Dark Sky Tourism: Why Your Next Adventure Should Chase the Night

By: Weylin Ryan

The Light Revolution We Didn’t Ask For

Humans have always found ways to illuminate the darkness, but something fundamental shifted with electricity’s arrival. Artificial lighting now increases by up to 20% annually in some regions, creating a new form of pollution we’re only beginning to understand. This isn’t just about missing stars; it’s about health, safety, and experiences we’re losing without even realizing it.

Dark Sky International (formerly the International Dark Sky Association) certifies six types of locations: sanctuaries, reserves, parks, communities, urban night sky places, and approved lodging. Each certification requires light meter readings, community education, lighting policies, and either immediate compliance projects or five-year improvement roadmaps.

But here’s what matters for you as a traveler: these certifications represent destinations that understand something profound about the value of darkness.

Your Health Depends on Darkness

Science has established scotobiology. This is the study of biological systems that require darkness to function. The health implications of excessive nighttime light exposure include increased risks of sleep disorders, diabetes, obesity, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and depression. While these effects develop over time, even short-term exposure affects your travel experience.

Consider your last hotel stay in a brightly lit city. Did you sleep poorly despite exhaustion? Light pollution streaming through inadequate curtains compounds the natural challenge of sleeping somewhere new. Your immune system, already working harder during travel, needs quality sleep to keep you healthy and energized for adventures.

Dark sky certified destinations minimize light trespass, ensuring better sleep quality without relying on blackout curtains that many locally-run accommodations lack. When you wake refreshed instead of groggy, you’re more motivated to explore, more present for experiences, and more resilient against travel fatigue.

Safety Through Intelligent Lighting

Safety ranks second on Maslow’s hierarchy for good reason. We all want to feel secure no matter where we are but this is especially true while traveling. Dark sky certification doesn’t mean eliminating lighting; it means eliminating glare and designing illumination that actually improves visibility and safety.

Many destinations flood public spaces with bright, glaring lights assuming more equals safer. Research from England and Wales found “little evidence of harmful effects” when communities switched off, dimmed, or modified lighting systems. In fact, excessive lighting can help criminals “choose their victims, locate escape routes and see their surroundings” more easily.

Dark sky certified places use targeted, well-designed lighting that enhances visibility without creating the glare that reduces night vision, especially for travelers over 40, who comprise the majority of international visitors to many destinations. Better visibility means safer navigation for evening activities and reduced eye strain during nighttime exploration.

Experiences Worth Traveling For

The most compelling reason to seek dark sky destinations isn’t health or safety, it’s the extraordinary experiences they offer. These places have transformed darkness from something to overcome into something to celebrate.

**Hotel Belmar** in Costa Rica offers guided night tours showcasing nocturnal wildlife and soundscapes invisible during daylight hours. **Casita de Gila** provides star charts, spotting scopes, and a 10-inch telescope with guided tours, plus setup sites for guests bringing their own equipment. Each casita features amenities designed for astronomers and astro-photographers, yet owner Becky O’Connor notes: “We have many people who come just to see a dark sky because they live in or near a city.”

The experiences extend far beyond traditional stargazing. **Bryce Canyon National Park’s** full moon hikes sell out within an hour. **Great Basin National Park’s** annual Astronomy Festival transformed their visitation numbers overnight, attracting families, backpackers, and elderly visitors alike. **Mont-Mégantic Star Reserve** in Canada now hosts dark sky and meteor festivals welcoming tens of thousands annually.

Innovation in the Dark

Creative businesses worldwide are discovering unique ways to celebrate darkness:

  • Kosmos Stargazing Resort & Spa combines luxury accommodations with expert-led astronomy sessions and celestial-themed spa treatments
  • Stargazing Zion’s Zero-Gravity Pod Tours offer comfortable cosmic viewing with high-tech equipment and interpretive storytelling
  • Yellowstone Night Skies Tours provide four-hour immersive experiences with transportation, telescopes, mythology lessons, and astrophotography guidance
  • Cafe Laulian which operated in the early 2000’s in South Korea hosted monthly “candle nights” where all electric lights go off simultaneously, creating intimate live music experiences by candlelight

The Alqueva region in Portugal developed an entire Dark Sky Route, an association of accommodations and activities including night vision wildlife searches, full moon horseback riding, new moon rides for experienced equestrians, and nighttime canoeing on Lake Alqueva.

Not every dark sky experience requires expensive resorts or guided tours. Durango, Colorado figured out something brilliant (pun intended), they loan out complete stargazing kits from their Welcome Center and the Pine River Library in Bayfield. The kit includes: binoculars, smartphone mounts for photos, star charts, red flashlights, kids’ activities, even light meters so you can measure how dark (or polluted) your campsite or hotel area are. These are designed to get people interested by not requiring an knowledge or for that matter money as they are available for free. This means even families on shoe string budgets can enjoy something else they might not have gotten to while hopefully observing what is taking place around them.

These aren’t just tourism gimmicks; they’re recognition that darkness offers experiences impossible under artificial light. As one visitor to Cafe Laulian’s candle night observed: “I could see my family better in the dark with candle light. I had to get close to them to see their faces and eyes, and I became warm-hearted.”

Beyond Tourism: Becoming an Advocate

Dark sky destinations represent communities that made conscious choices about their relationship with light and darkness. As travelers, we can support these choices and encourage others.

Start by educating yourself about responsible lighting practices. Check if your area has a local Dark Sky International chapter through their website, these groups offer volunteer opportunities, educational resources, and community connections. If no chapter exists nearby, consider starting one.

When traveling, don’t hesitate to mention problematic lighting to managers. Frame it personally: “The outdoor light was hurting my eyes and made it difficult to access your business.” This approach feels less confrontational while highlighting real impacts.

Most importantly, attend local government meetings in your home community. Advocate for dark sky-friendly lighting codes and ordinances. Officials often don’t know where to start, but numerous examples exist for code writers to reference. Your voice as a resident and traveler carries weight in these discussions.

Campfire Talk

The night sky should be universal heritage, accessible regardless of where we live or travel. Dark sky certified destinations prove that communities can balance necessary illumination with preservation of natural darkness. They offer experiences that reconnect us with something fundamental we’ve almost forgotten, the profound beauty and restorative power of darkness.

These places understand that tourism isn’t just about seeing new sights; it’s about having experiences that change us. Standing beneath unpolluted skies, watching wildlife emerge in natural darkness, or simply sleeping deeply in a quiet, dark room, these should not be luxuries. They’re connections to our most basic human needs.

Have you ever experienced a truly dark sky? What drew you there, and how did it affect you? More importantly, what’s preventing your home community from protecting its own darkness?

Sustainability whispers in the in-between, we just need listen and explore.

Happy Earth Day…and Night!

By Deborah Price and Martie Semmer, IDA Colorado Board of Directors

3.8.2023

Earth Day (April 22) is a great reminder each year to protect our home planet. However, each day we have with the sun is reflected by nighttime with the moon and stars. While one half of the Earth is bathed in light, the other half is dark.

Half of life on earth is nocturnal. Many species of wildlife have evolved eyesight that is specifically designed for night vision. Light pollution is often a detriment to their survival and ability to thrive.

Night is a magical time, not only for wildlife survival and activity, but for the glorious skies we see above our heads. The darker it is, the more you can see. The more we keep lights off, the more our eyes adjust to darkness. We see better at night when there is less light pollution. Our pupils expand in the darkness and allow us to take in much more of the night around us. When lights are turned on, our pupils shut down and put a barrier between us and the magic of the night.

This year’s theme for Earth Day is Invest in Our Planet. Investment can mean a lot of things, and investing in protection of the night has some pretty simple rules we can follow. It starts with using lights only when we need them, and directing light where it is needed (not up into the sky or into a neighbor’s yard). When we find ways to protect life after dark, it helps our lives shine a little brighter in the daytime too.

Happy Earth Day (and Night!)

Earth Day: Because Every Day Needs a Night

For more information:

IDA Colorado Home

Become a Member of IDA!

The Stars Can Lead You Home

Polaris, “the North Star,” is fixed in the northern heavens to people in the northern hemisphere.

By Deborah Price, IDA Colorado Board, 11/6/2022.

It’s often disorienting to be outside at night, but nature gives us a shining compass to provide direction. If you’re outside in winter and want to know which way is north, look up! On a clear night you can find Polaris, our North Star, and figure out other directions from there.

Polaris just happens to be above Earth’s North Pole. Earth spins once every 24 hours, keeping Polaris to the North. To find this guiding star, look for the Big Dipper.  The Big Dipper is part of the larger constellation Ursa Major (Big Bear) but the Big Dipper itself is very large in the sky.  The cup of the dipper is made up of four visible stars in a square-like pattern. The handle of the dipper extends out with three visible stars.  To find Polaris, look for the two stars in the cup that are farthest from the tip of the handle (the outer edge of the cup).  Draw an imaginary line from the bottom star through the top star straight out, and you will find Polaris.  It’s not a bright star–it just happens to be in the right place!

Another fun fact is that Polaris is the tip of the handle of the Little Dipper, which is much more difficult to see than the Big Dipper. If you keep that imaginary line going past Polaris, you’ll run into the constellation Cassiopeia, which looks like a big “W.”

Not only is it great to have this natural compass in the sky, but what a wonder it is to be able to see the stars! The less light pollution there is, the more you can see.

Turn off your lights, let your eyes adjust, and look up! 

Dark Sky Month 2022 Proclamation

Governor Jared Polis declared June 2022 as “Dark Sky Month” in Colorado.

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Dark Sky Month June 2022

Governor Jared Polis declared June 2022 as “Dark Sky Month” in Colorado.

“Dark skies in the Rocky Mountains are a Colorado treasure and a key attraction for our tourism industry. I’m grateful to the International Dark-sky Association Colorado chapter and Gov. Polis for prioritizing this natural resource and reminding all of us to reduce light pollution for the public’s health and well-being, as well as for our state’s wildlife and natural environment,” said Julie McCluskie, Colorado State Representative for House District 61.

Dark Sky Month June 2021

Governor Jared Polis declared June 2021 as “Dark Sky Month” in Colorado.

“With the State’s ever-growing population, the commitment to protecting and preserving our natural nights and landscapes from excessive light pollution and trespass is as important now as ever. A special thanks to Governor Polis and his staff for their efforts in helping to protect Colorado’s legacy for future generations,” said Ryan Parker, Chair of the International Dark-sky Association Colorado chapter.

“Dark skies in the Rocky Mountains are a Colorado treasure and a key attraction for our tourism industry. I’m grateful to the International Dark-sky Association Colorado chapter and Gov. Polis for prioritizing this natural resource and reminding all of us to reduce light pollution for the public’s health and well-being, as well as for our state’s wildlife and natural environment,” said Julie McCluskie, Colorado State Representative for House District 61.

In the last few weeks, two Colorado parks, Mesa Verde National Park and Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, and the communities of Crestone, Nucla and Naturita received Dark Sky certification. With these added to the list, Colorado now has thirteen certified Dark Sky Places.

“We appreciate the International Dark-sky Association Colorado chapter and Audubon Rockies for their important advocacy to reduce the impacts of spill light, preserve our unparalleled Colorado night-time skies, and educate on the ecological benefits of dark skies,” said Dan Gibbs, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Natural Resources. “June is an appropriate month to celebrate and bring awareness to the importance of dark skies as more Coloradans venture outdoors with the warming weather and are awed by the brightness of the milky way and celestial planets.”

Dark Sky Month

Governor Jared Polis declared June 2021 as “Dark Sky Month” in Colorado.

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Measuring Skyglow Over the Front Range

IDA Colorado members and others are working to find new approaches to measuring skyglow where our problem is greatest, the Front Range Urban Corridor, along a line from Pueblo, through Denver, and north to Fort Collins.  Airplane flights are being used to capture skyglow images from about 3000 feet above ground level.  The National Park Service Night Sky Team is creating their all-sky false-color images from the ground, to compare to the images taken from the airplane.  Photographers are taking conventional photographs from viewpoints in the foothills immediately west of the Urban Corridor.  And IDA members are taking conventional SQM readings at a number of locations along the Urban Corridor. 

We’re working with a variety of partners:  in addition to IDA Colorado members, other participants include Jeremy White from the National Park Service Night Sky Team, the people at Lighthawk Conservation Flying, CSU’s Dr. Kyle Horton, and leading Colorado videographer and photographer Diego Rodriguez.  If you would like to help, please contact Richard OBrien ([email protected]).


Bird Migration Update (April 2021)

Spring bird migration season is here!  In Colorado the peak of spring migration is in early May.  Studies show that huge numbers of birds fly on just a few nights.  Colorado State University’s bird migration forecast can predict migration activity levels one, two, or three days in advance.  Watch for alerts at https://aeroecolab.com/colorado, and see how many birds are forecast to be migrating on any given night. 


The bird migration “alerts” forecast relatively high migration activity on a particular night over a major city.  A map shows areas of particularly intense activity, and there is a forecast of the total number of birds flying over Colorado. 

To see a live image of birds currently in the air, based on live radar data, go to the affiliated website https://birdcast.info/migration-tools/live-migration-maps/.


Live Radar-based Map