Dark-sky places in Oregon

Stargazing in Oregon

Oregon’s darkest skies are east of the Cascades, where the dry high desert and Columbia Plateau are thinly settled. DarkSky International says southeastern Oregon holds the largest contiguous dark-sky zone in the country, and the Oregon Outback Dark Sky Sanctuary in Lake County protects part of it. Closer to the cities, Prineville Reservoir State Park near Bend and Cottonwood Canyon State Park on the John Day River are International Dark Sky Parks with camping. The small towns of Sisters and Antelope are certified communities, and Antelope Basecamp is a DarkSky Approved cabin stay. West of the Cascades, Oregon Caves in the Siskiyou Mountains rounds out the list.

Antelope Basecamp

Antelope Basecamp is a one-acre cabin property in the tiny town of Antelope, with ten A-frame cabins around a shared courtyard in open desert country. All outdoor lighting is red, and indoor lights are low and shielded, so guests can watch the Milky Way from their own patios. It is open year-round for overnight guests and small groups, with self-guided sky viewing, seasonal programs and telescopes to borrow. A shared building is being restored as a dark-sky resource library with a tea bar and game room. The town of Antelope is itself a certified Dark Sky Community.

Sisters, Oregon

Sisters is a western-style town of about 3,475 people in central Oregon, roughly 20 miles from Bend, ringed on three sides by the Deschutes National Forest, with pine forest to the west and high desert to the east. A local astronomy club formed in 2000, and the town strengthened its outdoor lighting ordinance to meet DarkSky’s standards. Local high schools teach astronomy, and volunteers collect sky-quality data. Sisters is known for clear nights and low light pollution, and it makes a good base for hiking, alpine lakes and skiing by day.

Cottonwood Canyon State Park

Cottonwood Canyon is Oregon’s second-largest state park, more than 16,000 acres of canyons, rolling hills and sagebrush along the John Day River, about 23 miles south of Wasco. Staff removed unneeded lights and retrofitted the rest, and they run stargazing events and talks with the Rose City Astronomers. The park is open year-round for camping, fishing, rafting and wildlife watching, and its remote location keeps big-city glow far away. There is no cell coverage in the park, so plan ahead. A campsite lets you stay out for the darkest hours.

Antelope, Oregon

Antelope is a tiny town in the upper Antelope Valley of north-central Oregon, which grew up on the old wagon road from The Dalles to the 1860s gold fields and later became a quiet ranching town. To win certification, it adopted a new lighting ordinance, removed streetlights that did not comply, replaced the rest with DarkSky Approved fixtures and logged more than a year of sky-quality data. The town has hosted star parties, handed out free dark-sky bulbs to residents and acquired three telescopes from the Rose City Astronomers.

Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve

Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve covers 4,554 acres of old-growth forest and marble caves in the Siskiyou Mountains of southern Oregon. Undeveloped land around it buffers the park from nearby towns, and the monument is retrofitting its lights over the coming years. It is open year-round and offers summertime night sky events. Guided cave tours run in season, and 17 first-come, first-served campsites let you stay to see the stars after the tours end.

Oregon Outback

The Oregon Outback Dark Sky Sanctuary covers eastern Lake County in southeastern Oregon, a high desert of sagebrush, mountains, huge lakes, playas and hot springs, with Abert Rim, one of the tallest fault scarps in the US. DarkSky International counts it among the darkest skies in the world. Federal, tribal, state and county partners adopted a shared lighting plan and retrofitted lights. Most of the land is public, open for camping, hiking and stargazing, and lodges, cabins, RV parks and guide services in the region help with trips. Distances are long here, so carry fuel and water.

Prineville Reservoir State Park

Prineville Reservoir State Park sits on the shore of a reservoir on the Crooked River, south of the town of Prineville in central Oregon. Bureau of Reclamation land surrounds it on most sides, and it lies at the edge of the vast dark region of southeastern Oregon, making it the gateway for stargazers from Bend, Prineville and the cities west of the Cascades. The park offers regular night sky programs that explain why darkness matters, and the reservoir is popular for fishing. Check the Oregon State Parks calendar for program dates.