Coast, rainforest and alpine — Hurricane Ridge and coastal beaches are darkest.
Updated:
· Tonight: Friday, August 14, 2026
📍 NW WA🌑 Bortle 3🚗 On Washington's Olympic Peninsula, reached via Highway 101; Port Angeles is the main gateway, about 2.5 hours from Seattle by car and ferry.
About Olympic NP
Ninety-five percent of Olympic National Park is designated wilderness, and the Pacific Northwest's frequent rain means clear nights here feel earned. When the skies do open up — most reliably in summer — the near-total absence of nearby cities makes for genuinely dark, ocean-adjacent stargazing.
What you can see in the sky
Milky Way over the Pacific from park beaches, plus alpine views from Hurricane Ridge on clear nights.
Best time of year
Summer months (July–September) for the driest, clearest weather; Hurricane Ridge and the coastal beaches like Ruby Beach are popular viewing spots.
Why this site is worth the drive
Rated Bortle Class 2 in parts of the park
Ranger-led astronomy and 'terrace talk' programs run seasonally at Hurricane Ridge
Rare combination of ocean coastline, mountains and old-growth forest all within one dark-sky park
Practical tips for Olympic NP
Coastal fog and cloud cover are common — check forecasts specifically for clear nights
Bring warm, waterproof layers even in summer
Ruby Beach and Hurricane Ridge are among the most accessible dark-sky viewpoints
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 Olympic NP good for stargazing tonight?
Tonight's verdict is Good (High confidence). 5h clear window during astronomical night, mean cloud 32%.
When is the best time of year to stargaze at Olympic NP?
Summer months (July–September) for the driest, clearest weather; Hurricane Ridge and the coastal beaches like Ruby Beach are popular viewing spots.
How long is the drive from Toronto?
On Washington's Olympic Peninsula, reached via Highway 101; Port Angeles is the main gateway, about 2.5 hours from Seattle by car and ferry.
What can I see in the sky here?
Milky Way over the Pacific from park beaches, plus alpine views from Hurricane Ridge on clear nights.
How dark is the sky? (Bortle scale)
Olympic NP sits at Bortle class 3 on the 1–9 dark-sky scale, where 1 is a pristine wilderness sky and 9 is an inner-city sky.