Park, Texas

Bordering Mexico, Big Bend National Park covers over 1,200 square miles of west Texas. It is one of the most outstanding places to stargaze in the United States due to having less light pollution than any other National Park in the continental states. From star parties to moon walks and other programs, there are tons of events held at this national park.

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Holding the title of the first national park in the United States, Yellowstone is one of the most visited parks. However, many people miss out on the opportunity to stargaze, as they view it as a daytime park where you see geothermal features. Yellowstone has wide-open areas that rarely get vehicle traffic at night, which along with their efforts to reduce light pollution, leads to very dark skies at night and the ability to The Milky Way without a telescope or binoculars.

Great Basin National Park, Nevada

The Great Basin National Park is 77,000 acres and hosts many Dark Sky events during the summer. It is a great place to visit and stargaze due to low humidity, little light pollution, and a high elevation. This means that you can see thousands of stars, meteors, the Andromeda Galaxy, and the Milky Way. An interesting event held here is The Star Train, which is a train ride where park rangers will talk about astronomy while you travel deep into the wilderness to get far away from light pollution. This train does not go into the par, but instead beside it.

Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska

Denali National Park is one the best places to see the Aurora Borealis. It encompasses over six million acres and outside of several weeks where the sun is up for an extremely long time, the skies get extremely dark. In the fall, winter, and early spring, there are long hours of darkness and little light pollution, which means you can see a ton of stars throughout the day and night.

Items you may want to include in your suitcase when visiting a Dark Sky area include binoculars to see things up close, a star chart or app so you know what stars or planets you are looking at, a red flashlight as it doesn’t cause your eyes to take as long to adjust from as white light, warm clothes, and friends or family. Be sure to visit during a new moon, so the sky is as dark as possible.

---

Tropical Sunset Travel, LLC is an expert travel agency based in Charleston, South Carolina. We book travel for couples, families, and groups to travel to destinations around the world. No matter what type of vacation you are dreaming of, our travel services can assist you. We also feature top vacation package options to help inspire you!  The Tropical Sunset Travel Blog is a great place to learn about top destinations and vacation options. Please visit our website for agency information and more. Please follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more travel information and deals!