Stargaze Atlas

District of Columbia dark-sky map — light pollution by town

30 towns rated · darkest: Colorado Triangle · measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights

District of Columbia has 30 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — Colorado Triangle (Bortle 7) — to its brightest city cores, with 0 rating as genuinely dark or rural sky (Bortle 4 or better). Every town is listed with the nearest measurably darker town to drive to. No site in the state holds an International Dark Sky Place certification, so its darkest skies are the rural towns at the top of the table. Ratings are a VIIRS satellite proxy, not survey-grade sky-brightness readings.

Statewide District of Columbia · VIIRS 2024
Towns rated
30

0 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better).

Darkest town
Colorado Triangle
Genuinely dark towns
0
Certified dark-sky places
0

Nearest certified dark-sky places to District of Columbia

No site in District of Columbia holds an International Dark Sky Place certification. Measured from Colorado Triangle, the state's darkest rated town, these are the nearest certified destinations — all 92 are on the map.

Nearest certified International Dark Sky Places to Colorado Triangle, District of Columbia.
Place Designation State From Colorado Triangle
James River State Park Dark Sky Park Virginia 135 mi
Staunton River State Park Dark Sky Park North Carolina 180 mi
Cherry Springs State Park Dark Sky Park Pennsylvania 190 mi

All District of Columbia towns by darkness

Darkest sky first, each with the nearest measurably darker town to drive to. Sort or filter below.

District of Columbia towns, darkest sky first.
Sky Nearest darker sky
Colorado Triangle 7 Suburban / urban transition 34 Kemp Mill, MD — B6, 6 mi
Hillcrest 7 Suburban / urban transition 40 Oxon Hill-Glassmanor, MD — B6, 5 mi
Kennedy Street 8 City sky 40 Colorado Triangle — B7, 1 mi
Van Ness 8 City sky 40 Colorado Triangle — B7, 2 mi
Central 14th Street / WMATA Northern Bus Barn 8 City sky 43 Colorado Triangle — B7, 1 mi
Mount Pleasant 8 City sky 45 Colorado Triangle — B7, 2 mi
Brightwood 8 City sky 45 Colorado Triangle — B7, 1 mi
Benning Road 8 City sky 49 Hillcrest — B7, 2 mi
Petworth 8 City sky 56 Colorado Triangle — B7, 1 mi
Foggy Bottom 8 City sky 57 Colorado Triangle — B7, 4 mi
Central 14th Street / Spring Road 8 City sky 60 Colorado Triangle — B7, 1 mi
Anacostia 8 City sky 61 Hillcrest — B7, 1 mi
The Wharf 8 City sky 68 Hillcrest — B7, 4 mi
Park View 8 City sky 73 Colorado Triangle — B7, 2 mi
Pleasant Plains 8 City sky 75 Colorado Triangle — B7, 2 mi
Adams Morgan 8 City sky 77 Colorado Triangle — B7, 2 mi
H Street NE 8 City sky 89 Hillcrest — B7, 3 mi
Columbia Heights 8 City sky 93 Colorado Triangle — B7, 2 mi
Brentwood Village 9 Inner-city sky 103 H Street NE — B8, 2 mi
Washington 9 Inner-city sky 103 The Wharf — B8, 1 mi
Southwest Waterfront 9 Inner-city sky 105 The Wharf — B8, 0 mi
Barracks Row 9 Inner-city sky 112 Anacostia — B8, 1 mi
Union Market 9 Inner-city sky 127 H Street NE — B8, 1 mi
Capitol Riverfront 9 Inner-city sky 141 The Wharf — B8, 1 mi
Shaw 9 Inner-city sky 143 Columbia Heights — B8, 1 mi
Golden Triangle 9 Inner-city sky 152 Foggy Bottom — B8, 1 mi
NoMa 9 Inner-city sky 162 H Street NE — B8, 1 mi
Northwest One 9 Inner-city sky 198 H Street NE — B8, 1 mi
Mount Vernon Triangle 9 Inner-city sky 200 H Street NE — B8, 1 mi
Downtown DC 9 Inner-city sky 202 The Wharf — B8, 1 mi

Frequently asked questions

Where are the darkest skies in District of Columbia?
The darkest town tracked here is Colorado Triangle. 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 District of Columbia have?
Of 30 towns rated here, 0 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.

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Bortle scale · Meteor showers · Dark-sky map · Search all towns