Stargaze Atlas

South Carolina dark-sky map — light pollution by town

52 towns rated · darkest: Red Hill · measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights

South Carolina has 52 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — Red Hill (Bortle 4) — to its brightest city cores, with 3 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 South Carolina · VIIRS 2024
Towns rated
52

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

Darkest town
Red Hill
Genuinely dark towns
3
Certified dark-sky places
0

Nearest certified dark-sky places to South Carolina

No site in South Carolina holds an International Dark Sky Place certification. Measured from Red Hill, 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 Red Hill, South Carolina.
Place Designation State From Red Hill
Staunton River State Park Dark Sky Park North Carolina 190 mi
James River State Park Dark Sky Park Virginia 250 mi
Stephen C. Foster State Park Dark Sky Park Georgia 285 mi

All South Carolina towns by darkness

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

South Carolina towns, darkest sky first.
Sky Nearest darker sky
Red Hill 4 Rural / suburban transition 0.8 already the darkest nearby
Hilton Head 4 Rural / suburban transition 2.1 already the darkest nearby
Hilton Head Island 4 Rural / suburban transition 2.7 already the darkest nearby
Port Royal 5 Suburban sky 7.2 Hilton Head — B4, 12 mi
Oak Grove 6 Bright suburban sky 9.8 Red Hill — B4, 110 mi
Taylors 6 Bright suburban sky 12 Seymour, TN — B5, 105 mi
Bluffton 6 Bright suburban sky 13 Hilton Head — B4, 7 mi
Goose Creek 6 Bright suburban sky 15 Port Royal — B5, 57 mi
Beaufort 6 Bright suburban sky 16 Port Royal — B5, 4 mi
Seven Oaks 6 Bright suburban sky 16 Red Hill — B4, 110 mi
Parker 6 Bright suburban sky 18 Seymour, TN — B5, 100 mi
Berea 6 Bright suburban sky 19 Seymour, TN — B5, 100 mi
Mount Pleasant 6 Bright suburban sky 19 Port Royal — B5, 56 mi
North Myrtle Beach 6 Bright suburban sky 19 Red Hill — B4, 36 mi
Ladson 6 Bright suburban sky 20 Port Royal — B5, 54 mi
Fort Mill 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 Weddington, NC — B6, 11 mi
Newberry 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 Seven Oaks — B6, 31 mi
Cayce 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Oak Grove — B6, 4 mi
Gaffney 7 Suburban / urban transition 23 Kings Mountain, NC — B6, 21 mi
Five Forks 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 Taylors — B6, 9 mi
Wade Hampton 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 Taylors — B6, 2 mi
Red Hill 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 Red Hill — B4, 19 mi
Summerville 7 Suburban / urban transition 28 Ladson — B6, 4 mi
Simpsonville 7 Suburban / urban transition 28 Taylors — B6, 13 mi
Forest Acres 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 Oak Grove — B6, 9 mi
Socastee 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 North Myrtle Beach — B6, 21 mi
Irmo 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 Seven Oaks — B6, 3 mi
Gantt 7 Suburban / urban transition 31 Parker — B6, 4 mi
North Augusta 7 Suburban / urban transition 31 Grovetown, GA — B6, 14 mi
Lexington 7 Suburban / urban transition 32 Oak Grove — B6, 5 mi
Greer 7 Suburban / urban transition 33 Taylors — B6, 4 mi
Conway 7 Suburban / urban transition 34 Red Hill — B4, 17 mi
Mauldin 7 Suburban / urban transition 35 Parker — B6, 10 mi
Easley 7 Suburban / urban transition 38 Parker — B6, 9 mi
Dentsville 7 Suburban / urban transition 38 Seven Oaks — B6, 11 mi
Charleston 7 Suburban / urban transition 39 Mount Pleasant — B6, 4 mi
Hanahan 8 City sky 41 Goose Creek — B6, 4 mi
Aiken 8 City sky 41 North Augusta — B7, 15 mi
Greenwood 8 City sky 43 Newberry — B7, 32 mi
Saint Andrews 8 City sky 43 Seven Oaks — B6, 3 mi
West Columbia 8 City sky 43 Cayce — B7, 2 mi
Sumter 8 City sky 46 Dentsville — B7, 37 mi
Rock Hill 8 City sky 47 Fort Mill — B7, 7 mi
North Charleston 8 City sky 47 Charleston — B7, 6 mi
Orangeburg 8 City sky 47 Cayce — B7, 35 mi
Anderson 8 City sky 48 Easley — B7, 23 mi
Clemson 8 City sky 61 Easley — B7, 17 mi
Spartanburg 8 City sky 62 Greer — B7, 17 mi
Florence 8 City sky 63 Red Hill — B4, 32 mi
Myrtle Beach 8 City sky 79 Socastee — B7, 6 mi
Greenville 8 City sky 93 Parker — B6, 3 mi
Columbia 9 Inner-city sky 135 West Columbia — B8, 2 mi

Frequently asked questions

Where are the darkest skies in South Carolina?
The darkest town tracked here is Red Hill. 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 South Carolina have?
Of 52 towns rated here, 3 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