If you look up at the open sky in the dark of night after the sun sets, you must have fixed your gaze to see with your naked eye innumerable stars, or even a planet or two, in the Milky Way. Lay down a blanket in the dark-sky parks designated for viewing the night sky with billions of stars in the Milky Way and the planets shining above and take in the awe-inspiring view of the universe. National parks are considered some of the best places in the world to appreciate the dark night skies. National parks vote to save light pollution and skyglow from the spread of LED lighting in North America over the past decade.
In fact, to capture the beauty of our solar system in the eyes, people have the best reason to plan their holiday in the darkest places to enjoy stargazing in America, so that you have the best chance to see the stars.
The International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) is an Arizona-based nonprofit to protect, conserve and quality their dark night skies with destinations around the world. Which provides various levels of lighting, to national parks, state parks and national monuments, in the form of night sky friendly lighting, mainly for the size and quality of darkness experienced by the people. All these national parks are IDA certified international dark sky parks and have minimal light pollution and meteor showers or stars are out in all their glory.
1 of 8 - Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, Maine
Main is quite busy, the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in Maine is a national monument, spread over 35,435 hectares of mountains and forest land. Spread over a wild landscape offering spectacular views of the park that has attracted humans for centuries, its rivers, streams, forests, flora, fauna, geology and night sky invites you to discover the stars - like a haven to discover the daytime. The park is also dedicated to offers people with a scenic drive opportunities for adventurous activities like hiking, mountain biking, canoeing and kayaking. After the sun is down, when night falls, you do spectacular stargazing just like an indigenous man did 11,000 years ago.
2 of 8 - The Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
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| The Grand Canyon, Arizona's 16 designated parks is the most recognizable place © Piqsels |
The Grand Canyon hosts a bucket-list-worthy adventure hiking for stargazing with incredible vistas and stunning trails. Of the Arizona's 16 designated parks, it is the most recognizable and most beautiful place or extraordinary place to capture the views of the night sky in the eyes. Here, almost every night of the year, it is from the clear sky which is considered to be the centre of efforts to establish a dark sky-friendly lighting. Arizona has a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River, home to a variety of trails that visitors may consider enjoying during the day. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long and 18 miles wide, with the darkest sky. The Grand Canyon Park, certified in 2019, usually has a variety of star parties events. Make sure to drive to remote Desert View or Lipan Point to set-up the telescopes.
3 of 8 - Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, Florida
About 25 miles north of Okeechobee, a breathtaking expanse of native palm trees and infinite grassland, one of Florida's largest state parks and the first Dark Sky Park to see the twinkling stars in the dark sky at night. The land, dominated by a vast blue sky of 54,000 acres, located about 63 miles west of Vero Beach where you will have the privilege of seeing a glimpse of stars, planets and more after sunsets. But the entrance to Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park closes only 15 minutes after sunset, in which allowed only those people who are registered campers or pass holders after dark. However, it is also the habitat of many rare, endangered and threatened species, where you will be able to see grasshopper sparrow, crested caracara or burrowing owl.
4 of 8 - Big Bend National Park, Texas
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| Lay down your blanket in park under the 1,112,000 acres of dark skies and enjoy it. © David Morris / Unsplash |
Big Bend National Park, famous for its incredible vistas and stunning adventure hiking trails, is a national park was named after a large bend in the Rio Grande/Río Bravo, located in western Texas, bordering the US-Mexico border. It is an ideal place to witness the beauty of the massive stars twinkling in the dark night sky. And Big Bend is a beautiful place where you will be able to experience a lot of peace as it passes through desert valleys and being far away from major urban areas, there will not be much light pollution disrupting night time scenes so that you can capture the night sky scenes in the eyes in the best way. Capture the scenes well in the eyes. Lay down your blanket in the park anywhere under the 1,112,000 acres of dark skies and enjoy it.
5 of 8 - Cosmic Campground, New Mexico
The dark sky site, spread over 1.42 hectares in the Gila National Forest in western New Mexico, USA, was north America's first dark sky sanctuary, one of the world's only 14 certified International Dark Sky Sanctuary. In fact, it claims a special place to see the extraordinary night sky, because here is so dark that there are no nearest significant sources of artificia light for 40 miles. A star party is held every spring season. International Dark Sky Sanctuaries are lands where extraordinary or distinctive quality of twinkling starry nights appears and is managed by the United States Forest Service. Cosmic Campground International Dark Sky Sanctuary has a very great infrastructure and observation pad to support campers and telescopes. You can see a 360-degree view of the night sky without being disrupted.
6 of 8 - Death Valley National Park, California and Nevada
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| NPS recommends visiting during the new moon to see the darkest and most beautiful skies. © Wilson Ye / Unsplash |
Death Valley National Park, straddles the California-Nevada border east of the Sierra Nevada, is considered America's hottest and driest national park. Located 268 miles east of Sequoia National Park, this national park is a popular destination for stargazing. However, many visitors also come to Death Valley to enjoy hiking its numerous trails. The national park is famous among the people for the darkest skies in the country, here you don't forget to go on a scenic drive during the day before watching the stars at night and explore the extreme landscape of Death Valley. You'll have the chance to see a robust program of ranger-led astronomy activities that come in the spring and winter seasons. But the National Park Service recommends visiting during the new moon to see the darkest and most beautiful skies.
7 of 8 - Headlands International Dark Sky Park, Michigan
Most of this 550-acre county park near the city of Mackinaw City in the state of Michigan is an expanse of woodlands and many species of rare and endangered plant life. However, Headlands International Dark Sky Park's two miles of undeveloped beaches are ideal spots for star-gazing and if you're really lucky, you'll be sure to have amazing views of the aurora borealis on several nights of the year. Dark Sky Park recommends visiting in the summer to see the Milky Way and meteor showers, while visit between September and April to capture the awe-inspiring northern lights. Apart from this, the park is also known to spot some other fauna – including black bears, white-tailed deer, coyotes, bald eagles, osprey, and wild turkeys.
8 of 8 - Cherry Springs State Park, Pennsylvania
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| It is an astronomy observation zone for 360-degree views from the top of this 2,300-foot-high mountain. © Piqsels |
If you're really interested in stargazing, Cherry Springs State Park in Coudersport, Pennsylvania, on the Eastern Seaboard is one of the best places to see the night skies. Spread over just 1.7 square miles, Cherry Springs State Park is one of the best-loved dark sky parks in the US, as the latitude/longitude coordinates host the best views of the Milky Way galaxy's nucleus. It is an astronomy observation zone for 360-degree views from the top of this 2,300-foot-high mountain. However, many events are hosted here on weekend nights, if you're very lucky skywatchers, you may get a chance to see elusive northern lights during the winter months. Privately organized Stargazing tours and astrophotography workshops are also available here.
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