Stargaze Atlas

Nevada dark-sky map — light pollution by town

22 towns rated · darkest: Spring Creek · measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights

Nevada has 22 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — Spring Creek (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. It also holds 2 certified International Dark Sky Places, listed below with the nearest rated town to each. Ratings are a VIIRS satellite proxy, not survey-grade sky-brightness readings.

Statewide Nevada · VIIRS 2024
Towns rated
22

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

Darkest town
Spring Creek
Genuinely dark towns
2
Certified dark-sky places
2

Certified dark-sky places in Nevada

2 sites in Nevada hold an International Dark Sky Place certification — awarded for actively protecting the night sky, not measured from orbit like the town ratings below. What each designation means →

Certified International Dark Sky Places in Nevada.
Place Designation Coordinates Nearest rated town Distance That town's sky
Death Valley National Park Dark Sky Park 36.450°N, 116.850°W Pahrump 51 mi B7
Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument Dark Sky Park 36.400°N, 113.700°W Mesquite 35 mi B8

All Nevada towns by darkness

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

Nevada towns, darkest sky first.
Sky Nearest darker sky
Spring Creek 4 Rural / suburban transition 2.0 already the darkest nearby
Gardnerville Ranchos 4 Rural / suburban transition 2.9 already the darkest nearby
Spanish Springs 6 Bright suburban sky 9.6 Truckee, CA — B5, 34 mi
Sun Valley 6 Bright suburban sky 14 Truckee, CA — B5, 29 mi
Fernley 6 Bright suburban sky 16 Truckee, CA — B5, 53 mi
Elko 7 Suburban / urban transition 36 Spring Creek — B4, 12 mi
Pahrump 7 Suburban / urban transition 39 Barstow Heights, CA — B5, 110 mi
Boulder City 8 City sky 44 Pahrump — B7, 66 mi
Carson City 8 City sky 46 Gardnerville Ranchos — B4, 19 mi
Summerlin South 8 City sky 48 Pahrump — B7, 37 mi
Mesquite 8 City sky 48 Saint George, UT — B7, 34 mi
Spring Valley 8 City sky 49 Pahrump — B7, 42 mi
Enterprise 8 City sky 52 Pahrump — B7, 43 mi
Winchester 8 City sky 56 Pahrump — B7, 49 mi
Whitney 8 City sky 61 Pahrump — B7, 53 mi
Sunrise Manor 8 City sky 78 Pahrump — B7, 51 mi
Henderson 8 City sky 82 Pahrump — B7, 57 mi
Sparks 9 Inner-city sky 104 Sun Valley — B6, 4 mi
North Las Vegas 9 Inner-city sky 105 Sunrise Manor — B8, 3 mi
Paradise 9 Inner-city sky 171 Winchester — B8, 3 mi
Reno 9 Inner-city sky 207 Sun Valley — B6, 5 mi
Las Vegas 9 Inner-city sky 349 Winchester — B8, 3 mi

Frequently asked questions

Where are the darkest skies in Nevada?
The darkest town tracked here is Spring Creek, but the genuinely dark skies in Nevada are its 2 certified International Dark Sky Places — Death Valley National Park, Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument — listed further down with the nearest rated town to each.
How many dark-sky towns does Nevada have?
Of 22 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