Dark Sky Parks
Protected zones with the darkest skies on earth.
96 listings
Acadia National Park
AMC Maine Woods International Dark Sky Park
Antelope International Dark Sky Community
Tiny ranching community with Bortle 1 skies.
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
California's largest state park. Silver Tier desert darkness.
Arches National Park
Gold Tier certified: sandstone arches make iconic Milky Way foregrounds.
Beaver Island State Wildlife Research Area
Big Bend National Park
The darkest national park in the lower 48 and the first certified dark sky park in Texas.
Big Bend Ranch State Park
Texas's largest state park and one of the darkest certified sites in the country.
Big Cypress National Preserve
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
A natural amphitheater for the night sky with regular ranger-led astronomy programs.
Black Gap Wildlife Management Area
A 103,000-acre Dark Sky Sanctuary on the southern border of Big Bend.
Blue Ridge Parkway
Borrego Springs
California's first International Dark Sky Community.
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
Browns Canyon National Monument
Remote Arkansas River canyon pairing dark skies with world-class whitewater.
Bruneau Dunes State Park
Tallest single dune in North America, with a public observatory.
Bryce Canyon National Park
Gold Tier certified at 8,000+ ft, with hoodoos framing the Milky Way.
Canyonlands National Park
Gold Tier certified: the highest dark sky designation, in remote southeastern Utah.
Cape Lookout National Seashore
Capitol Reef National Park
Gold Tier certified, in the geographic center of Utah, far from any city.
Caprock Canyons State Park
The newest International Dark Sky Park in Texas, certified January 2026.
Capulin Volcano National Monument
Gold Tier cinder cone with 360-degree rim views over the high plains.
Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve
First U.S. dark sky reserve in the Sawtooth high country.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Gold Tier dark sky park and UNESCO site with archaeoastronomical great houses.
Cherry Springs State Park
Chimney Rock National Monument
Ancestral Puebloan archaeoastronomy site with dramatic twin rock spires.
Chiricahua National Monument
Isolated sky island with rock pinnacle foregrounds in southeastern Arizona.
City of Rocks National Reserve
Granite spires and dark skies on the old California Trail.
Clayton Lake State Park
Bortle 1 high plains park with a dedicated dark sky observing area.
Copper Breaks State Park
Gold Tier dark sky park in the rolling red plains of northwest Texas.
Cottonwood Canyon State Park
Remote canyon on the John Day River.
Crater Lake National Park
The deepest lake in the U.S. under dark skies.
Craters of the Moon National Monument
Otherworldly lava fields under certified dark skies.
Curecanti National Recreation Area
High-altitude reservoir country with minimal light interference.
Dead Horse Point State Park
Utah's first state park dark sky site, 2,000 ft above the Colorado River.
Death Valley National Park
Vast, dry, and impossibly dark. Bortle 1 Gold Tier.
Devils River State Natural Area
The first International Dark Sky Sanctuary in Texas.
Dinosaur National Monument
Bortle 1 canyon country on the Colorado-Utah border with zodiacal light visible.
Dr. T.K. Lawless County Park
El Morro National Monument
Massive sandstone bluff and centuries of inscriptions silhouetted against dark skies.
Enchanted Rock State Natural Area
Massive pink granite dome and one of the most visited dark sky parks in Texas.
Everglades National Park
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
High-altitude dark skies just two hours from Denver at 8,400 feet.
Fort Union National Monument
19th-century fort ruins on the open Santa Fe Trail plains under dark skies.
Fredericksburg
Hill Country wine capital and certified International Dark Sky Community.
Glacier National Park
US half of a transboundary dark sky reserve.
Goblin Valley State Park
Otherworldly mushroom-shaped formations under one of Utah's darkest skies.
Goosenecks State Park
Tiny rim-side park above dramatic San Juan River meanders. Radically remote.
Grand Canyon National Park
Gold Tier dark sky park where the canyon drops away into darkness below you.
Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument
One of the country's most remote Dark Sky Sanctuaries on the Arizona Strip.
Grand Teton National Park
Iconic peaks in the world's first dark sky county.
Great Basin National Park
Gold Tier dark skies, bristlecone pines, marble caves.
Great Sand Dunes National Park
Gold-tier dark sky park where the Milky Way arches over North America's tallest dunes.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area
Remote BLM canyon country with uncrowded, dark conditions after sunset.
Headlands International Dark Sky Park
Hovenweep National Monument
Gold Tier certified: Ancestral Puebloan ruins under near-pristine darkness.
Jackson Hole Airport
The world's first certified dark sky airport.
Jackson Lake State Park
Eastern plains dark sky park with 360-degree horizon views close to Denver.
James River State Park
Joshua Tree National Park
Silver Tier dark sky park with iconic Joshua tree silhouettes.
Julian
Mountain dark sky community within reach of San Diego.
Kartchner Caverns State Park
Living caves below, certified dark skies above in southern Arizona.
Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument
Keweenaw Dark Sky Park
Kissimmee Prairie Preserve Astronomy Pad
Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park
Lost Trail National Wildlife Refuge
Dark skies in the Tobacco Valley.
Massacre Rim Wilderness Study Area
Bortle 1 sanctuary in remote northwestern Nevada.
Mayland Earth to Sky Park
Medicine Rocks State Park
Sandstone pillars on the high plains.
Mesa Verde National Park
Cliff dwellings by day, certified dark skies by night in southwestern Colorado.
Natural Bridge State Park
Natural Bridges National Monument
The world's first International Dark Sky Park, certified in 2007.
Oracle State Park
High-foothill dark sky park north of Tucson with crisp, clear winter nights.
Oregon Caves National Monument
Marble caves below, dark skies above.
Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary
Largest dark sky sanctuary in the world.
Petrified Forest National Park
Bortle 1 high desert with unobstructed horizon views over the Painted Desert.
Pipe Spring National Monument
Sparsely populated Arizona Strip with reliable transparency and flat horizons.
Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute
Prineville Reservoir State Park
Certified dark skies an hour from Bend.
Rappahannock County Park
Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument
Pueblo ruins and 17th-century mission churches under certified dark skies.
Sawtooth National Recreation Area
Jagged granite peaks and alpine lakes at the heart of the reserve.
Sinks Canyon State Park
Wind River foothills with a disappearing river.
Sky Meadows State Park
South Llano River State Park
A quiet Hill Country river park with darker skies than the popular options.
Staunton River State Park
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
Black cinder volcanic landscape that absorbs ground-level light near Flagstaff.
Valles Caldera National Preserve
11-mile-wide volcanic crater at 8,500 feet with elk herds and Milky Way ponds.
Voyageurs National Park
Walnut Canyon National Monument
Cliff dwellings just outside the world's first International Dark Sky City.
White Sands National Park
275 square miles of white gypsum dunes that reflect starlight like nowhere else.
Wimberley Valley
DarkSky International's Dark Sky Place of the Year for 2023.
Wupatki National Monument
Ancient Puebloan ruins under flat-horizon dark skies near the San Francisco Peaks.
Zion National Park
Certified in 2021. Canyon walls block ambient light beautifully on moonless nights.