# Wood Buffalo National Park

Region: Northern AB/NT, Ontario, Canada
Coordinates: 59.3833, -112.3
Bortle class: 1 (1 = pristine, 9 = inner city)
Drive from Toronto: Fly to Fort McMurray or Fort Smith, NWT, then drive in — there is no realistic road trip from central Canada; most visitors base out of Fort Smith.
Best time: Late August through October for aurora — nights are dark enough and long enough, and the bugs have eased off. Winter offers the longest, darkest nights but demands serious cold-weather preparation.
Established: Designated the world's largest RASC Dark-Sky Preserve on 28 June 2013.

## Overview
Wood Buffalo National Park became the world's largest Dark Sky Preserve when the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada designated it in 2013, covering all 44,807 km² of Canada's biggest national park. It straddles the Alberta–NWT border around Fort Smith and Fort Chipewyan, and its size alone means there is essentially no light pollution to escape — the park is bigger than several countries.

## What to see
Frequent aurora displays, an exceptionally deep Milky Way, and the zodiacal light in spring and autumn.

## Highlights
- 44,807 km² — the largest Dark Sky Preserve on Earth
- High latitude means frequent, strong aurora activity
- Home to the world's largest free-roaming bison herd

## Tips
- This is remote wilderness — plan fuel, food and accommodation around Fort Smith or Fort Chipewyan
- Bison and other wildlife are common on roads at dusk — drive slowly
- Check the Pine Lake Day-Use Area for organized viewing during park events

## Live forecast
View the live tonight-score and 48-hour forecast for Wood Buffalo at:
https://ontarionightsky.com/?site=wood-buffalo-np

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

Source: Parks Canada — Wood Buffalo National Park — https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/nt/woodbuffalo/activ/star

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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=wood-buffalo-np.