Travel Tips

Travel Tip: Where You Can Go Stargazing at National Parks This Summer

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons User Crvazeer

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons User Crvazeer

Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons User Crvazeer

This summer may be the perfect time for stargazing.

Let’s just say—seriously—that the planets have aligned.

But it’s not what’s in the sky, it’s where you are on the ground that makes the difference in what you can see, and how well you can see it.

Usually most cities don’t provide great stargazing platforms due to street lights and electric beams pouring from nearby homes.

It’s all about light pollution.

Some say that 8 out of 10 children born today will never be in an area with a sky dark enough for them to see the Milky Way.

But there are some locations where you can still do some great stargazing.

Those include Haleakala National Park in Hawaii, Big Bend National Park in Texas, parts of the Grand Canyon, Gila National Forest in New Mexico, and the Hovenweep National Monument in Utah and Colorado.

Some state parks, such as Cherry Springs in Pennsylvania, are optimum sites.

One group, the International Dark-Sky Association, has designated 64 Dark Sky locations across the world.

It is also working with local communities to modify some of the street lamps, even asking residents to draw their blinds at night.

For more information about visiting national parks this summer, check out:

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