DURANGO HUB → FOUR CORNERS / SELF-GUIDED BRANCH
Take your own road through Southwest & Four Corners.
Start from Durango if that is your natural launch, then let Durango / Cortez take over once you are in the region. Compare darkness, roads, camping, facilities and telescope setup before choosing the night.
Pick a place deeper in the region
Want someone to guide the night? Switch branches ↗CampV
A Naturita boutique camp with lodging, camping and a private Stargazing + Snuggles experience in the Nucla-Naturita Dark Sky Community.
OPEN STOP ↗OFFICIAL TRAIL / International Dark Sky ParkChimney Rock National Monument
An International Dark Sky Park where the official trail and local interpretive program connect Puebloan cultural history with the night sky.
OPEN STOP ↗OFFICIAL TRAIL / International Dark Sky ParkHovenweep National Monument
An International Dark Sky Park where NPS limits nighttime stargazing to the campground and visitor-center parking lot while trails close at sunset.
OPEN STOP ↗OFFICIAL TRAIL / International Dark Sky ParkMesa Verde National Park
The world's 100th International Dark Sky Park, with 2026 Wednesday night programs at Morefield Campground and defined after-dark access areas.
OPEN STOP ↗OFFICIAL TRAIL / International Dark Sky CommunityNorwood
A 7,000-foot mesa community whose local visitor information highlights Wright's Mesa, Lone Cone Peak and Miramonte Reservoir for stargazing.
OPEN STOP ↗OFFICIAL TRAIL / International Dark Sky CommunityNucla & Naturita
A jointly designated West End Dark Sky Community surrounded by rural public lands, red-rock country and camping opportunities.
OPEN STOP ↗OFFICIAL TRAIL / International Dark Sky CommunityRidgway
A San Juan gateway and International Dark Sky Community with in-town viewing guidance, nearby Top of the Pines, and Ridgway State Park as a separate camping and occasional astronomy-program base.
OPEN STOP ↗OFFICIAL TRAIL / International Dark Sky ParkTop of the Pines
A 175-acre recreation and camping property below the Sneffels Range with an explicit dark-sky camping program and observing meadow.
OPEN STOP ↗Let the road connect a few nights
All routes ↗Black Canyon to the West End
Branch southwest from Black Canyon through the San Juan foothills and mesa country, linking Ridgway and Top of the Pines with Norwood before finishing in the remote West End around Nucla and Naturita.
TAKE THE ROUTE ↗ROAD ROUTE / Lake Fork Earth & Sky Center / Slumgullion → Chimney Rock National Monument → Mesa Verde → HovenweepSouthwest Sky & Culture
Continue south and west from Route 3 at Lake Fork Earth & Sky Center / Slumgullion, then follow the San Juans into Southwest Colorado through Chimney Rock, Mesa Verde and Hovenweep.
TAKE THE ROUTE ↗Before the engine starts
Open the field manual ↗Look at the Moon
A dark new-Moon night and a moonlit mountain night are different experiences. Pick the one you want.
CHECK THE MOON ↗FIELD MANUALRead the horizon
Darkness is only one variable. Access, headlights, wind and an open horizon can matter just as much.
CHOOSE A SITE ↗FIELD MANUALPack the car
Colorado gets cold quickly after dark, especially at elevation. Bring the night you want to stay out for.
PACK THE NIGHT ↗