Stargaze Atlas

Dark-sky map of the United States

An interactive light-pollution map of the United States: all 4,338 rated towns shaded by their measured darkness class over NASA's satellite night-lights, plus every certified International Dark Sky Place — the genuinely dark destinations, since no town of 10,000+ people sits under a truly dark sky. Click anywhere to get the nearest town's Bortle rating, toggle the night-lights glow, and browse the full list of certified Dark-Sky Parks, Reserves, Sanctuaries, and Communities with the nearest town to each.

About the map

The glow is real satellite data — NASA's VIIRS "Black Marble" night-lights — so you can see where light pollution spreads and, more usefully, where it doesn't. Every one of 4,338 rated towns is a dot shaded from bright green (dark, good for stargazing) to red (city glow), and the ★ pins are the 92 certified International Dark Sky Places — the genuinely dark destinations, since no town of 10,000+ people sits under a truly dark sky. Click anywhere to get the nearest rated town.

Interactive dark-sky map

4,338 towns · 92 certified Dark-Sky Places · live NASA night-lights

Loads NASA and USGS map tiles only when you open it — the page stays fast and private until then.

Darkness dots are a VIIRS satellite proxy measured at each town center, not a survey-grade sky-brightness reading. Map tiles: NASA EOSDIS GIBS (VIIRS Black Marble) and USGS The National Map — both public domain.

Certified Dark-Sky Places in the U.S.

92 places across 23 states carry an official International Dark Sky Place certification from DarkSky International — parks, reserves, sanctuaries, and communities that actively protect their night skies. These are the true dark-sky destinations: unlike our rated towns, they sit under genuinely dark skies. Distances are to the nearest rated town. Each place's full detail — its coordinates and the measured Bortle of the nearest rated town — sits on its state's page, linked below.

What each designation means

Dark Sky Community
a town, city, or municipality that has adopted quality outdoor lighting ordinances and demonstrated a long-term commitment to dark-sky protection.
Dark Sky Park
a publicly or privately owned space that has an exceptional quality of starry nights and is protected for its scientific, natural, educational, cultural, or public value.
Dark-sky preserve
an area managed specifically to protect its night-sky quality through lighting policy and public education.
Dark Sky Reserve
a large area — often a dark core surrounded by a populated periphery that supports it — with an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights.
Dark Sky Sanctuary
one of the most remote (and often darkest) places recognized, with a night sky of exceptional starry quality relative to its accessibility.
Urban Night Sky Place
a site at or near a significant population center where the nocturnal environment is protected and promoted despite meaningfully more light pollution than a rural dark-sky site.
Certified International Dark Sky Places in the United States, by state.
PlaceDesignationStateNearest town
Buffalo National River Dark Sky Park Arkansas Harrison · 24 mi
Camp Verde Dark Sky Community Arizona Camp Verde · 0 mi
Chiricahua National Monument Dark Sky Park Arizona Douglas · 47 mi
Flagstaff Dark Sky Community Arizona Flagstaff · 1 mi
Flagstaff Area National Monuments Dark Sky Park Arizona Flagstaff · 28 mi
Fountain Hills Dark Sky Community Arizona Fountain Hills · 1 mi
Grand Canyon National Park Dark Sky Park Arizona Flagstaff · 65 mi
Kartchner Caverns State Park Dark Sky Park Arizona Sierra Vista · 20 mi
Oracle State Park Dark Sky Park Arizona Saddlebrooke · 19 mi
Petrified Forest National Park Dark Sky Park Arizona Show Low · 59 mi
Sedona Dark Sky Community Arizona West Sedona · 1 mi
Tonto National Monument Dark Sky Park Arizona Gold Camp · 28 mi
Tumacácori National Historical Park Dark Sky Park Arizona Rio Rico · 8 mi
Village of Oak Creek Dark Sky Community Arizona Sedona · 6 mi
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Dark Sky Park California San Diego Country Estates · 28 mi
Borrego Springs Dark Sky Community California La Quinta · 29 mi
Joshua Tree National Park Dark Sky Park California Twentynine Palms · 20 mi
Arches National Park Dark Sky Park Colorado Fruita · 53 mi
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park Dark Sky Park Colorado Montrose · 11 mi
Canyonlands National Park Dark Sky Park Colorado Fruita · 88 mi
Capulin Volcano National Monument Dark Sky Park Colorado Pueblo · 110 mi
Dead Horse Point State Park Dark Sky Park Colorado Fruita · 70 mi
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument Dark Sky Park Colorado Colorado Springs · 26 mi
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Dark Sky Park Colorado Cañon City · 44 mi
Mesa Verde National Park Dark Sky Park Colorado Durango · 34 mi
Naturita Dark Sky Community Colorado Montrose · 41 mi
Norwood Dark Sky Community Colorado Montrose · 33 mi
Nucla Dark Sky Community Colorado Montrose · 39 mi
Silver Cliff Dark Sky Community Colorado Cañon City · 24 mi
Westcliffe Dark Sky Community Colorado Cañon City · 25 mi
Big Cypress National Preserve Dark Sky Park Florida Immokalee · 37 mi
Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park Dark Sky Park Florida Sebring · 23 mi
Stephen C. Foster State Park Dark Sky Park Georgia Waycross · 27 mi
Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve Dark Sky Reserve Idaho Boise · 73 mi
Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve Dark Sky Park Idaho Blackfoot · 64 mi
Ketchum Dark Sky Community Idaho Jerome · 66 mi
Homer Glen Dark Sky Community Illinois Homer Glen · 1 mi
Middle Fork River Forest Preserve Dark Sky Park Illinois Rantoul · 11 mi
Beverly Shores Dark Sky Community Indiana Michigan City · 5 mi
Potawatomi Wildlife Park Dark-sky preserve Indiana Warsaw · 13 mi
Pickett Civilian Conservation Corps Memorial State Park Dark Sky Park Kentucky Somerset · 39 mi
Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument Dark Sky Sanctuary Maine Bangor · 81 mi
Lake Hudson State Recreation Area Dark-sky preserve Michigan Adrian · 11 mi
Negwegon State Park Dark-sky preserve Michigan Alpena · 15 mi
The Headlands Dark Sky Park Michigan Sault Ste. Marie · 53 mi
Thompson's Harbor State Park Dark-sky preserve Michigan Alpena · 20 mi
Voyageurs National Park Dark Sky Park Minnesota Hibbing · 74 mi
Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Dark Sky Park Montana Kalispell · 58 mi
Staunton River State Park Dark Sky Park North Carolina Henderson · 30 mi
Chaco Culture National Historical Park Dark Sky Park New Mexico Farmington · 48 mi
Cosmic Campground Dark Sky Sanctuary New Mexico Silver City · 62 mi
El Morro National Monument Dark Sky Park New Mexico Gallup · 40 mi
Fort Union National Monument Dark Sky Park New Mexico Las Vegas · 25 mi
Goosenecks State Park Dark Sky Park New Mexico Farmington · 99 mi
Hovenweep National Monument Dark Sky Park New Mexico Farmington · 65 mi
Natural Bridges National Monument Dark Sky Park New Mexico Farmington · 115 mi
Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument Dark Sky Park New Mexico Los Lunas · 53 mi
Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge Urban Night Sky Place New Mexico Albuquerque · 3 mi
Valles Caldera National Preserve Dark Sky Park New Mexico Los Alamos · 15 mi
Death Valley National Park Dark Sky Park Nevada Pahrump · 51 mi
Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument Dark Sky Park Nevada Mesquite · 35 mi
Cherry Springs State Park Dark Sky Park Pennsylvania Saint Marys · 41 mi
Obed Wild and Scenic River Dark Sky Park Tennessee Crossville · 19 mi
Big Bend National Park Dark Sky Park Texas Del Rio · 140 mi
Big Bend Ranch State Park Dark Sky Park Texas West Odessa · 190 mi
Clayton Lake State Park Dark Sky Park Texas Dumas · 89 mi
Copper Breaks State Park Dark Sky Park Texas Vernon · 28 mi
Devils River State Natural Area Dark Sky Sanctuary Texas Del Rio · 40 mi
Dripping Springs Dark Sky Community Texas Lakeway · 13 mi
Enchanted Rock State Natural Area Dark Sky Park Texas Fredericksburg · 16 mi
Horseshoe Bay Dark Sky Community Texas Lakeway · 26 mi
South Llano River State Park Dark Sky Park Texas Kerrville · 48 mi
Antelope Island State Park Dark Sky Park Utah Syracuse · 12 mi
Bryce Canyon National Park Dark Sky Park Utah Cedar City · 49 mi
Capitol Reef National Park Dark Sky Park Utah Cedar City · 110 mi
Cedar Breaks National Monument Dark Sky Park Utah Cedar City · 12 mi
Dinosaur National Monument Dark Sky Park Utah Vernal · 29 mi
East Canyon State Park Dark Sky Park Utah Centerville · 15 mi
Goblin Valley State Park Dark Sky Park Utah Santaquin · 115 mi
Great Basin National Park Dark Sky Park Utah Cedar City · 110 mi
Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians Dark Sky Community Utah Hurricane · 38 mi
Kodachrome Basin State Park Dark Sky Park Utah Cedar City · 59 mi
Pipe Spring National Monument Dark Sky Park Utah Hurricane · 37 mi
Rainbow Bridge National Monument Dark Sky Sanctuary Utah Cedar City · 120 mi
Rockport State Park Dark Sky Park Utah East Millcreek · 22 mi
Steinaker State Park Dark Sky Park Utah Vernal · 4 mi
Timpanogos Cave National Monument Urban Night Sky Place Utah Cedar Hills · 3 mi
Torrey Dark Sky Community Utah Cedar City · 99 mi
Weber County North Fork Park Dark Sky Park Utah North Ogden · 5 mi
Zion National Park Dark Sky Park Utah Hurricane · 17 mi
James River State Park Dark Sky Park Virginia Madison Heights · 21 mi
Newport State Park Dark Sky Park Wisconsin Marinette · 32 mi

How to read the map

The night-lights layer shows upward radiance — the light escaping to space — which is what washes out the stars. Dark regions read black; cities blaze. Our town dots translate that same VIIRS measurement into a Bortle darkness class at each town's center. It's an honest satellite proxy for planning, not a survey-grade sky-brightness reading — see the methodology for exactly how the mapping works. For a real dark sky, aim for one of the certified Dark-Sky Places above, on a clear night near the new Moon.