Wyoming dark-sky map — light pollution by town
Wyoming has 10 towns rated for light pollution here, from its darkest — Rock Springs (Bortle 6) — to its brightest city cores, with 0 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.
- Towns rated
- 10
- Darkest town
- Rock Springs
- Genuinely dark towns
- 0
- Certified dark-sky places
- 0
0 rate as genuinely dark or rural sky (about Bortle 4 or better).
Nearest certified dark-sky places to Wyoming
No site in Wyoming holds an International Dark Sky Place certification. Measured from Rock Springs, the state's darkest rated town, these are the nearest certified destinations — all 92 are on the map.
| Place | Designation | State | From Rock Springs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dinosaur National Monument | Dark Sky Park | Utah | 74 mi |
| Steinaker State Park | Dark Sky Park | Utah | 76 mi |
| Rockport State Park | Dark Sky Park | Utah | 125 mi |
All Wyoming towns by darkness
Darkest sky first, each with the nearest measurably darker town to drive to. Sort or filter below.
| Sky | Nearest darker sky | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Springs | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 16 | North Logan, UT — B5, 135 mi |
| Casper | 6 | Bright suburban sky | 18 | The Pinery, CO — B5, 250 mi |
| Jackson | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 23 | Ammon, ID — B6, 60 mi |
| Riverton | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 29 | Casper — B6, 105 mi |
| Green River | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 30 | Rock Springs — B6, 14 mi |
| Sheridan | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 37 | Casper — B6, 135 mi |
| Laramie | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 37 | Windsor, CO — B6, 68 mi |
| Gillette | 7 | Suburban / urban transition | 38 | Casper — B6, 105 mi |
| Evanston | 8 | City sky | 51 | North Ogden, UT — B6, 52 mi |
| Cheyenne | 8 | City sky | 72 | Fort Collins, CO — B7, 41 mi |
Frequently asked questions
- Where are the darkest skies in Wyoming?
- The darkest town tracked here is Rock Springs. 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 Wyoming have?
- Of 10 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.
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