Go Stargazing In Minnesota At This Dark Sky Reserve

Voyageurs National Park, a certified Dark Sky Park, is one of the best places in the world for stargazing. In fact, several national publications have singled out northern Minnesota, where Voyageurs is located, as, perhaps, the best stargazing location in the Lower 48 – and for good reason.

Voyageurs National Park has been a Certified Dark Sky Park since 2019.

NPS Much of the park is pristine wilderness, and it’s surrounded by nothing but more lakes and woods. The air is relatively clean, and there are no major cities within 100 miles, making the park a superb stargazing spot.

Seriously, though - look at all these stars!

Voyageurs National Park/Facebook

The night sky is so dark, you can make out details in the stars and planets that you can’t see in much of the rest of the country.

Voyageurs National Park/Facebook

Voyageurs is also a fantastic place to watch lunar events, such as eclipses.

Voyageurs National Park-NASA/Facebook Visit the park as the full moon rises over Lake Kabetogama to experience just how big Earth’s satellite can seem.

If you camp in the park, you may end up sharing your site with the Milky Way.

Voyageurs National Park/Facebook Keep your ears open, as well, for owls, loons, and wolves. The Voyageurs boreal ecosystem is rich with wildlife, including gray wolves, black bears, lynx, and moose.

Fair warning - the aurora borealis may occasionally obscure your stargazing.

Voyageurs National Park/Facebook

In fact, Voyageurs is one of the best places in the U.S. - outside of Alaska - to see the northern lights.

Voyageurs National Park/Facebook You may have to bundle up, though, as some of the best auroral displays happen during the winter months.

Have you visited Voyageurs National Park to marvel at the night sky? What did you see?

NPS

Much of the park is pristine wilderness, and it’s surrounded by nothing but more lakes and woods. The air is relatively clean, and there are no major cities within 100 miles, making the park a superb stargazing spot.

Voyageurs National Park/Facebook

Voyageurs National Park-NASA/Facebook

Visit the park as the full moon rises over Lake Kabetogama to experience just how big Earth’s satellite can seem.

Keep your ears open, as well, for owls, loons, and wolves. The Voyageurs boreal ecosystem is rich with wildlife, including gray wolves, black bears, lynx, and moose.

You may have to bundle up, though, as some of the best auroral displays happen during the winter months.

Spend even more time under dark skies and bright stars with a trip into the adjacent Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which begins at the eastern end of Voyageurs. The BWCA is the world’s largest International Dark Sky Sanctuary.

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Address: Voyageurs National Park, International Falls, MN 56649, USA