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.

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. 0 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.

Statewide District of Columbia · VIIRS 2024

Towns rated: 30
Darkest town: Colorado Triangle
Genuinely dark towns: 0

All District of Columbia 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.

Filter towns

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

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.

Explore

Learn to read the Bortle scale, check the meteor shower calendar, or search all towns from the home page.