Colorado Stargazing Trail

The Colorado Tourism Office describes Nucla and Naturita as closely linked West End communities surrounded by a broad rural landscape and red-rock formations. The trail recommends stopping at the visitor center in Naturita for current trail and campsite information and planning the stargazing portion of a trip around the new moon and astronomical twilight.[2]

DarkSky International

DarkSky International records Nucla and Naturita as a jointly designated International Dark Sky Community since 2021. It reports that the West End Dark Sky Alliance formed with the mission of “preserving and protecting our dark sky resource while fostering awareness of light pollution.”[3]

DarkSky's place page also recommends planning around the new moon and astronomical twilight and links the communities' lighting ordinances and annual reports, making it the clearest direct source for the designation itself.[3]

Sources

  1. [1]

    Photo: DarkSky International / Derick Wilson — Nucla & Naturita Dark Sky Community announcement

  2. [2]

    Colorado Tourism Office, Colorado Stargazing Trail™ — colorado.com/colorado-stargazing-trail

  3. [3]

    DarkSky International, Nucla and Naturita, Colorado — darksky.org/places/nucla-and-naturita-colorado-dark-sky…