Best Stargazing Locations: Where to See the Stars Clearly
Short answer: The best stargazing locations are far from cities with minimal light pollution. Look for places like national parks, dark sky reserves, or rural areas with clear views of the horizon.
Why Location Matters
Light pollution is the enemy of stargazing. City lights drown out faint stars. Move away from urban centers, and you'll see 10x more stars instantly.
This isn't a minor inconvenience — it's a global phenomenon. Researcher Fabio Falchi and colleagues mapped artificial night sky brightness worldwide and found that more than 80% of the world's population, and over 99% of people in the U.S. and Europe, live under light-polluted skies (Falchi et al., "The New World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness," Science Advances, 2016). The same study found the Milky Way is no longer visible to roughly a third of humanity, including about 60% of Europeans and nearly 80% of North Americans.
Astronomers often describe how dark a sky is using the Bortle scale, a 9-level rating system created by amateur astronomer John E. Bortle and published in Sky & Telescope in 2001. Class 1 is a pristine, Milky-Way-drenched sky; Class 9 is an inner-city sky where only the Moon, planets, and a handful of the brightest stars are visible. Knowing your local Bortle class is a quick way to set expectations before you head out.
Where to go
Start with places that have an official dark sky designation. DarkSky International (formerly the International Dark-Sky Association) certifies parks, reserves and sanctuaries that protect their night skies. A few examples:
- Cherry Springs State Park, Pennsylvania, USA, a certified Dark Sky Park.
- Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah, USA, the first place certified as an International Dark Sky Park.
- Aoraki Mackenzie, New Zealand, a certified Dark Sky Reserve.
- NamibRand Nature Reserve, Namibia, a certified Dark Sky Reserve.
You do not need a famous site. Any spot with an open horizon and no streetlights nearby beats a lit backyard: a mountain road pull-off, a lakeshore, a field outside town, a beach facing away from the nearest city. Higher ground helps because there is less haze between you and the sky.
How to pick a spot, step by step
- Check a light pollution map for your region and pick the darkest area you can reach. Aim for a low Bortle class, as described above.
- Check the Moon phase. Around the new moon the sky is darkest; a bright Moon washes out faint stars and the Milky Way.
- Check the cloud forecast for the hours you will be out, not just the day.
- Pick a place with a clear view of the horizon in the direction you want to look.
- Arrive before dark so you can find the spot and your footing while you can still see.
On the night
Give your eyes time to adjust. Dark adaptation takes around 20 minutes, and one look at a bright phone screen starts it over. Turn the screen brightness down or use a red light. Skymap works the same way: hold the phone up, let the AR overlay name the stars, planets and constellations, then look away from the screen and find them with your own eyes.
Dress warmer than you think you need to. You will be standing still.
Stargazing from a city
Even from a city, you can use Skymap to identify major constellations and bright planets. The AR overlay helps you locate objects through light pollution. For the Milky Way and faint objects you need a darker site. For more on why city skies look empty, read Light Pollution: Why You Can't See Stars From the City.
Common questions
What is the best place to stargaze?
A place far from city lights with an open horizon. Certified dark sky parks and reserves are the most reliable starting point.
Can I stargaze in the city?
Yes, for the Moon, bright planets and the brightest stars and constellations. You will not see the Milky Way.
When is the best time to stargaze?
On a clear night close to the new moon, after the sky is fully dark.
Do I need a telescope?
No. Your eyes and a phone with an AR sky app are enough to start. See AR vs Telescopes for the trade-offs.
Sources
- Falchi, F., Cinzano, P., Duriscoe, D., et al. (2016). "The New World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness." Science Advances, 2(6), e1600377.
- Bortle, J.E. (2001). "Introducing the Bortle Dark-Sky Scale." Sky & Telescope, February 2001.
Read next: AR vs Telescopes
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