Dark sky places in Oregon

Oregon’s dark skies sit in the high desert of the east and the old volcanoes of the Cascades. Six of its nine places are certified, including the Oregon Outback sanctuary at Bortle 2, Cottonwood Canyon and Prineville Reservoir at Bortle 2, and the communities of Antelope and Sisters, where the Dark Sky Parties run in summer. The two uncertified parks are the ones many visitors know best: Crater Lake National Park records Bortle 1 skies, where the Milky Way reflects in the lake on a still night, and John Day Fossil Beds National Monument also records Bortle 1, with the summer Milky Way core high in the south over the Painted Hills.June to September, around the new moon, is the working season for the high desert, and July to September is the Crater Lake window, when Rim Drive is fully open and the weather is driest. Spring and autumn work too, and April to June and September to October are the months the John Day guide names for the mildest weather.