Stargazing at Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument
Remote Bortle 1 monument on the Arizona Strip — no services, spectacular sky.
Updated:
· Tonight: Friday, August 14, 2026
📍 NW AZ🌑 Bortle 1🚗 Fly into Las Vegas, then drive 2–4 hours to the monument's rough access roads (high-clearance/4x4 strongly recommended).
About Parashant
Parashant is one of the most remote places in the lower 48 — a jointly managed BLM/NPS monument on the Arizona Strip with no paved roads and no services. That remoteness is exactly what gives it some of the darkest skies anywhere in the country.
What you can see in the sky
Some of the darkest skies documented in the National Park System, with the Milky Way overhead essentially unobstructed by any light dome.
Best time of year
New moon, dry season — road conditions can make the monument impassable after rain.
Why this site is worth the drive
Recognized for remarkably dark skies and clean air
No paved roads or services — true backcountry darkness
Managed jointly by the National Park Service and Bureau of Land Management
Practical tips for Parashant
This is not a drive-up destination — bring a high-clearance 4x4, extra fuel, water, and a paper map
There is no cell service and no facilities anywhere in the monument
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 Parashant good for stargazing tonight?
Tonight's verdict is Poor (Medium confidence). No sustained clear window; brief gaps possible (min cloud 1%).
When is the best time of year to stargaze at Parashant?
New moon, dry season — road conditions can make the monument impassable after rain.
How long is the drive from Toronto?
Fly into Las Vegas, then drive 2–4 hours to the monument's rough access roads (high-clearance/4x4 strongly recommended).
What can I see in the sky here?
Some of the darkest skies documented in the National Park System, with the Milky Way overhead essentially unobstructed by any light dome.
How dark is the sky? (Bortle scale)
Parashant sits at Bortle class 1 on the 1–9 dark-sky scale, where 1 is a pristine wilderness sky and 9 is an inner-city sky.