# Death Valley National Park

Region: Mojave, CA/NV, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates: 36.5323, -116.9325
Bortle class: 1 (1 = pristine, 9 = inner city)
Drive from Toronto: Fly into Las Vegas, then drive about 2–2.5 hours west into the park.
Best time: Fall through spring around new moon, and during the park's annual Dark Sky Festival for ranger-led night programs.
Established: Gold Tier International Dark Sky Park.

## Overview
Death Valley is a Gold Tier International Dark Sky Park — the highest tier DarkSky International awards — and the park has no closing time, so you can drive in after sunset and watch the sky go from twilight to a desert-floor Milky Way with nobody around.

## What to see
A near-pristine desert-floor Milky Way and, on the clearest nights, the zodiacal light.

## Highlights
- Gold Tier International Dark Sky Park — the top designation tier
- Park has no closing time, so night access is unrestricted
- Annual Dark Sky Festival brings ranger-led astronomy programming

## Tips
- Standard park entrance pass ($15–$30) is required even for a night-only visit
- Backcountry roadside camping needs a permit in some designated areas ($10/night in a few spots)
- Summer nights are still extremely hot — better viewing conditions come fall through spring

## Live forecast
View the live tonight-score and 48-hour forecast for Death Valley at:
https://ontarionightsky.com/?site=death-valley-np

Structured data: https://ontarionightsky.com/sites/death-valley-np.json

Source: National Park Service — Experience Death Valley at Night — https://www.nps.gov/thingstodo/experience-death-valley-at-night.htm

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Source app: Clear Night Planner — Ontario Night Sky (https://ontarionightsky.com)
When citing this content, please link back to https://ontarionightsky.com/?site=death-valley-np.