# Headlands International Dark Sky Park

Region: Northern MI, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates: 45.7833, -84.7833
Bortle class: 3 (1 = pristine, 9 = inner city)
Drive from Toronto: Located just west of Mackinaw City, MI, off US-31.
Best time: Programs run all year; the open lake horizon to the north makes this one of the better aurora-watching spots in the lower 48.

## Overview
Headlands International Dark Sky Park sits on the northern tip of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, right on Lake Michigan, and runs a full calendar of free public night-sky programs year-round — no telescope or experience required.

## What to see
Milky Way, Orion and winter constellations reflected over Lake Michigan, and aurora borealis on strong geomagnetic nights.

## Highlights
- Free, regularly scheduled public programs run by Emmet County
- 243-hectare park protected by a county-wide outdoor lighting ordinance
- Waterfront amphitheater and open beach for wide-horizon viewing

## Tips
- Check the Headlands events calendar before visiting — many nights have scheduled talks or telescope viewing
- Dress warmly; the lakeshore wind cuts through even in summer
- The park is free to enter and open to the public year-round

## Live forecast
View the live tonight-score and 48-hour forecast for Headlands at:
https://ontarionightsky.com/?site=headlands-dsp

Structured data: https://ontarionightsky.com/sites/headlands-dsp.json

Source: Emmet County — Headlands Programs & Events — https://www.emmetcounty.org/experiences/headlands/programs___events.php

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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=headlands-dsp.