Where are the darkest skies in South Dakota?

The darkest town tracked here is Vermillion. 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 Dakota 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.

South Dakota dark-sky map — light pollution by town

11 towns rated · darkest: Vermillion · measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights

South Dakota has 11 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — Vermillion (Bortle 6) — to its brightest city cores. 0 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (Bortle 4 or better). Sort the table by darkness to find the best stargazing near you, then open any town for its exact rating, what you can see, the nearest darker skies to drive to, and tonight's live Moon, cloud, and aurora conditions. Ratings are a VIIRS satellite proxy for planning, not survey-grade sky-brightness readings.

Statewide South Dakota · VIIRS 2024

Towns rated: 11
Darkest town: Vermillion
Genuinely dark towns: 0

All South Dakota towns by darkness

Darkest sky first. Click a column heading to sort, or filter by name. A satellite reading, not a survey-grade measurement — and the real dark skies are usually a short drive out of any town.

Filter towns

South Dakota towns, darkest sky first.
		Sky
Vermillion	6	Bright suburban sky	19
Huron	7	Suburban / urban transition	26
Spearfish	7	Suburban / urban transition	28
Mitchell	7	Suburban / urban transition	31
Watertown	7	Suburban / urban transition	39
Brookings	7	Suburban / urban transition	40
Yankton	7	Suburban / urban transition	40
Aberdeen	8	City sky	63
Pierre	8	City sky	68
Rapid City	8	City sky	92
Sioux Falls	9	Inner-city sky	102

Frequently asked questions

Where are the darkest skies in South Dakota?: The darkest town tracked here is Vermillion. 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 Dakota 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.

Explore

Learn to read the Bortle scale, check the meteor shower calendar, or search all towns from the home page.