INTERNATIONAL DARK SKY PARKS
~ a park or other public land possessing exceptional starry skies and natural nocturnal habitat where light pollution is mitigated and natural darkness is valuable as an important educational, cultural, scenic, and natural resources.An International Dark Sky Park is a location of exceptional nighttime beauty, dark skies education, and preservation of the nighttime environment. Each park shown below has gone above and beyond the requirements as stated in our International Dark Sky Park Guidelines.
Three tiers designate the quality of night skies the park is recognized for. Gold represents the highest award representing the darkest skies, followed by the Silver and Bronze designations. Requirements for each of the designations are shown in the table below.
|
|
Gold |
Silver |
Bronze |
|
Artificial Light and Skyglow |
Typical observer is not distracted by glary light sources. Light domes are only dim and restricted to sky close to horizon. |
Point light sources and glary lights do not dominate nighttime scene. Light domes present around horizon bud do not stretch to zenith. |
Areas with greater artificial light and skyglow than Silver, but where aspects of the natural sky are still visible. |
|
Visual Limiting Magnitude |
Equal or greater than 6.8 under clear skies and good seeing conditions |
6.0 to 6.7 under clear skies and good conditions |
5.0-5.9 under clear skies and good seeing conditions |
|
Bortle Sky Class |
1-3 |
3-5 |
5-6 |
|
Observable Sky Phenomena |
The full array of visible sky phenomena can be viewed—e.g. aurora, airglow, Milky Way, zodiacal light, and faint meteors |
Brighter sky phenomena can be regularly viewed, with fainter ones sometimes visible. Milky Way is visible in summer and winter. |
Many sky phenomena cannot be seen. Milky Way is faintly seen when pointed out, as is Andromeda Galaxy. |
|
Unihedron Sky Quality Meter |
21.75 or above |
21.00 or above |
20.00 or above |
The International Dark-Sky Association continues to accept applications from parks wishing to join in the ranks of the highest prestige for nighttime visages.
If you are interested in applying please see the bottom of this page for more information. After reviewing this page and the International Dark Sky Park guidelines please email program manager, Amee Hennig at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to alert IDA of your intent to apply.
Download information on becoming an IDSPark.
NOTE! Guidelines are currently being updated and will be released in the coming months.
Please keep an eye on the website for details or email Amee Hennig for details.
|
Name |
Location |
Year Established |
Tier |
|
Utah, USA |
2006 |
Gold |
|
|
Pennsylvania, USA |
2008 |
Gold |
|
|
Scotland, UK |
2009 |
Gold |
|
|
Hungary |
2009 |
Silver |
|
|
Washington, USA |
2010 |
Silver |
|
|
New Mexico, USA |
2010 |
Gold |
|
|
Hungary |
2011 |
Silver |
|
|
Ohio, USA |
2011 |
Silver |
|
|
Michigan, USA |
2011 |
Silver |
|
|
Texas, USA |
2012 |
Gold |
|
|
California, USA |
2013 |
Gold |
Death Valley National Park
The Racetrack at Night by Dan & Cindy Duriscoe
California, USA
Gold Tier
Established 2013
Big Bend National Park
Big Bend National Park by Tyler Nordgren
Texas, USA
Gold Tier
Established 2012
The Headlands
The Headlands by Robert de Jonge
Emmet County, Michigan
Silver Tier
Established 2011
Review the application
Observatory Park
A view of the Observatory Park
Monteville Township, Ohio (USA)
Silver Tier
Established 2011
Review the application
Hortobagy National Park, Hungary
Nightwatch at the park
Starry Sky Park
Hortobagy National Park, Hungary
Silver Tier
Established 2011
Review the application
Clayton Lake State Park
The Night Sky at Clayton Lake State Park
New Mexico, USA
Gold Tier
Established 2010
Review the application
Goldendale Observatory Park
Goldendale Observatory Park by Stephen Stout
Washington, USA
Silver Tier
Provisional Status
Established 2010
Review the application
Zselic National Landscape Protection Area
Image by Zoltán Kolláth
Zselic National Landscape Protection Area
Hungary
Silver Tier
Established 2009
Review the application
Galloway Forest Park
Galloway Forest Park by James Hilder
Scotland, UK
Gold Tier
Established 2009
Review the application
Cherry Springs State Park
Cherry Springs State Park by Dave Wymer
Pennsylvania, USA
Gold Tier
Established 2008
Review the application
Natural Bridges National Monument
The First International Dark Sky Park
Image by Wally Pacholka (www.astropics.com)
Natural Bridges National Monument
Utah, USA
Established 2006
Gold Tier
Review the application
Applying for International Dark Sky Park Status
A park considering applying must first have these objectives:
- To identify and honor protected public lands (national, state, provincial and other parks and notable public lands) with exceptional commitment to, and success in implementing, the ideals of dark sky preservation and/or restoration
- To preserve and/or restore outstanding night skies
- To promote protection of nocturnal habitat, public enjoyment of the night sky and its heritage, and areas ideal for professional and amateur astronomy
- To encourage park administrators to identify dark skies as a valuable resource in need of proactive protection
- To provide international recognition for such parks
- To encourage parks and similar public entities to become environmental leaders on dark sky issues by communicating the importance of dark skies to the general public and surrounding communities, and by providing an example of what is possible
To be eligible to apply the park must ensure that
- The park is composed of protected public lands, whether managed by national, state, provincial, or local agencies. (Examples include parks, refuges, forest, wilderness areas, monuments, protected rivers, or other categories of protected lands.)
- The park must provide the opportunity for public nighttime access.
- The park must have outstanding dark sky resources.
- The park’s night sky must be of minimum quality or better, where at minimum the Milky Way is visible and sky conditions that approximately correspond to limiting magnitude 5.0 or Bortle Class 6.
To learn more about applying or if you intend to apply please email program manager, Amee Hennig at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Applying for IDSP status is an interactive process that requires the park’s communication with IDA throughout the application.
Download information on becoming an IDSPark.