IDA-certified — Green and Yampa river canyons at Bortle 2.
Updated:
· Tonight: Friday, August 14, 2026
📍 UT/CO🌑 Bortle 2🚗 The Utah side is reached via the Quarry Exhibit Hall near Jensen, Utah; the Colorado side via the town of Dinosaur, Colorado on Highway 40.📅 International Dark Sky Park since 2019.
About Dinosaur NM
Dinosaur National Monument straddles the Colorado–Utah border along the Green and Yampa rivers, protecting both a world-famous fossil quarry and some of the darkest skies left in the contiguous United States. Its remote canyon country sees almost no artificial light for miles in any direction.
What you can see in the sky
A dense, high-contrast Milky Way and easy naked-eye views of the Andromeda Galaxy, thanks to exceptionally low sky glow.
Best time of year
Spring through fall; Split Mountain and the Green River overlooks are popular evening spots.
Why this site is worth the drive
One of the darkest measured skies in the National Park System
Split Mountain campground area is an easy, accessible night-sky spot
River corridor cuts through remote, largely uninhabited high desert
Practical tips for Dinosaur NM
The park spans two states and two visitor centers — plan which side you're visiting
No services after dark; fuel and food in Vernal, UT or Dinosaur, CO
Roads can be rough and unlit — carry a spare tire and full tank
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 Dinosaur NM good for stargazing tonight?
Tonight's verdict is No-go (High confidence). Overcast: mean cloud 98%, minimum 81%. Sit this one out.
When is the best time of year to stargaze at Dinosaur NM?
Spring through fall; Split Mountain and the Green River overlooks are popular evening spots.
How long is the drive from Toronto?
The Utah side is reached via the Quarry Exhibit Hall near Jensen, Utah; the Colorado side via the town of Dinosaur, Colorado on Highway 40.
What can I see in the sky here?
A dense, high-contrast Milky Way and easy naked-eye views of the Andromeda Galaxy, thanks to exceptionally low sky glow.
How dark is the sky? (Bortle scale)
Dinosaur NM 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.