# Staunton River State Park

Region: Southern VA, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates: 36.6833, -78.6667
Bortle class: 3 (1 = pristine, 9 = inner city)
Drive from Toronto: Located off VA-344 near Scottsburg, VA, along the Dan and Staunton rivers.
Best time: The Staunton River Star Party runs each fall (typically early-to-mid October) and draws astronomers from across the region.

## Overview
Staunton River State Park, near the North Carolina border in southern Virginia, is a certified International Dark Sky Park and home to one of the region's best-known amateur astronomy gatherings, the Staunton River Star Party, held every fall.

## What to see
Milky Way, deep-sky objects visible with the many telescopes set up during the star party, and a genuinely dark rural horizon.

## Highlights
- DarkSky International-certified Dark Sky Park
- Hosts the long-running Staunton River Star Party each fall
- Open fields along the Dan and Staunton rivers with a wide horizon

## Tips
- The star party requires separate registration and fees — check with the organizing club ahead of time
- Outside of the star party, the park's open field areas are open to casual stargazers with a park admission
- Cabins and campsites on-site let you make a full weekend of it

## Live forecast
View the live tonight-score and 48-hour forecast for Staunton River at:
https://ontarionightsky.com/?site=staunton-river-sp

Structured data: https://ontarionightsky.com/sites/staunton-river-sp.json

Source: DarkSky International — https://darksky.org/places/staunton-river-state-park-dark-sky-park/

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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=staunton-river-sp.