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A person in a tent holding a flashlight camping at night with stars visible.
Photo by Joey Hamilton

Dark Sky Tourism

Learn how Oregon’s pristine dark skies can be a sustainable tourism asset in your destination.

Celebrating, protecting and visiting “dark sky” areas is a growing worldwide phenomenon – and that’s great news, because since the invention of electric streetlights and the use of artificial light at night (ALAN), we are losing the natural darkness of night literally at the speed of light. In fact, it’s estimated that 80% of Americans and nearly 33% of all humanity can no longer see the Milky Way from home.

Unlike states east of the Mississippi River and our neighbors to the north and south, Oregon is fortunate to have an abundance of dark skies. In fact, much of Eastern Oregon comprises the majority of the largest and most pristine dark sky zone in the contiguous United States.

Jagged rock formations stand illuminated by moonlight under a starry night sky. A winding river flows at their base, weaving through the dark, rugged landscape.

Dark Sky Tourism Learning Community

Text reading “OREGON Dark Sky TOURISM TOOLKIT” overlays a starry night sky with a visible comet. Rocky coastal formations are illuminated by moonlight.

Dark Sky Tourism Toolkit

Stargazers admiring the Dark Sky in Eastern Oregon.

Dark Sky Tourism Consultation

DARK SKY TOURISM IS SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

Sustainable travel is a form of travel that aims to sustain or enhance the geographical character of a place — its environment, culture, aesthetics, heritage and the well-being of residents. Dark sky tourism checks all the sustainability boxes. It even disperses visitors geographically, seasonally, and over the course of a day. The positive environmental, cultural, and economic effects of dark sky tourism most often extend well beyond a given site. Dark sky tourism may even provide opportunities for regenerative tourism – that is, visitors may have a positive impact on a destination, eventually leaving it in better condition than they found it.

DEFINITIONS

Astrotourism –Tourism that focuses on sky-related tourist activities, such as stargazing, astrophotography, chasing eclipses and auroras, and visiting facilities related to astronomy, like observatories and planetariums.

Dark sky tourism – Tourism that includes astrotourism and other special night-time activities, including moon-bathing, nocturnal creature guided tours, indigenous and cowboy storytelling, night sky inspired artistic events, and more.

DARK SKY RESOURCES – INDUSTRY AUDIENCE

DARK SKY RESOURCES – CONSUMER AUDIENCE