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. 1 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 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

All Washington 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.

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

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.

Explore

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