# McDonald Park Dark Sky Park

Region: Abbotsford, BC, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates: 49.05, -121.95
Bortle class: 5 (1 = pristine, 9 = inner city)
Drive from Toronto: Fly into Vancouver or Abbotsford; McDonald Park is about 10 minutes from downtown Abbotsford by car.
Best time: Any clear night around the new moon — the Fraser Valley Astronomers Society holds regular sessions here, so check their calendar for public nights.

## Overview
McDonald Park in Abbotsford is British Columbia's only officially designated Dark Sky Park — a small city day-use park that benefits from an accident of geography as much as any lighting policy. Sumas Mountain rises behind it and blocks the glow from Abbotsford, Chilliwack and Mission, leaving a genuinely useful window on the eastern and southern sky.

## What to see
Milky Way core in summer, and planetary detail through club telescopes on public observing nights.

## Highlights
- BC's only RASC-designated Dark Sky Park
- Sumas Mountain shields the site from three surrounding cities' light domes
- Regularly used by the Fraser Valley Astronomers Society for public events

## Tips
- Free city park, no permit needed
- Small parking area — arrive early on event nights
- Walking path and picnic tables make it easy for a casual family visit

## Live forecast
View the live tonight-score and 48-hour forecast for McDonald Park at:
https://ontarionightsky.com/?site=mcdonald-park

Structured data: https://ontarionightsky.com/sites/mcdonald-park.json

Source: RASC Vancouver Centre — In Your Town — https://rasc-vancouver.com/about-light-pollution/in-your-town/

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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=mcdonald-park.