# Grasslands National Park Dark Sky Preserve

Region: Southern SK, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates: 49.1667, -107.5
Bortle class: 1 (1 = pristine, 9 = inner city)
Drive from Toronto: Fly into Regina, then drive about 3 hours south-west to the West Block near Val Marie.
Best time: Late summer through autumn — dry prairie air gives exceptional transparency, and the park runs occasional public astronomy events.

## Overview
Grasslands National Park protects Canada's last stretch of untouched mixed-grass prairie, and its Dark-Sky Preserve designation is almost redundant — with no towns for many kilometres in any direction, the Frenchman Valley area delivers a true Bortle 1 horizon-to-horizon sky. This is as close as the Prairies get to a planetarium ceiling.

## What to see
Full Milky Way arch, zodiacal light, and exceptional meteor shower visibility given the total lack of horizon obstruction.

## Highlights
- Canada's last remaining tract of untouched mixed-grass prairie
- Bortle 1 skies with a 360° horizon and zero nearby light domes
- Frenchman Valley Campground sits right in the darkest part of the park

## Tips
- Park entry fee applies
- Gravel access roads — check conditions before and after rain
- No services inside the park; fuel up in Val Marie

## Live forecast
View the live tonight-score and 48-hour forecast for Grasslands NP at:
https://ontarionightsky.com/?site=grasslands-np

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

Source: Parks Canada — Grasslands National Park — https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/sk/grasslands/activ/experiences/astronomie-astronomy

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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=grasslands-np.