See the Stars in Wyoming

Devil’s Tower. [Photos courtesy of the Wyoming Office of Tourism]

The Perseid meteor shower took place in 2019 and it got me thinking about a time when my husband made me rise in the middle of the night to see a large meteor shower in the early 2000s. My dad was also fascinated by the night sky and used to occasionally hustle me and my brother outside to see meteors or glimpses of the Northern Lights (we lived near the Canadian border).

Antelope Flats, Teton County.

If you are a night sky junkie, Wyoming is the place to visit. Did you know that Wyoming has some of the most unpolluted skies in the country? We’re talking about light pollution that comes from cities and suburbs. Wyoming has few people and few cities so if you love to stargaze, this is the place to come. The wide-open spaces of Wyoming also mean that you can find a lot of locales to take in the night sky.

When stargazing you will want to find the darkest place possible and by using this light pollution map, you can dial in the perfect spot. Whether you get there by horseback, by bike, on foot or by car, Wyoming has plenty of great locations for watching the stars.

Crystal Lake, Curt Gowdy State Park, Laramie County

Try to get up high because the stars are easier to see at elevation. This is another reason why Wyoming is the perfect stargazing state. The average elevation here is 6,700-feet-above sea level. Colorado and Wyoming have the highest average elevations in the country.

Remember the Solar Eclipse in August of 2017? We had many friends and family members head to Wyoming and for good reason. There are plenty of places to view the sky from numerous state parks to famous National Parks like Grand Teton and Yellowstone.

Camper Camping, Greyrocks Reservoir, Platte County

Whether you’d like to scan the night sky with amenities close by or you want to look at the night sky in the middle of nowhere, Wyoming is the place to do it.

The weather is an important factor when stargazing. Wyoming receives an average of 231 sunny days per year, making it the 20th most sunny state in the United States. This is pretty good considering most of the 19 sunnier states are located much farther south with the exception of Colorado (#6).

However, the moon should not be full if you want an ideal stargazing experience. True stargazers will study the phases of the moon before going out. These phases can be seen at timeanddate.com.

Crystal Lake, Curt Gowdy State Park, Laramie County

I found a cool list of gear that every stargazer will want in their repertoire. It’s on the Travel Wyoming website and includes a flashlight with a red light option, binoculars, paper star chart and a telescope. It’s a good idea to download a couple of stargazing apps to your phone and study them before going out; you will be off-grid in many parts of Wyoming.

One of the best ways to guarantee a great night of stargazing is to go on a tour, and they are more abundant than you might think. WyomingStargazing.org is a good place to start looking for the right tour for you. National parks and national monuments such as Devil’s Tower National Monument also run stargazing tours.