Dark Sky Week: The world's largest Dark Sky Sanctuary is in Oregon

Dark Sky International’s world-wide celebration of dark skies and the need to preserve them from light pollution, known as Dark Sky Week, is April 21-28.
Bob Hackett, Executive Director, Travel Southern Oregon, and JPR Host Mike Green.(JPR Senior Producer Natalie Golay)Joining the Exchange to discuss places in Oregon for Dark Sky viewing is Bob Hackett, Executive Director of Travel Southern Oregon.
DARK SKY PLACES IN SOUTHERN OREGON
Southern Oregon has two premiere Dark Sky places, as certified by Dark Sky International. Lake County is home to the largest Dark Sky Sanctuary in the world, the Oregon Outback Dark Sky Sanctuary, certified in March 2024. And the Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve has become the Northwest’s first federal park to designated a Dark Sky Park (February 2025).
Travel Southern Oregon has been leading the way, with Travel Oregon and Dark Sky Oregon, in elevating the conversation about this unique regional resource.
This Dark Sky map timeline compares the changes in light pollution at night since the 1950s.