How dark the sky is at Crater Lake: Bortle Class 1, excellent dark-sky site
The zenith sky here reads 21.99 magnitudes per square arcsecond. That is as dark as a natural sky gets: almost all the glow comes from airglow and starlight, not lamps.
Milky Way
The Milky Way casts faint shadows; the Scorpius and Sagittarius star clouds show structure to the naked eye
Zodiacal light
Zodiacal light, the gegenschein and the zodiacal band are all visible
Faintest naked-eye stars
Magnitude 7.6 to 8.0 overhead
Naked eye
M33 is a direct-vision naked-eye object; airglow makes the sky faintly green near the horizon
At the eyepiece
Galaxies to magnitude 14 and fainter show in a 200 mm telescope; the limit is your eye, not the sky
Sky brightness and class come from the World Atlas of Artificial Night Sky Brightness (Falchi et al. 2016, CC BY-NC 4.0), with natural skyglow added. On the night, haze, smoke, humidity and the Moon set the real limit; see every Bortle Class 1 place.
What's up from Crater Lake by season
At latitude 42.9°N, the north celestial pole stands 43° above the horizon, close to Polaris. Every star north of declination -47° rises at some time of year. The Milky Way core in Sagittarius climbs to 18° above the southern horizon. These are the constellations well placed, 35° or more above the horizon, at about 10 pm in the middle of each season, brightest first.
January evenings (winter): Auriga, Orion, and Canis Minor
- AurigaOverhead, brightest star Capella
- OrionHigh in the south, brightest star Rigel
- Canis MinorIn the southeast, brightest star Procyon
- TaurusHigh in the southwest, brightest star Aldebaran
- GeminiHigh in the southeast, brightest star Pollux
- Ursa MajorIn the northeast, brightest star Alioth
- PerseusHigh in the west, brightest star Mirfak
- AriesIn the west, brightest star Hamal
Also well placed: Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Triangulum, Lynx, Cancer, Monoceros, Leo Minor, Camelopardalis.
April evenings (spring): Bootes, Virgo, and Leo
- BootesHigh in the east, brightest star Arcturus
- VirgoIn the southeast, brightest star Spica
- LeoHigh in the southwest, brightest star Regulus
- Ursa MajorOverhead, brightest star Alioth
- Ursa MinorHigh in the north, brightest star Polaris
- Corona BorealisIn the east, brightest star Alphecca
- Canes VenaticiOverhead, brightest star Cor Caroli
- LynxHigh in the northwest, brightest star Alpha Lyncis
Also well placed: Cancer, Leo Minor, Camelopardalis, Coma Berenices, Sextans.
July evenings (summer): Bootes, Lyra, and Aquila
- BootesHigh in the west, brightest star Arcturus
- LyraOverhead, brightest star Vega
- AquilaIn the southeast, brightest star Altair
- CygnusHigh in the east, brightest star Deneb
- Ursa MinorHigh in the north, brightest star Polaris
- OphiuchusIn the south, brightest star Rasalhague
- Corona BorealisHigh in the west, brightest star Alphecca
- DracoHigh in the north, brightest star Eltanin
Also well placed: Cepheus, Hercules, Canes Venatici, Sagitta, Delphinus, Lacerta, Vulpecula.
October evenings (fall): Lyra, Cygnus, and Perseus
- LyraIn the west, brightest star Vega
- CygnusHigh in the west, brightest star Deneb
- PerseusIn the northeast, brightest star Mirfak
- AriesIn the east, brightest star Hamal
- AndromedaOverhead, brightest star Alpheratz
- DracoIn the northwest, brightest star Eltanin
- CassiopeiaHigh in the northeast, brightest star Schedar
- PegasusHigh in the southwest, brightest star Enif
Also well placed: Cepheus, Aquarius, Triangulum, Pisces, Delphinus, Lacerta, Equuleus, Camelopardalis, Vulpecula.
Showpieces from Crater Lake through the year
| Sight | Constellation | January | April | July | October |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andromeda Galaxy (M31) | Andromeda | In the northwest | - | - | Overhead |
| Orion Nebula (M42) | Orion | In the south | - | - | - |
| Pleiades (M45) | Taurus | High in the southwest | - | - | In the east |
| Double Cluster | Perseus | High in the northwest | - | - | High in the northeast |
| Hercules Cluster (M13) | Hercules | - | In the east | Overhead | - |
| Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) | Canes Venatici | - | High in the east | In the northwest | - |
| Ring Nebula (M57) | Lyra | - | - | Overhead | In the west |
At about 10 pm on the 15th of each month; a dash means the sight is below 25° then.
Never set from Crater Lake
Only skim the southern horizon from Crater Lake
Never rise from Crater Lake
Where to set up at Crater Lake
The coordinates on this page point to Rim Village, at 2,164 m (7,100 ft): 42.910°N, 122.143°W.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Open the larger map · Directions. Arrive before dark, park facing away from other observers, and use red light only.
Crater Lake among the dark sky places of Oregon
Each dot is a dark sky place, colored by Bortle class; select one for its page. Diamonds are star parties. See Oregon dark sky places for the full list, darkest first.
Camping and lodging at Crater Lake
Campgrounds
- Mazama | Lost Creek
The nearest town with motels or inns is Fort Klamath, OR.
Dark sky places nearest Crater Lake
| Place | Where | Bortle | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson F. Kimball State Recreation Site | Oregon | 2 | 23 km (14 mi) |
| Umpqua National Forest | Oregon | 2 | 28 km (17 mi) |
| Collier Memorial State Park | Oregon | 2 | 37 km (23 mi) |
| Joseph H. Stewart State Recreation Area | Oregon | 2 | 46 km (29 mi) |
| Fremont-Winema National Forest | Oregon | 1 | 86 km (53 mi) |
| Fort Rock State Natural Area | Oregon | 1 | 101 km (63 mi) |
| Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest | Oregon | 3 | 103 km (64 mi) |
| Klamath National Forest | California | 2 | 122 km (76 mi) |
Star parties near Crater Lake
| Star party | Near | Distance | Usual timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Golden State Star Party | Adin, California | 216 km (134 mi) | Summer new moon |
| Oregon Star Party | Prineville, Oregon | 224 km (139 mi) | August new moon |
| Idaho Star Party | Mountain Home, Idaho | 525 km (326 mi) | September new moon |
| Island Star Party | Duncan, British Columbia | 664 km (413 mi) | August |
Planning a trip? Astrotourism in Oregon puts the dark sky places, observatories, clubs, star parties, planetariums and science centers of the state on one map, with the best night out worked out.
Observatories and astronomy clubs near Crater Lake
Nearest astronomy clubs
- Southern Oregon SkywatchersMedford, Oregon, 86 km (53 mi). Meets 3rd Wednesday monthly, 7 pm
- Umpqua AstronomersRoseburg, Oregon, 95 km (59 mi)
- Eugene Astronomical SocietyEugene, Oregon, 148 km (92 mi). Meets Monthly, Thursday 7 pm
- Mt Shasta Star GazersMt Shasta, California, 178 km (110 mi). Meets 1st Tuesday monthly, Mt Shasta Library; warm months on a Friday near new moon at Phoenix Sky Sanctuary
See observatories and astronomy clubs in Oregon. Local clubs often hold their star parties at dark sky places like this one.
Crater Lake record
Every value in the dark sky places dataset for Crater Lake
| Park | 509 |
|---|---|
| Name | Crater Lake |
| TypeLong | National Park |
| Type1 | NP |
| Bortle | 1 |
| Near | Klamath Falls |
| Statelong | Oregon |
| State | OR |
| Web | https://www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm |
| Camp1 | Mazama | Lost Creek |
| Lat | 42.91000 |
| Lon | -122.14333 |
| LatLonSpot | Rim Village |
| Elevation_m | 2164 |
| LandManager | National Park Service |
| Status | Open |
| Lodging | Fort Klamath, OR |
| Sources | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rim_Village_Historic_District |
| SQM | 21.99 |
From the site's dark sky places dataset (parks_q426). The sky by season is computed from the coordinates.