Jacqui Agate | 14 March 2024
The world’s largest Dark Sky Sanctuary is designated in the Oregon Outback
The Pacific Northwest state now boasts a protected Dark Sky area that’s almost four times the size of Rhode Island...
The Pacific Northwest state now boasts a protected Dark Sky area that’s almost four times the size of Rhode Island...
A brand new International Dark Sky Sanctuary has just been designated in southeastern Oregon’s Lake County, in a remote high desert area known as the Oregon Outback. At 2.5 million acres, it has become the largest of its kind on Earth.
Dark Sky Sanctuary status is awarded by DarkSky International to areas with extraordinary, star-filled night skies, with minimal light pollution. To ensure the preservation of these skies, Sanctuaries must commit to tight guidelines, including strictly controlled lighting, as well as typically public education and outreach.
Warner Valley under the Milkyway (Joey Hamilton/Travel Oregon)
A map of US light pollution in the US, clearly showing Oregon as a place of fantastic dark skies
The Oregon Outback Dark Sky Sanctuary incorporates the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, part of the larger Fremont-Winema National Forest, and the small communities of Summer Lake, Plush and Adel. It joins dazzling US Sanctuaries including Maine’s Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument, a National Park Service site on the homelands of the Indigenous Penobscot Nation, and the sprawling Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in the Midwestern state of Minnesota.
An outdoor adventure playground, the stark Oregon Outback is characterised by alkaline lakes, sagebrush-scattered desert and mountains. The region is also rich in wildlife-watching opportunities: it’s part of the Pacific Flyway, a major north/south corridor for migratory birds
The cosmos put on a spectacular show above the Oregon Outback’s Summer Lake Hot Springs – ancient mineral-rich thermal pools in the midst of the desert. To ensure ample time for taking in the stars, overnight at the rustic onsite cabins.
By day, the Oregon Outback’s remote Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge is a prime spot for wildlife watching (think pronghorns, American pika and bighorn sheep) and at night you can see its epic celestial canvas. You’ll get stellar views from Warner Valley Overlook Trail, though the best way to drink in the skies is to pitch a tent at the designated campground or in the backcountry (it’s free to camp here year-round).
Go back to where it all began at Prineville Reservoir State Park, the first International Dark Sky Park in Oregon. Knitted into the Ochoco Mountains, the park lends itself perfectly to ‘star parties’– on weekends during spring and summer, guides help visitors decipher the stars using telescopes. If you’re lucky, you’ll get dramatic views of the Milky Way.
You can pair your stargazing with a pint at Worthy Brewing’s ‘hopservatory’ in Bend, Central Oregon. State-of-the-art telescopes are located in the brewery’s adjacent dome with staff on hand to help you make sense of the starscapes. You can gaze at the cosmos with the naked eye as you sip IPAs and stouts from the open-air terrace too. (Note that the ‘hopservatory’ is currently closed for the season).
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