Bisbee, Arizona

About

Bisbee is a historic mining town located in Cochise County in the southwest corner of Arizona, 5 miles north of the international border with Mexico. Due to its mining origins, the settlement is clustered in a steep canyon near the old mine that once drove the town’s economy. The houses and the town’s infrastructure are piled on top of one another, with access mostly by stairways, as Bisbee was laid out before the arrival of automobiles. 

When the mine closed in the mid-1970s, the mining infrastructure lighting had ceased to be a problem. Today, the city is home to nearly 5,000 residents whose appreciation for both the town’s past and future is evident as it has now shifted its focus to attracting visitors to take in the unique history while learning about its efforts today to protect dark skies.

Bisbee Dark Skies was established in 2018, and its main objective was to address municipal and residential lighting. The city passed an International Dark Sky Community (IDSC) compliant lighting ordinance in 2022, and at the time of certification in 2024, the city of Bisbee had already put it to work in addressing multiple renovation projects that were underway around the town. The Bisbee city government has enthusiastically supported the certification effort since its inception, and Bisbee now has a 5-year program to replace all of its publicly owned lighting in accordance with IDSC guidelines. 

Bisbee Dark Skies also organizes several outreach programs that are successfully running throughout the year, including an active presence with a monthly booth at the local Bisbee Farmers Market. The local Bisbee Unified School District is seeking to incorporate dark-sky educational content into its local science programs. 

Visitors to Bisbee are in store for a rich history, with some parts of the city still frozen in time. One example is historic Warren Ball Park, the oldest continuously used baseball field in the United States (since 1905). Bisbee Dark Skies is working with the city to receive grant funding to update the field’s lighting in order to bring them into compliance with the lighting ordinance. To maintain its International Dark Sky community status, local advocates will continue taking yearly night sky quality surveys in each of the neighborhoods around Bisbee. 

Area

13.41 Sq. Km

Designated

2024

Category

International Dark Sky Community

Address

478 Dart Road
PO Box 1642
Bisbee, AZ. 85603
Google Maps

Contact

Heather Andrews
Bisbee Tourism Director
520-432-3554

Bisbee Dark Skies
520-678-2042

Documents

Application
Announcement
Annual Reports