Delaware dark-sky map — light pollution by town
Delaware has 11 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — Pike Creek Valley (Bortle 6) — 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.
- Towns rated
- 11
- Darkest town
- Pike Creek Valley
- Genuinely dark towns
- 0
- Certified dark-sky places
- 0
0 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better).
Nearest certified dark-sky places to Delaware
No site in Delaware holds an International Dark Sky Place certification. Measured from Pike Creek Valley, the state's darkest rated town, these are the nearest certified destinations — all 92 are on the map.
| Place | Designation | State | From Pike Creek Valley |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cherry Springs State Park | Dark Sky Park | Pennsylvania | 175 mi |
| James River State Park | Dark Sky Park | Virginia | 225 mi |
| Staunton River State Park | Dark Sky Park | North Carolina | 265 mi |
All Delaware towns by darkness
Darkest sky first, each with the nearest measurably darker town to drive to. Sort or filter below.
| Sky | Nearest darker sky | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pike Creek Valley | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 12 | Landenberg, PA — B4, 5 mi |
| Hockessin | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 14 | Landenberg, PA — B4, 4 mi |
| Bear | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 23 | Pike Creek Valley — B6, 8 mi |
| Milford | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 24 | Ocean Pines, MD — B5, 39 mi |
| Brookside | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 26 | Pike Creek Valley — B6, 5 mi |
| Glasgow | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 31 | Pike Creek Valley — B6, 9 mi |
| Smyrna | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 35 | Pennsville, NJ — B6, 25 mi |
| Middletown | 8 | City sky | 40 | Glasgow — B7, 11 mi |
| Newark | 8 | City sky | 51 | Brookside — B7, 2 mi |
| Dover | 8 | City sky | 59 | Smyrna — B7, 11 mi |
| Wilmington | 9 | Inner-city sky | 105 | Pennsville, NJ — B6, 7 mi |
Frequently asked questions
- Where are the darkest skies in Delaware?
- The darkest town tracked here is Pike Creek Valley. 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 Delaware have?
- Of 11 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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