Colorado dark-sky map — light pollution by town
Colorado has 61 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — Pueblo West (Bortle 4) — to its brightest city cores. 1 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (Bortle 4 or better). Sort the table by darkness to find the best stargazing near you, then open any town for its exact rating, what you can see, the nearest darker skies to drive to, and tonight's live Moon, cloud, and aurora conditions. Ratings are a VIIRS satellite proxy for planning, not survey-grade sky-brightness readings.
- Towns rated
- 61
- Darkest town
- Pueblo West
- Genuinely dark towns
- 1
1 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better).
All Colorado towns by darkness
Darkest sky first. Click a column heading to sort, or filter by name. A satellite reading, not a survey-grade measurement — and the real dark skies are usually a short drive out of any town.
| Sky | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pueblo West | 4 | Rural / suburban transition | 2.4 |
| The Pinery | 5 | Suburban sky | 4.3 |
| Black Forest | 5 | Suburban sky | 4.9 |
| Edwards | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 9.7 |
| Castle Pines North | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 10 |
| Security-Widefield | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 11 |
| Greenwood Village | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 12 |
| Frederick | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 13 |
| Johnstown | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 13 |
| Highlands Ranch | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 13 |
| Firestone | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 14 |
| Erie | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 16 |
| Columbine | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 16 |
| Cherry Creek | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 16 |
| Louisville | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 17 |
| Windsor | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 19 |
| Dakota Ridge | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 19 |
| Fountain | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 19 |
| Steamboat Springs | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 20 |
| Fruita | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 21 |
| Evans | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 23 |
| Clifton | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 24 |
| Greeley | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 24 |
| Lone Tree | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 25 |
| Durango | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 25 |
| Superior | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 25 |
| Westminster | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 25 |
| Pueblo | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 26 |
| Montrose | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 26 |
| Aurora | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 28 |
| Fort Carson | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 29 |
| Wheat Ridge | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 30 |
| Arvada | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 31 |
| Berkley | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 31 |
| Fort Morgan | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 31 |
| Ken Caryl | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 32 |
| Sterling | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 32 |
| Fort Collins | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 33 |
| Sherrelwood | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 34 |
| Castle Rock | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 35 |
| Cañon City | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 35 |
| Thornton | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 35 |
| Lafayette | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 37 |
| Lakewood | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 38 |
| Grand Junction | 8 | City sky | 40 |
| Loveland | 8 | City sky | 41 |
| Brighton | 8 | City sky | 41 |
| Federal Heights | 8 | City sky | 42 |
| Englewood | 8 | City sky | 42 |
| Golden | 8 | City sky | 43 |
| Broomfield | 8 | City sky | 44 |
| Longmont | 8 | City sky | 46 |
| Welby | 8 | City sky | 48 |
| Littleton | 8 | City sky | 50 |
| Boulder | 8 | City sky | 51 |
| Parker | 8 | City sky | 66 |
| Northglenn | 8 | City sky | 69 |
| Commerce City | 8 | City sky | 76 |
| Centennial | 8 | City sky | 94 |
| Colorado Springs | 9 | Inner-city sky | 113 |
| Denver | 9 | Inner-city sky | 133 |
Frequently asked questions
- Where are the darkest skies in Colorado?
- The darkest town tracked here is Pueblo West. Sort the table on this page by darkness to see the full ranking, from the most rural, star-filled skies down to the brightest city cores.
- How many dark-sky towns does Colorado have?
- Of 61 towns rated here, 1 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better) — good for seeing the Milky Way on a clear, moonless night.
- How are these light-pollution ratings measured?
- From VIIRS 2024 annual-average satellite night-lights, sampled at each town's center and mapped to a darkness class and an estimated Bortle band. It is a satellite upward-radiance proxy for planning, not a survey-grade sky-brightness reading. See the methodology page for details.
Explore
Learn to read the Bortle scale, check the meteor shower calendar, or search all towns from the home page.