Stargaze Atlas

Washington dark-sky map — light pollution by town

121 towns rated · darkest: Camano · measured from VIIRS 2024 satellite night-lights

Washington has 121 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — Camano (Bortle 4) — to its brightest city cores, with 1 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 Washington · VIIRS 2024
Towns rated
121

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

Darkest town
Camano
Genuinely dark towns
1
Certified dark-sky places
0

Nearest certified dark-sky places to Washington

No site in Washington holds an International Dark Sky Place certification. Measured from Camano, 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 Camano, Washington.
Place Designation State From Camano
Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park Dark Sky Park Montana 400 mi
Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve Dark Sky Reserve Idaho 470 mi
Ketchum Dark Sky Community Idaho 500 mi

All Washington towns by darkness

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

Washington towns, darkest sky first.
Sky Nearest darker sky
Camano 4 Rural / suburban transition 1.3 already the darkest nearby
Lake Morton-Berrydale 5 Suburban sky 3.0 Camano — B4, 61 mi
Union Hill-Novelty Hill 5 Suburban sky 3.4 Camano — B4, 41 mi
Sammamish 5 Suburban sky 3.8 Camano — B4, 42 mi
Prairie Ridge 5 Suburban sky 3.9 Camano — B4, 74 mi
Artondale 5 Suburban sky 4.9 Camano — B4, 61 mi
Cottage Lake 5 Suburban sky 4.9 Camano — B4, 36 mi
West Lake Sammamish 5 Suburban sky 5.3 Camano — B4, 46 mi
Lakeland South 5 Suburban sky 7.3 Camano — B4, 63 mi
Mukilteo 5 Suburban sky 7.4 Camano — B4, 19 mi
Snoqualmie 6 Bright suburban sky 8.0 West Lake Sammamish — B5, 13 mi
Bainbridge Island 6 Bright suburban sky 8.1 West Lake Sammamish — B5, 20 mi
West Richland 6 Bright suburban sky 8.1 Prairie Ridge — B5, 145 mi
East Renton Highlands 6 Bright suburban sky 8.9 West Lake Sammamish — B5, 6 mi
Inglewood-Finn Hill 6 Bright suburban sky 8.9 Cottage Lake — B5, 7 mi
North Creek 6 Bright suburban sky 8.9 Cottage Lake — B5, 7 mi
Bothell West 6 Bright suburban sky 9.3 Cottage Lake — B5, 9 mi
Elk Plain 6 Bright suburban sky 9.3 Prairie Ridge — B5, 13 mi
Mercer Island 6 Bright suburban sky 9.3 West Lake Sammamish — B5, 6 mi
Silverdale 6 Bright suburban sky 9.8 Artondale — B5, 24 mi
Vashon 6 Bright suburban sky 9.8 Artondale — B5, 13 mi
Mill Creek 6 Bright suburban sky 10 Mukilteo — B5, 8 mi
Cheney 6 Bright suburban sky 10 Union Hill-Novelty Hill — B5, 210 mi
Silver Firs 6 Bright suburban sky 11 Mukilteo — B5, 9 mi
Lake Stevens 6 Bright suburban sky 11 Mukilteo — B5, 12 mi
South Hill 6 Bright suburban sky 11 Prairie Ridge — B5, 6 mi
Lakeland North 6 Bright suburban sky 11 Lakeland South — B5, 4 mi
Eastmont 6 Bright suburban sky 11 Mukilteo — B5, 7 mi
Klahanie 6 Bright suburban sky 11 West Lake Sammamish — B5, 4 mi
Mill Creek East 6 Bright suburban sky 11 Cottage Lake — B5, 8 mi
Graham 6 Bright suburban sky 12 Prairie Ridge — B5, 9 mi
Lake Forest Park 6 Bright suburban sky 12 Cottage Lake — B5, 10 mi
East Hill-Meridian 6 Bright suburban sky 12 Lake Morton-Berrydale — B5, 6 mi
Joint Base Lewis McChord 6 Bright suburban sky 12 Artondale — B5, 13 mi
Newcastle 6 Bright suburban sky 13 West Lake Sammamish — B5, 4 mi
Ferndale 6 Bright suburban sky 13 Camano — B4, 47 mi
West Lake Stevens 6 Bright suburban sky 13 Mukilteo — B5, 10 mi
Washougal 6 Bright suburban sky 14 Damascus, OR — B5, 13 mi
Fairwood 6 Bright suburban sky 14 Lake Morton-Berrydale — B5, 8 mi
Lea Hill 6 Bright suburban sky 14 Lake Morton-Berrydale — B5, 4 mi
Oak Harbor 6 Bright suburban sky 14 Camano — B4, 10 mi
University Place 6 Bright suburban sky 14 Artondale — B5, 6 mi
Bonney Lake 6 Bright suburban sky 15 Prairie Ridge — B5, 3 mi
Issaquah 6 Bright suburban sky 15 West Lake Sammamish — B5, 5 mi
Monroe 6 Bright suburban sky 15 Cottage Lake — B5, 9 mi
Arlington 6 Bright suburban sky 15 Camano — B4, 19 mi
Poulsbo 6 Bright suburban sky 15 Mukilteo — B5, 21 mi
Port Orchard 6 Bright suburban sky 16 Artondale — B5, 17 mi
Lacey 6 Bright suburban sky 16 Artondale — B5, 21 mi
City of Sammamish 6 Bright suburban sky 16 Sammamish — B5, 3 mi
Columbia City 6 Bright suburban sky 17 West Lake Sammamish — B5, 8 mi
Picnic Point-North Lynnwood 6 Bright suburban sky 17 Mukilteo — B5, 6 mi
Lynden 6 Bright suburban sky 17 Camano — B4, 54 mi
Salmon Creek 6 Bright suburban sky 17 Oatfield, OR — B5, 21 mi
Camas 6 Bright suburban sky 18 Damascus, OR — B5, 12 mi
Sedro-Woolley 6 Bright suburban sky 18 Camano — B4, 26 mi
Five Corners 6 Bright suburban sky 18 Oatfield, OR — B5, 19 mi
Grandview 6 Bright suburban sky 19 Prairie Ridge — B5, 125 mi
Martha Lake 6 Bright suburban sky 19 Mukilteo — B5, 7 mi
Centralia 6 Bright suburban sky 19 Artondale — B5, 43 mi
Bryn Mawr-Skyway 6 Bright suburban sky 19 West Lake Sammamish — B5, 9 mi
Maple Valley 6 Bright suburban sky 20 Lake Morton-Berrydale — B5, 5 mi
Pullman 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 Cheney — B6, 56 mi
Tumwater 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 Lacey — B6, 5 mi
Battle Ground 7 Suburban / urban transition 21 Five Corners — B6, 7 mi
Des Moines 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Lakeland North — B6, 5 mi
Edmonds 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Picnic Point-North Lynnwood — B6, 5 mi
Kirkland 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Inglewood-Finn Hill — B6, 3 mi
West Valley 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Grandview — B6, 41 mi
Spanaway 7 Suburban / urban transition 22 Elk Plain — B6, 4 mi
Kennewick 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 West Richland — B6, 13 mi
Tukwila 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 Bryn Mawr-Skyway — B6, 2 mi
Kelso 7 Suburban / urban transition 24 Saint Helens, OR — B6, 20 mi
Kenmore 7 Suburban / urban transition 25 Lake Forest Park — B6, 2 mi
Mount Vernon 7 Suburban / urban transition 25 Sedro-Woolley — B6, 7 mi
Aberdeen 7 Suburban / urban transition 26 Centralia — B6, 45 mi
Enumclaw 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 Prairie Ridge — B5, 9 mi
Mountlake Terrace 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 Lake Forest Park — B6, 3 mi
Bothell 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 Inglewood-Finn Hill — B6, 3 mi
Port Angeles 7 Suburban / urban transition 27 Oak Harbor — B6, 38 mi
Bellingham 7 Suburban / urban transition 28 Ferndale — B6, 8 mi
Parkland 7 Suburban / urban transition 29 Elk Plain — B6, 7 mi
Anacortes 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 Oak Harbor — B6, 15 mi
Hazel Dell 7 Suburban / urban transition 30 Salmon Creek — B6, 3 mi
Marysville 7 Suburban / urban transition 32 West Lake Stevens — B6, 5 mi
Covington 7 Suburban / urban transition 32 Lake Morton-Berrydale — B5, 2 mi
Woodinville 7 Suburban / urban transition 33 Inglewood-Finn Hill — B6, 4 mi
Shoreline 7 Suburban / urban transition 36 Lake Forest Park — B6, 3 mi
Burien 7 Suburban / urban transition 36 Bryn Mawr-Skyway — B6, 5 mi
White Center 7 Suburban / urban transition 37 Columbia City — B6, 5 mi
Pasco 7 Suburban / urban transition 37 West Richland — B6, 13 mi
Maltby 7 Suburban / urban transition 37 North Creek — B6, 3 mi
Sunnyside 7 Suburban / urban transition 38 Grandview — B6, 7 mi
Walla Walla 7 Suburban / urban transition 39 West Richland — B6, 52 mi
Moses Lake 8 City sky 41 West Richland — B6, 57 mi
Vancouver 8 City sky 41 Hazel Dell — B7, 2 mi
Orchards 8 City sky 41 Five Corners — B6, 1 mi
Longview 8 City sky 42 Kelso — B7, 2 mi
Lakewood 8 City sky 42 Parkland — B7, 4 mi
Puyallup 8 City sky 43 South Hill — B6, 3 mi
Richland 8 City sky 44 West Richland — B6, 4 mi
Ellensburg 8 City sky 44 West Valley — B7, 28 mi
Redmond 8 City sky 44 Sammamish — B5, 3 mi
Frederickson 8 City sky 45 Elk Plain — B6, 4 mi
Bellevue 8 City sky 47 Mercer Island — B6, 3 mi
East Wenatchee 8 City sky 47 West Valley — B7, 59 mi
Lynnwood 8 City sky 47 Mountlake Terrace — B7, 2 mi
Olympia 8 City sky 50 Tumwater — B7, 3 mi
Spokane Valley 8 City sky 50 Post Falls, ID — B7, 14 mi
Kent 8 City sky 54 East Hill-Meridian — B6, 4 mi
Wenatchee 8 City sky 56 West Valley — B7, 59 mi
Auburn 8 City sky 61 Lea Hill — B6, 3 mi
Federal Way 8 City sky 62 Lakeland North — B6, 2 mi
Renton 8 City sky 66 Bryn Mawr-Skyway — B6, 1 mi
Everett 8 City sky 74 West Lake Stevens — B6, 5 mi
Tacoma 8 City sky 78 University Place — B6, 5 mi
Yakima 8 City sky 81 West Valley — B7, 5 mi
SeaTac 8 City sky 88 Tukwila — B7, 2 mi
Bremerton 8 City sky 89 Port Orchard — B6, 2 mi
Spokane 9 Inner-city sky 113 Spokane Valley — B8, 9 mi
Seattle 9 Inner-city sky 163 Columbia City — B6, 4 mi

Frequently asked questions

Where are the darkest skies in Washington?
The darkest town tracked here is Camano. 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 Washington have?
Of 121 towns rated here, 1 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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