Meet Idaho's Celestial Show Stoppers

An outdoor escape to Idaho offers more than majestic mountains, serene lakes and lush forests. As the weather grows milder, it’s the perfect time to blast off to a stargazer’s paradise with some of the darkest skies in the United States. Be sure to pack your binoculars and telescopes and make a date with the stars.

Did you know that Idaho is home to five Certified Intternational Dark Sky locations, which all have low levels of light pollution and make them just right for stargazing. Venture to any of these spots for a stellar experience like no other.

Bruneau Dunes State Park

Located on southern Idaho’s northern edge of the vast Owyhee desert. Equidistant between Boise and Twin Falls, it serves as a convenient escape where visitors can immerse themselves in a more natural landscape and take in night skies that reflect what early settlers to the area first experienced.

Bruneau Dunes continues to evaluate the quality of its night skies, conducting night sky quality surveys and adhering to its Light Management Plan. Observatories are open from April through October, and year-round access is planned for the future.

Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve

A region of 3,668 square kilometers (1,416 square miles) of remote and largely rugged lands in the Sawtooth Mountains of central Idaho, U.S.. The reserve has as its core parts of two recognized wilderness areas, and is situated in the spectacular scenery of the Sawtooth National Forest. In addition to the world-class skiing in the Sun Valley area, visitors come to the area for day hiking, backpacking, and horseback riding and accessed from 23 major trailheads. The reserve’s chief draw is its wilderness quality, with its lack of development and significant visitor services.

City of Rocks National Reserve

The Park was established in 1988 to protect National Historic Landmark sites containing segments of the California Trail and Salt Alternate Trails/Kelton Road and to preserve the “scenic quality of the area.” The U.S. National Park Service and the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation jointly manage the site. Site management worked with Castle Rock State Park to upgrade all lighting to follow the 5 principles for Responsible Outdoor Lighting and installed interpretive signage to highlight the importance of dark-sky friendly lighting.

Craters of the Moon National Monument

Protecting some 21,618 hectares of volcanic formations and lava flows on the northern edge of the Snake River Plain in south-central Idaho, The Monument sits at the edge of one of the largest remaining ‘pools’ of natural nighttime darkness in the lower 48 U.S. states, defined by the rugged wilderness of interior Idaho.Craters Of The Moon has capitalized its dark-sky resource – as well as its planetary-themed name – to draw visitor attention to the splendor of its night skies and their active conservation.

Ketchum

The City of Ketchum is situated at an elevation of 1,784 m in the Wood River Valley of central Idaho. Ketchum’s economy now revolves largely around tourism focused on the region’s world-famous winter skiing conditions. The City also boasts an active arts and culture scene. The City has reached out to residents to educate them about the need for dark skies, committed to bringing municipally-owned lighting into compliance with the code, and has contributed to the ongoing effort to designate the US first International Dark Sky Reserve in the adjacent Sawtooth National Forest.