BEST PLACES TO STARGAZE

Stargazing at Great Basin National Park is a great experience for anyone who finds themselves in the area. The park grounds are open twenty-four seven and available to you for your stargazing pleasure. Everywhere in the Park is great for stargazing but please keep safety in mind wherever you choose. Use only established pull outs like Mather Overlook or Wheeler Peak Overlook and never set up your viewing area where vehicles travel. For more information on viewing the night sky at Great Basin visit our website.

BEST PLACES TO STAY

Great Basin National Park offers five different campgrounds to stay at while you visit. These campgrounds range from high elevation areas like Wheeler Peak Campground at 10,000 feet to beautiful pinon juniper areas at 6,500 feet in Grey Cliffs Campground. For more information on camping at Great Basin National Park and reserving a campground  click here.

Great Basin National Park has so much to offer those wanting to experience a truly dark sky! For travelers in the summer and fall months, you may want to join a ranger led astronomy program that includes telescope viewing. These occur in the Park’s new Astronomy Amphitheater. Check here for times and days. Arrive early as these programs fill up.

EXTEND YOUR STAY

You may want to plan your travels to include the Great Basin National Park Astronomy Festival, which usually occurs in September. The 3 day festival brings in guest speakers and dozens of volunteer astronomers who share their telescopes and their love of the cosmos with the public. Sign-up only activities include astrophotography workshops and tours of the Great Basin Observatory, the only research grade observatory located in a National Park. To plan ahead check out these websites: Great Basin Astronomy Festival and Great Basin National Park Foundation.