< dark sky directory

WA dark sky places

List of darkest parks and places in Washington for stargazing, astrophotography, astrotourism, star parties, and astronomy club events. Often these are national and state parks and forests that are either remote or "protected" against light pollution.

National and state parks often let you stay overnight under the stars, hence their motto - "Half the park is after dark".

Bortle scale for sites is given where known. Also ask your local astronomy club for guidance as they will know the darkest places.

DARK PARK BORTLE
Brooks Memorial State Park 2
Camp Wooten State Park 2
Colville National Forest 2
Crawford State Park 2
Fields Spring State Park 2
Gifford Pinchot National Forest
Hoh Rainforest
Hurricane Ridge
Leadbetter Point State Park 2
Lyons Ferry State Park 2
Mount Rainier National Park 2
Mt Adams 2
Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest
North Cascades National Park 2
Okanogan National Forest
Olympic National Forest
Olympic National Park 2
Palouse Falls State Park 2
Pearrygin Lake State Park 2
Sun Lakes State Park 2
Tahuya State Forest


Light pollution map w/ Bortle

On the left is a 2023 satellite image of WA showing light pollution from the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center. On the right is a 2015 light pollution map showing sky brightness at the zenith from World Atlas data. Colors correspond approximately to the Bortle scale. Use as a guide to find the darkest sky locations near you.

WA night sky light pollution map