Dark Sky Camping

[AlwaysDreaming]

22' Class C, Home Port: Florida
I am looking for a campsite in a Dark Sky region in the U.S. We want to see the constellations in a dark sky. I assume we will have to dry camp for a couple of nights which is no problem, maybe a BLM site. We will need to get the 22' Class C to the site, but it is pretty nimble.
Any recommendations?

[AlwaysDreaming]

Tin-bender wrote:
Don't know how far you want to travel but this is one of the best. Stayed there many times because it is only 1/2 hour to the jump off points to the wilderness area and world class trout fishing. Stars so bright you can't sleep and only 4 miles off state highway on paved road.
Tinbender

Thanks, exactly which state and park are you talking about

[ppine]

Anyone that thinks that "there is little dark sky left" needs to get out more. Maybe you need a trip to the West. Maybe you need to try some boondocking. I have heard of people getting a charge out of their solar systems at night with just full moon light.

[Tin-bender]

Don't know how far you want to travel but this is one of the best. Stayed there many times because it is only 1/2 hour to the jump off points to the wilderness area and world class trout fishing. Stars so bright you can't sleep and only 4 miles off state highway on paved road.
Tinbender

[campigloo]

There are many places in the American southwest. From Big Bend in Texas to the San Bernardino mts in California. Look for high elevations in dry, very low humidity areas that are away from cities towns and highways. Sometimes the search is half the fun.

[loggenrock]

You need to drive... Chaco Canyon, NM; Capital Reef, UT; Mesquite in Death Valley; Great Basin, NV. Can vouch for all of them!

[garyemunson]

https://www.tripsavvy.com/finding-astronomy-sites-in-nevada-1652521

[Son_of_Norway]

Google it and take a look at a "light pollution" map. There are two good ones that I have seen. They really give you an understanding of how little dark sky is left. Search out possible locations in the darkest areas. Colorado has two good areas on the eastern plains, both in the national grasslands. I have scoped out a boondocking site in the Comanche NG that we are going to try this spring.

[Merrykalia]

The astronomy department of East TN State Univ does a couple of programs each year at Natural Tunnel SP in Virginia. They have a designated area with a large gazebo. We go up to watch meteors during the Perseids each August.


Dark Sky Parks

[JKJavelin]

Rusty's Rv Ranch in Rodeo, NM is a dark sky resort with full hookups and takes Passport America. Many stargazers there.
JK

[TexasShadow]

Ft. Davis, TX area is a dark sky location. McDonald Observatory is a few miles from town and they put on a good "star show".

[Yosemite_Sam1]

Where are you?

The darkest part of the US is the Massacre Rim in the Nevada-CA-Oregon border.

Never been there but the write up says, it is so dark that the dense starlight can cast a shadow.

[ppine]

Just get away from where people live, find some elevation and a dry climate. That includes about half the West. Dark sky sites are everywhere. My back yard is really good in Nevada at 5,000 feet.

[Pangaea_Ron]

We camped at The Goosenecks SP in southern Utah and had magnificent dark sky camping.

The people in the RV next to us complained that there were clouds obscuring the stars. I smiled and went into my MH and got binoculars for them to better see the "clouds", which actually was the Milky Way. They were stunned, and had never seen it before.

[wanderingaimles]

Virginia has a couple of spots from the list.
Staunton River State Park Host a couple of Dark Sky events monthly. A local astronomy club from Wake Forest University host a couple of events a year here.
State park website.

The large field between the park office and the pool are frequently used for gatherings and the park shuts down the two streetlights a couple hundred yards away for viewing sessions. Otherwise, no towns for about 15 miles.


As well as James River State park.

[BB_TX]

An estimated 80 percent of Americans have never seen the Milky Way.

Which is a shame. Used to be able to see it from our house in north texas. No longer. Growth has over powered it. Can still see it on really clear nights in the Texas Hill Country, but not nearly as well as 15-20 years ago.