(photo above taken by author in Big Bend Ranch State Park)
Thankfully, there are still places where city lights haven’t yet overpowered the stars, places where you can experience the Milky Way in its full glory during summer, or see the jewel-like beauty of the constellation Orion in winter.
Sadly, these dark places are becoming fewer and fewer. Because of this, an estimated 80 percent of Americans can no longer see their own home galaxy at night. We love camping in dark places, which is one reason we travel far and wide to find them. In this post we’d like to share a few tips on camping in IDA dark sky parks, sanctuaries and reserves.
What is an IDA Dark Sky Park?
In order to preserve dark night skies, which are critical to the survival of many species, the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) formed alliances with many state, provincial and national parks across North America. In these areas, special measures, such as low intensity and downcast lighting are used to reduce man-made light pollution for darker night skies.
“An IDA International Dark Sky Park (IDSP) is a land possessing an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and a nocturnal environment that is specifically protected for its scientific, natural, educational, cultural heritage, and/or public enjoyment.”
Best Time to Visit Dark Sky Parks
The best time to visit any dark sky park, sanctuary or preserve is when the skies are clear and the moon is in its dark phase. While summer may be the best time for viewing the Milky Way galaxy in the northern hemisphere, wintertime skies are often clearer and this can be an excellent time for stargazing and night photography.
Visiting a Dark Sky Park during a meteor shower event is also highly recommended. The table below shows the approximate dates of some of these events.
Recommended Practices For Camping in a Dark Sky Park
Many parks, such as Big Bend Ranch State Park in Texas, offer visitors tips on how to keep the night sky above campsites nice and dark. When visiting these areas it’s important to limit the use of headlamps, lanterns and vehicle headlights. Good practices for camping in a Dark Sky park include the following.
- Avoid the unnecessary use of flashlights and headlamps – use on low setting.
- Choose a camping lantern with a top shield that broadcasts light downward
- Avoid using bright LED string or rope lighting in your campsite.
- Use lighting with warm-colored light and avoid bright white bulbs.
- Turn off vehicle courtesy lighting (dome lights, etc.)
- Try to avoid after-dark travel on roadways in Dark Sky Parks.
- Use small handheld lights with a red lens to see at night.
Keeping Your Vehicle Dark When Dispersed Camping
Dispersed vehicle camping is allowed in some Dark Sky Parks. In these areas it’s especially important that you keep your vehicle’s headlights and courtesy lighting off at night. With some models, such as our Ford F-150, it may not be that easy to disable courtesy lighting from coming on.
If you plan on doing night photography, extreme measures, such as removing fuses or bulbs, or even covering exterior bulbs with opaque tape may be necessary if your vehicle doesn’t have the option to disable courtesy lighting. (For our F-150 we used a programmer to enable “dark mode”, which prevents all outside lighting from coming on.)
Use a Flashlight With a Red Lens
When camping in a Dark Sky Park we recommend using a headlamp or flashlight with a red lens. Red light doesn’t cause as much light pollution as white light does, and using one of these can even help preserve your night vision for better stargazing.
What About Having a Campfire in a Dark Sky Park?
Campfire light doesn’t pollute the night sky in the same way that light from flashlights, headlamps and lanterns can. Still, if you or someone near your campsite is planning on doing long-exposure star photography or telescope viewing, campfire light may cause enough interference to be a problem.
Other Tips For Camping at Dark Sky Parks and Sanctuaries
The best opportunities for stargazing and night photography often occur well after dark. Be sure to bring along a coat, warm hat and gloves so you’ll be comfortable. Consider bringing along a zero-gravity chair, which allows you to fully recline when using binoculars. A decent pair of binoculars, such as the Celestron Skymaster 25×70 is nice to have along, and much more portable for camping than a telescope.
Preserving The Night Sky For Future Generations
We love camping in Dark Sky Parks and hope that you can get the chance to experience one as well. The key to keeping our night skies dark, both at home and while camping, is to use a minimum of outdoor lighting, use only bulbs with warm light, and shielding which directs light downward, not up into the heavens.
If we can all follow these common sense practices, perhaps future generations will be able to see the same stars that our ancestors have marveled at for millennia.
For more resources on how to reduce your lighting footprint, as well as where to find IDA Dark Sky Parks, you can visit the International Dark Sky Association.
