Stargaze Atlas

Louisiana dark-sky map — light pollution by town

62 towns rated · darkest: Bayou Boeuf · measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights

Louisiana has 62 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — Bayou Boeuf (Bortle 4) — to its brightest city cores, with 2 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 Louisiana · VIIRS 2024
Towns rated
62

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

Darkest town
Bayou Boeuf
Genuinely dark towns
1
Certified dark-sky places
0

Nearest certified dark-sky places to Louisiana

No site in Louisiana holds an International Dark Sky Place certification. Measured from Bayou Boeuf, 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 Bayou Boeuf, Louisiana.
Place Designation State From Bayou Boeuf
Buffalo National River Dark Sky Park Arkansas 440 mi
Dripping Springs Dark Sky Community Texas 450 mi
Horseshoe Bay Dark Sky Community Texas 465 mi

All Louisiana towns by darkness

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

Louisiana towns, darkest sky first.
Sky Nearest darker sky
Bayou Boeuf 4 Rural / suburban transition 1.8 already the darkest nearby
Mandeville 5 Suburban sky 6.6 Carriere, MS — B4, 30 mi
Bogalusa 6 Bright suburban sky 14 Carriere, MS — B4, 17 mi
Gardere 6 Bright suburban sky 16 Bayou Boeuf — B4, 46 mi
Raceland 6 Bright suburban sky 16 Bayou Boeuf — B4, 10 mi
Central 6 Bright suburban sky 17 Bayou Boeuf — B4, 54 mi
Shenandoah 6 Bright suburban sky 19 Bayou Boeuf — B4, 44 mi
DeRidder 7 Suburban / urban transition 20 Gardere — B6, 130 mi
Minden 7 Suburban / urban transition 20 Malvern, AR — B6, 125 mi
Belle Chasse 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 Mandeville — B5, 35 mi
Bastrop 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 Byram, MS — B5, 105 mi
Pineville 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 Central — B6, 98 mi
Woodmere 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Bayou Boeuf — B4, 31 mi
Youngsville 7 Suburban / urban transition 23 Gardere — B6, 54 mi
Prairieville 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 Shenandoah — B6, 7 mi
Jennings 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 Gardere — B6, 91 mi
Natchitoches 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 Central — B6, 145 mi
Estelle 7 Suburban / urban transition 25 Bayou Boeuf — B4, 29 mi
Moss Bluff 7 Suburban / urban transition 25 Gardere — B6, 120 mi
Baker 7 Suburban / urban transition 26 Central — B6, 8 mi
Waggaman 7 Suburban / urban transition 26 Bayou Boeuf — B4, 23 mi
Morgan City 7 Suburban / urban transition 28 Raceland — B6, 37 mi
Crowley 7 Suburban / urban transition 28 Gardere — B6, 74 mi
New Iberia 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 Gardere — B6, 47 mi
Eunice 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 Gardere — B6, 77 mi
Sulphur 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 La Marque, TX — B6, 115 mi
Zachary 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 Central — B6, 10 mi
Luling 7 Suburban / urban transition 33 Bayou Boeuf — B4, 15 mi
Opelousas 7 Suburban / urban transition 33 Gardere — B6, 58 mi
Laplace 7 Suburban / urban transition 33 Bayou Boeuf — B4, 15 mi
River Ridge 7 Suburban / urban transition 34 Bayou Boeuf — B4, 24 mi
Destrehan 7 Suburban / urban transition 34 Bayou Boeuf — B4, 15 mi
Slidell 7 Suburban / urban transition 34 Mandeville — B5, 18 mi
Denham Springs 7 Suburban / urban transition 35 Shenandoah — B6, 7 mi
Abbeville 7 Suburban / urban transition 36 Gardere — B6, 65 mi
Broussard 7 Suburban / urban transition 38 Gardere — B6, 51 mi
Ruston 8 City sky 40 Minden — B7, 38 mi
Hammond 8 City sky 42 Mandeville — B5, 26 mi
Gonzales 8 City sky 45 Prairieville — B7, 5 mi
Lake Charles 8 City sky 45 Moss Bluff — B7, 6 mi
Alexandria 8 City sky 47 Pineville — B7, 1 mi
Timberlane 8 City sky 47 Belle Chasse — B7, 3 mi
Thibodaux 8 City sky 48 Raceland — B6, 14 mi
Terrytown 8 City sky 56 Belle Chasse — B7, 5 mi
Bayou Cane 8 City sky 56 Raceland — B6, 12 mi
Monroe 8 City sky 57 Bastrop — B7, 22 mi
West Monroe 8 City sky 58 Bastrop — B7, 23 mi
Kenner 8 City sky 60 River Ridge — B7, 3 mi
Claiborne 8 City sky 60 Bastrop — B7, 24 mi
Shreveport 8 City sky 65 Minden — B7, 28 mi
Houma 8 City sky 68 Raceland — B6, 12 mi
Jefferson 8 City sky 69 River Ridge — B7, 4 mi
Harvey 8 City sky 70 Woodmere — B7, 3 mi
Bossier City 8 City sky 71 Minden — B7, 27 mi
Chalmette 8 City sky 74 Belle Chasse — B7, 6 mi
Marrero 8 City sky 76 Woodmere — B7, 3 mi
Lafayette 8 City sky 78 Broussard — B7, 6 mi
Metairie 8 City sky 79 River Ridge — B7, 4 mi
Gretna 8 City sky 83 Woodmere — B7, 4 mi
Baton Rouge 8 City sky 95 Gardere — B6, 7 mi
New Orleans 9 Inner-city sky 268 Gretna — B8, 3 mi
Grand Bayou Mobile Home Park 4 Rural / suburban transition 1.7 already the darkest nearby

Frequently asked questions

Where are the darkest skies in Louisiana?
The darkest town tracked here is Bayou Boeuf. 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 Louisiana have?
Of 62 towns rated here, 2 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