IDA-certified — Ozark river corridor with cliff-top observing.
Updated:
· Tonight: Friday, August 14, 2026
📍 Northern AR🌑 Bortle 2🚗 Reached via US-65 or AR-7 through the Ozark National Forest; Tyler Bend sits near Harrison, AR.📅 Designated an International Dark Sky Park in 2019.
About Buffalo National River
The Buffalo National River was America's first designated national river, and in 2019 it became an International Dark Sky Park. The Ozark bluffs that make it a paddling destination by day fold away at night into some of the darkest skies in the mid-South.
What you can see in the sky
Milky Way over the river bluffs, meteor showers, and a genuinely dark southern horizon rare for this part of the country.
Best time of year
Fall and winter offer the driest, clearest air; new-moon weekends around Tyler Bend draw the least light interference.
Why this site is worth the drive
26th US national park unit to earn International Dark Sky Park status
Tyler Bend and other river-access points give open, unobstructed views
Remote Ozark location far from any significant city glow
Practical tips for Buffalo National River
Facility lighting throughout the park has been retrofitted to dark-sky-friendly fixtures
Check NPS night-sky program listings for ranger-led stargazing events
Cell service is unreliable in the river corridor — plan routes in advance
Live 48-hour forecast
Tonight's verdict above is a build-time snapshot. For the full
hourly view — cloud cover, transparency, seeing, smoke, humidity,
moon altitude and a Bortle-aware tonight score by observing mode
(visual, deep-sky, planetary, astrophoto) — open the live forecast:
The live page combines Open-Meteo weather, US-AQI wildfire smoke,
moon math and Bortle-scale darkness into a single tonight score
(0–100), updated continuously.
Frequently asked questions
Is Buffalo National River good for stargazing tonight?
Tonight's verdict is Excellent (High confidence). 10h of clear sky (≤30% cloud) during tonight's astronomical night, mean cloud 0%.
When is the best time of year to stargaze at Buffalo National River?
Fall and winter offer the driest, clearest air; new-moon weekends around Tyler Bend draw the least light interference.
How long is the drive from Toronto?
Reached via US-65 or AR-7 through the Ozark National Forest; Tyler Bend sits near Harrison, AR.
What can I see in the sky here?
Milky Way over the river bluffs, meteor showers, and a genuinely dark southern horizon rare for this part of the country.
How dark is the sky? (Bortle scale)
Buffalo National River sits at Bortle class 2 on the 1–9 dark-sky scale, where 1 is a pristine wilderness sky and 9 is an inner-city sky.