Blog Post Mar 26, 2024

See a Sky Full of Stars at These Certified Dark-Sky Parks

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Lay out a blanket after the sun goes down and see a clearer view of the galaxy at these designated dark-sky parks.

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A man enjoys the starry sky after dark at Joshua Tree National Park.

  camera icon © Michael Ver Sprill/iStockphoto

National parks are some of the best places in the world to appreciate dark night skies because the National Park Service works to protect these places from the increasingly prevalent effects of light pollution.

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Dark-Sky National Parks

These national parks have been recognized by the International Dark-Sky Association for their dark night skies.

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Dozens of national parks around the country have earned designations as International Dark Sky Parks and Sanctuaries. These distinctions by DarkSky International recognize exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and a nocturnal environment that is specifically protected for its scientific, natural, educational, cultural heritage, and/or public enjoyment.

In late 2023, Saguaro National Park in Arizona earned certification as an Urban Night Sky Place, one of only nine in the world. This certification recognizes sites that are near or surrounded by large urban areas, and whose planning and design actively promote an authentic nighttime experience in the midst of artificial light. The only other National Park Service unit with this distinction is Timpanogos Cave National Monument in northern Utah.

Many of these parks have astronomy programs where people of all ages can learn more about the wonders of the night sky — and all of them have places to lay out a blanket and simply enjoy the darkness.

(Click the images to enlarge them.)

 

Arches National Park, Utah

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The Milky Way as seen from Delicate Arch at Arches National Park in Utah.

  camera icon Jacob W. Frank/National Park Service

 

Big Bend National Park, Texas

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The Milky Way over the Chisos Basin of Big Bend National Park in Texas.

  camera icon © Patrick Barron/Dreamstime

 

Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida

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The night sky at Big Cypress National Park.

  camera icon © Aaron Umpierre

 

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

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The center of the Milky Way, as seen over Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah.

  camera icon © Yggdrasill33/Dreamstime

 

Buffalo National River, Arkansas

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The Milky Way seen from Tyler Bend at Buffalo National River.

  camera icon C. Littlejohn/National Park Service

 

Canyonlands National Park, Utah

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The Milky Way over Mesa Arch, one of the best-known rock formations at Canyonlands National Park in Utah.

  camera icon © Michael Ver Sprill/Dreamstime

 

Cape Lookout National Seashore, North Carolina

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The Milky Way over the Cape Lookout Lighthouse at Cape Lookout National Seashore in North Carolina.

  camera icon Alex Gu/National Park Service

 

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

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The Milky Way over Hickman Bridge at Capitol Reef National Park.

  camera icon National Park Service

 

Capulin Volcano National Monument, New Mexico

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The night sky at a June 2017 star party at Capulin Volcano National Monument.

  camera icon © Tamera Morton

 

Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah

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The Milky Way over Cedar Breaks National Monument.

  camera icon © Phyllis D. Peterson/Dreamstime

 

Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico

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A time-lapse image of stars over Casa Rinconada at Chaco Culture National Historical Park.

  camera icon National Park Service

 

Chiricahua National Monument, Arizona

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The night sky at Chiricahua National Monument in Arizona.

  camera icon National Park Service

 

Craters of The Moon National Monument, Idaho

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The Milky Way seen over a volcanic cone at Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve.

  camera icon © Seth Galewyrick/Dreamstime

 

Curecanti National Recreation Area, Colorado

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The Milky Way over a campground at Curecanti National Recreation Area in Colorado.

  camera icon Troy Hunt/National Park Service

 

Death Valley National Park, California

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A sky full of stars above the sandy landscape of Mesquite Flats at Death Valley National Park in California.

  camera icon © Wirestock/Dreamstime

 

Dinosaur National Monument, Colorado and Utah

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The Quarry Exhibit Hall under a starry sky at Dinosaur National Monument.

  camera icon Jake Holgerson/National Park Service

 

El Morro National Monument, New Mexico

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The Milky Way stretches across the sky above the sandstone bluff of El Morro National Monument in New Mexico.

  camera icon Derek Wallentinsen/National Park Service

 

Flagstaff Area National Monuments, Arizona (Sunset Crater Volcano, Walnut Canyon and Wupatki National Monuments)

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Sunset Crater Volcano, Walnut Canyon and Wupatki (shown here) National Monuments together make up Flagstaff’s internationally recognized dark-sky parks.

  camera icon Elliot Schultz/National Park Service

 

Glacier National Park, Montana

(and Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada; together, these two parks make up Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, the first International Dark-Sky Park spanning an international border)

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A colorful night sky over Glacier National Park.

  camera icon Jacob W. Frank/National Park Service

 

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

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Night falls over the Cape Royal Trail at the North Rim of Grand Canyon.

  camera icon Jeremy M. White/National Park Service

 

Great Basin National Park, Nevada

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The Milky Way over Great Basin National Park in Nevada.

  camera icon © BlueBarronPhoto/iStockphoto

 

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado

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Stars over the dunes at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.

  camera icon Patrick Meyers/National Park Service

 

Hovenweep National Monument, Colorado and Utah

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The Milky Way rises over Ancestral Puebloan masonry structures at Hovenweep National Monument

  camera icon Jacob W. Frank/National Park Service

 

Joshua Tree National Park, California

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A starry night sky over the entrance to Joshua Tree National Park.

  camera icon Lian Law/National Park Service

 

Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, Maine

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Volunteers prepare for a night of stargazing at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.

  camera icon © John Meader/Friends of Katahdin Woods and Waters

 

Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Site, Texas

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The stars over Lyndon B. Johnson’s ranch at the national historic site in his name in the Hill Country of Texas.

  camera icon Nicola Gell/National Park Service

 

Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky

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The night sky over Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky.

  camera icon National Park Service

 

Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado

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The Milky Way over Point Lookout at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.

  camera icon Jacob W. Frank/National Park Service

 

Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah

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Stars over Owachomo Bridge at National Bridges National Monument.

  camera icon Jacob W. Frank/National Park Service

 

Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona

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Stars over Hoodoo Ridge at Petrified Forest National Park.

  camera icon Jacob Holgerson/National Park Service

 

Pipe Spring National Monument, Arizona

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The Milky Way over Winsor Castle at Pipe Spring National Monument in Arizona.

  camera icon National Park Service

 

Rainbow Bridge National Monument, Utah

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Rainbow Bridge at night.

  camera icon Brent & Dawn Davis/National Park Service

 

Saguaro National Park, Arizona

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The Milky Way is visible over the namesake cacti in Saguaro National Park, which earned Urban Night Sky Place certification in 2023.  

  camera icon NPS

 

Timpanogos Cave National Monument, Utah

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The night sky at Timpanogos Cave National Monument, which received a designation as an Urban Dark Sky Place in September 2020.

  camera icon © Pat King

 

Tonto National Monument, Arizona

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The night sky over the Lower Cliff Dwelling at Tonto National Monument.

  camera icon National Park Service

 

Tumacácori National Historical Park, Arizona

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The Tumacácori mission by starlight at Tumacácori National Historical Park in Arizona.

  camera icon Anu Condon/National Park Service

 

Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota

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The northern lights over Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota.

  camera icon © Patrick Barron/Dreamstime

 

Zion National Park, Utah

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The stars over the Temples and Towers of the Virgin, some of the distinctive rock formations at Zion National Park.

  camera icon Avery Sloss/National Park Service

 

Additional U.S. dark-sky parks, not pictured

Learn more about how you can fight light pollution and support dark skies on the International Dark-Sky Association website.

This is an updated version of a previously published story.

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