The Best National Parks in the US for Stargazing

The skies above Death Valley are so dark that the International Dark-Sky Association has awarded the park its highest designation: gold tier. Here, you’ll get views like almost nowhere else in the country—quite literally to other galaxies.

Anywhere in Death Valley (away from lodges and major roads) will provide excellent stargazing opportunities, but the darkest of dark skies are deeper into the park, at spots such as Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes, Harmony Borax Works, Ubehebe Crater, and Badwater Basin. What’s more, days in Death Valley can be scorching—there’s a reason so many of the park’s critters come out at night—making night hiking and stargazing a great way to spend more time there.

Insider tip: Arrange a custom stargazing trip and let someone else worry about the astrophotography—and the driving.

A dark sky park as of 2016, Grand Canyon National Park stargazing is a hard-to-grasp, visceral experience. Once night falls, entire worlds unfurl both above and beneath your feet. Stars rise and fall out of the canyon’s dark depths, and you float somewhere in the middle of it all.

From the popular and more accessible South Rim, Moran Point and Lipan Point are the places to be to commune with the heavens. If you happen to be on the higher, more remote North Rim, Bright Angel Point—the quarter-mile trail to the overlook is paved—will be heavenly, indeed.

Summer is far and away Denali’s most popular season, but summer here means long, light-filled days. Visit this 6-million-acre (2.5-million-hectare) national park from late September to late May instead, when incredible dark skies are the name of the game—until the northern lights steal the show.

Thanks to the park’s remoteness, the skies light up each night with thousands of stars at every scenic viewpoint, but to maximize your chances of seeing purple and green auroras dancing across the sky, book a tour with a pro guide.

Insider tip: The first 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) of Denali Park Road remain open through winter, and you can camp for free at Riley Creek Campground in the off-season.

During the park’s main season, Zion Canyon Scenic Drive is closed to private vehicles. In other words—book a night at Zion Lodge or one of the park’s campgrounds and wait for the shuttles to cease. Once they do, you’ve got your pick of trails, overlooks, and scenic spots to catch Zion’s starry display. The flat Pa’rus Trail is a great option, as are Kolob Canyon and Kolob Terrace. If you’re in the Upper East Canyon part of the park, park at Checkerboard Mesa to catch the glittering show against the famous rock formation.

Insider tip: The ultra-scenic Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway, accessible from the park's East Entrance, is open to private vehicles year-round.

Glacier’s night-sky programming is nothing short of robust: dark-sky rangers lead programs such as Half the Park Happens After Dark and Here Comes the Sun at various park locations, and the St. Mary Observatory has one of the largest telescopes—a 20-incher—in the entire NPS catalog.

Go at it on your own, of course, and the opportunities are endless. Set up your camp chair across from Lake McDonald, find a clearing in the St. Mary area, or simply go for a night drive along Going-to-the-Sun Road and see where this street to the sky takes you.

Great Sand Dunes’ main dune field is becoming ever-popular at night, and—even though the park has well-earned its International Dark-Sky Park accreditation—hundreds of waving flashlights don’t make for ideal stargazing.

Luckily, the crowds tend to hover on the sand near the visitor center. So, simply head north and access the sand from Buck Creek Campground and you’ll be amazed at the difference—the Milky Way shines supreme, bright enough to light up the now-cool sand. Pair it with a cotton-candy sunrise or sunset, and you’ll see just how wildly the dunes shift and transform from moment to moment thanks to the skies.

Another gold-tier dark sky park, Great Basin National Park offers stargazing that's considered by many to be the best in the NPS system. Not only is there a dedicated Astronomy Amphitheater for ranger-led stargazing talks, the park also works with the Nevada Northern Railway to offer the Star Train out of Ely, a nighttime route that regularly sells out a year in advance.

While visiting with a pro photographer couldn’t hurt, you certainly don’t need the pros guiding you to see the stars. Simply venture out to Mather Overlook or Baker Archaeological Site and give your eyes roughly 30 minutes to adjust. On a moonless night—full moons aren’t great for optimal stargazing—you’ll see thousands of stars and star clusters, planets and meteors, and even our very own Milky Way, no binoculars needed.