< dark sky directory

NY dark sky places

List of darkest parks and places in New York for stargazing, astrophotography, astrotourism, star parties, and astronomy club events. Often these are national and state parks and forests that are either remote or "protected" against light pollution.

National and state parks often let you stay overnight under the stars, hence their motto - "Half the park is after dark".

Bortle scale for sites is given where known. Also ask your local astronomy club for guidance as they will know the darkest places.

DARK PARK	BORTLE
Adirondack Park	2
Allegany State Park	3
Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park	1
Bowman Lake State Park	3
Camp Hero State Park	3
Cedar Island State Park	3
Davis State Park	3
Finger Lakes National Forest
Gateway National Recreation Area
Gilbert Lake State Park	3
Glimmerglass State Park	3
Golden Hill State Park
Highly Flow State Park	3
Krig Point State Park	3
Letchworth State Park
Long Point State Park	3
Max V. Shaul State Park	3
Montauk Point State Park	3
Oquaga Creek State Park	3
Pixley Falls State Park	3
Robert G. Wehle State Park	3
Southwick Beach State Park	3
Whetstone Gulf State Park	3

Light pollution map w/ Bortle

On the left is a 2023 satellite image of NY showing light pollution from the NOAA National Geophysical Data Center. On the right is a 2015 light pollution map showing sky brightness at the zenith from World Atlas data. Colors correspond approximately to the Bortle scale. Use as a guide to find the darkest sky locations near you.