COLORADO STARGAZING TRAILNIGHT-RIDE FIELD GUIDE
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Trail guide/SKY DARKNESS / QUICK DIRECTORY

SKY DARKNESS / QUICK DIRECTORY

Colorado stargazing by Bortle class

Start with how dark you want the sky. Jump to a Bortle class, scan the matching Colorado stops, then open the place that fits your night.

QUICK NAV / 01–08

Lower number. Darker sky.

These are the current guide ratings for the practical observing or program location attached to each stop. Some are modeled estimates and some have stronger field or source support. Read the stop page before treating one number as the whole story.

BORTLE CLASS1

Excellent dark-sky site

What does Bortle 1 mean? ↗
01Colorado Trail / Willow Creek Dark-Sky PointGUIDE ADDITION02Kim / Southeast Colorado dark countryGUIDE ADDITION
BORTLE CLASS2

Typical truly dark site

What does Bortle 2 mean? ↗
01Chimney Rock National MonumentOFFICIAL TRAIL02Comanche National GrasslandGUIDE ADDITION03Dinosaur National MonumentOFFICIAL TRAIL04Great Sand Dunes National Park and PreserveOFFICIAL TRAIL05Gunnison Gorge National Conservation AreaOFFICIAL TRAIL06Lake Fork Earth & Sky Center / SlumgullionOFFICIAL TRAIL07Marshall PassGUIDE ADDITION08Mesa Verde National ParkOFFICIAL TRAIL09Starry Meadows / Rocky Mountain Star StareGUIDE ADDITION10State Forest State ParkGUIDE ADDITION11Steamboat Lake State ParkGUIDE ADDITION12UFO WatchtowerGUIDE ADDITION13Valley View Hot SpringsGUIDE ADDITION
BORTLE CLASS3
01Black Canyon of the Gunnison National ParkOFFICIAL TRAIL02Browns Canyon National MonumentOFFICIAL TRAIL03C Lazy U RanchGUIDE ADDITION04CampVGUIDE ADDITION05Crawford State ParkGUIDE ADDITION06CrestoneOFFICIAL TRAIL07Cuchara / Bear & Blue LakesGUIDE ADDITION08Curecanti National Recreation AreaOFFICIAL TRAIL09Eleven Mile State ParkGUIDE ADDITION10Elkhead Reservoir State ParkGUIDE ADDITION11Florissant Fossil Beds National MonumentOFFICIAL TRAIL12Grand Mesa ObservatoryGUIDE ADDITION13Gunnison Valley ObservatoryGUIDE ADDITION14Hovenweep National MonumentOFFICIAL TRAIL15John Martin Reservoir State ParkGUIDE ADDITION16Loveland PassGUIDE ADDITION17NorwoodOFFICIAL TRAIL18Nucla & NaturitaOFFICIAL TRAIL19PaoniaOFFICIAL TRAIL20Paonia State ParkGUIDE ADDITION21Pawnee National GrasslandGUIDE ADDITION22RidgwayOFFICIAL TRAIL23Ridgway State ParkGUIDE ADDITION24Rocky Mountain National ParkGUIDE ADDITION25Smokey Jack ObservatoryGUIDE ADDITION26Southern Colorado Astronomical ParkGUIDE ADDITION27Top of the PinesOFFICIAL TRAIL28Westcliffe & Silver CliffOFFICIAL TRAIL
BORTLE CLASS4

Rural / suburban transition

What does Bortle 4 mean? ↗
01Aspen Mountain SundeckGUIDE ADDITION02BoulderGUIDE ADDITION03BreckenridgeOFFICIAL TRAIL04Colorado National MonumentGUIDE ADDITION05Golden Gate Canyon State ParkGUIDE ADDITION06Highline Lake State ParkGUIDE ADDITION07Jackson Lake State ParkOFFICIAL TRAIL08Mueller State ParkGUIDE ADDITION09Old SnowmassOFFICIAL TRAIL10Ouray KOA Holiday StargazingGUIDE ADDITION11Pine River Library Dark Sky KitsGUIDE ADDITION12Rifle Gap State ParkGUIDE ADDITION13Staunton State ParkGUIDE ADDITION14The Nest at Black HawkGUIDE ADDITION15Trinidad Lake State ParkGUIDE ADDITION
BORTLE CLASS5
01Aspen Stargazing / The Gant listingGUIDE ADDITION02Durango Welcome Center Dark Sky KitsGUIDE ADDITION03Estes Park Memorial ObservatoryGUIDE ADDITION04Lake Pueblo State ParkGUIDE ADDITION05UNM-Taos Cielo CentroGUIDE ADDITION
BORTLE CLASS6

Bright suburban sky

What does Bortle 6 mean? ↗
01Little Thompson ObservatoryGUIDE ADDITION
BORTLE CLASS7

Suburban / urban transition

What does Bortle 7 mean? ↗
01Madison-Macdonald ObservatoryGUIDE ADDITION
BORTLE CLASS8
01Chamberlin ObservatoryGUIDE ADDITION

Want the scale itself instead of the location list?

Read the Bortle scaleChoose your night

NIGHT RIDE / NEXT EXITS

Where do you want to go next?

Take a turn you have not tried yet. Follow the road into a new place, a new kind of night or something worth knowing before the next stop.

EXIT 01 / REGIONS

Choose a part of Colorado

Pick the landscape before you pick the stop.

TAKE THIS BRANCH ↗EXIT 02 / GUIDED

Find a night with a program

Ranger nights, observatories, star parties and guided telescopes.

TAKE THIS BRANCH ↗EXIT 03 / OFFICIAL 21

Open the official trail

Jump straight to the 21 parks and communities at the center of the route.

TAKE THIS BRANCH ↗EXIT 04 / ROAD BOOK

Choose a route loop

String a few good nights together without trying to drive the whole state.

TAKE THIS BRANCH ↗

COSMIC ROULETTE / RANDOM GUIDE SIGNAL

Can't decide? Let the stars guide you.

Click once and the guide will race through the places on the statewide map, lock onto one at random, then open that place page.

SIGNALAWAITING STAR SIGNAL