5 Of The Best National Parks In America For Stargazing, According To Visitor Reviews

After a long day of hiking around a national park, nothing could be better than a night of camping under the stars. Still, the question remains: Which national park has the absolute best views of the night sky? Fortunately, many of the national parks in the United States are certified as International Dark Sky Places, which means they are free from almost all light pollution.

Without unnatural light from cities and towns, the night sky transforms from an inky black sea with a few twinkling lights into a staggeringly beautiful light show. These breathtaking views can only be seen in a few places in the United States, and we handpicked select choices based on highly rated reviews by visitors. To experience them, all you have to do is spend the night in a National Park — an exciting outdoor adventure in and of itself. So, pack your tent, your America the Beautiful Pass (Here's how to tell if it's the right national park pass for you), your binoculars, and get ready for some of the best stargazing on Earth.

When people ask about the best national parks to stargaze, it doesn't take long for somebody to recommend California's Joshua Tree National Park. Its star ratings are generally high, 4.7 on Yelp and 5.0 on Tripadvisor, and it has thousands of satisfied user reviews online. This desert park receives more than 3 million visitors yearly, and they come to see its iconic trees, landscape, and skies. 

Not only does Joshua Tree National Park have the Ryan Mountain Trail, which is one of the world's best sunset viewing spots, but it also has some of the darkest night skies in the United States, making it perfect for stargazing. "The absolute best place for stargazing," one local guide on Google Reviews stated. "We were fortunate enough to not only see the Milky Way but also witness a meteor shower. One of the best experiences of my life." 

The park often offers night sky events, including a Night Sky Festival, which takes place every year in the fall. Year round, the parking lots to Quail Springs, Hidden Valley, Cap Rock, and Ryan Mountain are set aside for stargazing. While you're expected to stay close to your car, you won't be disappointed by the views. Alternatively, you can camp overnight at Cottonwood Campground. If you have the skills, get a permit to stay overnight in the backcountry and find the best viewpoint for yourself.

There are more certified Dark Sky Parks in Utah than anywhere else on the planet. If you're looking for breathtaking views of the night sky, any of them can be fantastic options. However, judging by the more than 35,000 reviews across platforms like Google Reviews, TripAdvisor, and Yelp, with scores averaging between 4.8 and 5.0 stars, your best bet might just be Bryce Canyon National Park. It's probably best known for the incredible rock formation called Hoodooos, which looks almost like a city of reddish stone skyscrapers sprawling out across the park — but those aren't the only views you can enjoy.

One visitor enthused on Google Reviews, "[I]f you're lucky enough to visit during a stargazing event, you'll be treated to a celestial spectacle that will leave you humbled by the vastness of the universe." If you come to Bryce Canyon in June, you might be able to catch the annual astronomy festival, but on any Friday or Saturday in the summer, you can join a Night Sky Telescope Program at the visitor center to learn more about the night sky. However, if you want to be alone with the stars, the National Park Service specifically recommends Sunset Point, Sunrise Point, Inspiration Point, or Paria View for the clearest views.

There is no doubt that this remote national park in the south is such a beautiful, under-the-radar gem. In 2023, only around 512,000 people visited Big Bend National Park, and yet, when discussing stargazing in national parks, it is one of the spots that gets mentioned the most. The reason is obvious: This remote Texas park has the least light pollution in the contiguous United States. This is a kind of darkness that can be seen in a few other places in America.

One reviewer on Google Reviews described this experience, writing: "I was most [wowed] by it being designated as a Dark Sky Place. The beauty and wonder I've missed my whole adult life because of light pollution! We saw the Milky Way with our own eyes." They aren't alone in loving this park, which has an average rating of around 4.8 stars across nearly 6,000 reviews on Google Reviews and Yelp. You can certainly pull out a pair of binoculars and see incredible views from anywhere in Big Bend. However, you might also want to enjoy a free park ranger program to learn more.

"I've never seen the stars at night, anywhere else, the way they are there," one local guide on Google Reviews wrote about Great Basin National Park in Nevada. This fascinating park is home to mysterious limestone caverns and miles of wooded hiking trails, but it's also one of the darkest places in the lower 48 states. Visitors are able to see the Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy, and many planets without having to use binoculars or telescopes.

Across thousands of reviews on sites like Google Reviews, Tripadvisor, and Yelp, this park has between 4.4 and 4.7 stars on these sites. Many of these reviewers likely attended the annual Great Basin Astronomy Festival since that is the busiest time in the park. If you have a hard time booking a campsite during the festival, though, don't worry. You can see incredible views of the night sky all year long. The National Park Service particularly recommends visiting the Astronomy Amphitheater, Mather Overlook, Baker Archaeological Site, or the Ranching Exhibit along Highway 488 for the most striking views.

There are many little-known national parks that are perfect for family vacations, but one of the most underrated may be Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado, with less than 300,000 visitors a year. This park gets its name from the shockingly deep, narrow canyon with the Gunnison River flowing through it. The view, looking down into the canyon from the cliffs, is not one to miss — but the scene above is just as stunning. The same overlooks that you can use for admiring the canyon are perfect for stargazing, so you might want to check out Chasm View, Dragon Point, or Sunset View on the South Rim, or Kneeling Camel Overlook or Chasm View Nature Trail on the North Rim.

While the park is underrated, it still has thousands of rave reviews, with average scores between 4.8 and 5.0 stars across Google Reviews and TripAdvisor. It even has its own organization, the Black Canyon Astronomical Society, which regularly holds events with experts in physics and astronomy. As one visitor on Google Reviews stated, when you go to Black Canyon, you can expect: "No lights at night, just a sky full of stars."

To choose the best national parks in the United States for stargazing, we began by creating a list of national parks that had achieved certification from DarkSky International, guaranteeing that they were free from most light pollution. Any of these parks would make excellent destinations for astronomy fans, but in order to send our readers the very best stargazing spots, we added another step. We looked over tens of thousands of reviews from visitors on sites like TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Google Reviews and included only the parks that had the absolute highest average user ratings so we could guarantee a stellar experience overall. 

Next, we filtered the list through a stargazing lens to ensure that the positive impressions of reviewers were derived from the night sky, not just the park's other incredible natural sights. We also took care to only include parks with clear, mostly unobstructed views of the sky at night and where it is possible to camp overnight. Furthermore, we ranked parks that have observatories, ranger programs, or astronomy-themed events high on our list to ensure that visitors would have the opportunity to learn more about the stars if they choose to.