Polaris Andromeda Aries Auriga Cassiopeia Cepheus Cetus Cygnus Draco Eridanus Gemini Lepus Lyra Orion Pegasus Perseus Taurus Ursa Major Ursa Minor N E S W
The whole sky from Tokatee Klootchman at about 10 pm local time in mid-November (11 pm on daylight saving time). Overhead is the center, north is at the top and east at the left, as seen lying on your back. The pale band is the Milky Way; the dashed line is the celestial equator. Select a constellation name for its page.

Dark sky place · Oregon

Tokatee Klootchman State Natural Site

Tokatee Klootchman State Natural Site is a state natural site in Oregon. Its sky rates Bortle Class 2, typical truly dark site, with a zenith sky brightness of 21.96 mag/arcsec².

Tokatee Klootchman in brief

Bortle class
2
Sky brightness
21.96 mag/arcsec²
Naked-eye limit
magnitude 7.1-7.5
Latitude
44.2°N
Elevation
15 m (50 ft)
Managed by
Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
Nearest lodging
Yachats, OR

Official site

How dark the sky is at Tokatee Klootchman: Bortle Class 2, typical truly dark site

The zenith sky here reads 21.96 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 summer Milky Way is highly structured, with dark lanes visible to the naked eye

Zodiacal light

Zodiacal light is bright enough to cast faint shadows before dawn and after dusk

Faintest naked-eye stars

Magnitude 7.1 to 7.5 overhead

Naked eye

M33 is easy with direct vision; clouds show only as black holes in the starfield

At the eyepiece

Faint nebulae and galaxy detail come through well; this is a typical star party sky

1 mag 8.0 21.99+ 2 mag 7.5 21.89+ 3 mag 7.0 21.69+ 4 mag 6.5 20.49+ 5 mag 6.0 19.50+ 6 mag 5.5 18.94+ 7 mag 5.0 18.38+ 8 mag 4.5 18.00+ 9 mag 4.0
The Bortle scale. Each panel shows the class number, the faintest star the naked eye reaches at the zenith, and the darkest-edge sky brightness reading of that class in mag/arcsec².

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 2 place.

What's up from Tokatee Klootchman by season

At latitude 44.2°N, the north celestial pole stands 44° above the horizon, close to Polaris. Every star north of declination -46° rises at some time of year. The Milky Way core in Sagittarius climbs to 17° 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
  • OrionIn 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
  • DracoIn the northeast, brightest star Eltanin
  • Canes VenaticiOverhead, brightest star Cor Caroli

Also well placed: Lynx, 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 southwest, brightest star Alphecca
  • DracoOverhead, 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 east, brightest star Mirfak
  • Ursa MinorIn the north, brightest star Polaris
  • AriesIn the east, brightest star Hamal
  • AndromedaOverhead, brightest star Alpheratz
  • DracoIn the northwest, brightest star Eltanin
  • CassiopeiaHigh in the northeast, brightest star Schedar

Also well placed: Pegasus, Cepheus, Triangulum, Pisces, Delphinus, Lacerta, Equuleus, Camelopardalis, Vulpecula.

Showpieces from Tokatee Klootchman through the year

SightConstellationJanuaryAprilJulyOctober
Andromeda Galaxy (M31)AndromedaIn the northwest--Overhead
Orion Nebula (M42)OrionIn the south---
Pleiades (M45)TaurusHigh in the southwest--In the east
Double ClusterPerseusHigh in the northwest--High in the northeast
Hercules Cluster (M13)Hercules-In the eastOverhead-
Whirlpool Galaxy (M51)Canes Venatici-High in the eastIn the northwest-
Ring Nebula (M57)Lyra--OverheadIn the west

At about 10 pm on the 15th of each month; a dash means the sight is below 25° then.

Never set from Tokatee Klootchman

Only skim the southern horizon from Tokatee Klootchman

Never rise from Tokatee Klootchman

Where to set up at Tokatee Klootchman

The coordinates on this page point to Tokatee Klootchman viewpoint, at 15 m (50 ft): 44.208°N, 124.115°W.

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Open the larger map · Directions. Arrive before dark, park facing away from other observers, and use red light only.

Tokatee Klootchman among the dark sky places of Oregon

Alvord Desert, Bortle 1 Arizona Beach State Recreation Site, Bortle 2 Bates State Park, Bortle 1 Cape Blanco State Park, Bortle 2 Cape Lookout State Park, Bortle 2 Cape Sebastian State Scenic Corridor, Bortle 2 Carl G. Washburne State Park, Bortle 2 Cascadia County Park, Bortle 2 Catherine Creek State Park, Bortle 2 Chandler State Wayside, Bortle 1 Collier Memorial State Park, Bortle 2 Cottonwood Canyon State Park, Bortle 2 Crater Lake National Park, Bortle 1 Emigrant Springs State Heritage Area, Bortle 2 Fort Rock State Natural Area, Bortle 1 Golden & Silver Falls State Natural Area, Bortle 2 Goose Lake State Recreation Area, Bortle 1 Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, Bortle 1 Hug Point State Recreation Site, Bortle 2 Humbug Mountain State Park, Bortle 2 Jackson F. Kimball State Recreation Site, Bortle 2 John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Bortle 1 Joseph H. Stewart State Recreation Area, Bortle 2 Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Bortle 1 Minam State Recreation Area, Bortle 2 Ochoco National Forest, Bortle 1 Prineville Reservoir State Park, Bortle 2 Saddle Mountain State Natural Area, Bortle 2 Sitka Sedge State Natural Area, Bortle 2 Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area, Bortle 1 Stonefield Beach State Recreation Site, Bortle 2 Umpqua National Forest, Bortle 2 Unity Lake State Recreation Site, Bortle 2 Wallowa Lake State Park, Bortle 2 Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, Bortle 2 White River Falls State Park, Bortle 2 Willamette National Forest, Bortle 2 Brooks Memorial State Park, Bortle 2 Camp Wooten State Park, Bortle 2 Fields Spring State Park, Bortle 2 Mt Adams, Bortle 2 Deschutes National Forest, Bortle 2 Fremont-Winema National Forest, Bortle 1 Gifford Pinchot National Forest, Bortle 2 Malheur National Forest, Bortle 1 Mt. Hood National Forest, Bortle 3 Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest, Bortle 3 Siuslaw National Forest, Bortle 3 Umatilla National Forest, Bortle 2 Tillamook State Forest, Bortle 3 Oregon Outback Dark Sky Sanctuary, Bortle 1 Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve Dark Sky Park, Bortle 2 Sisters, Oregon Dark Sky Community, Bortle 4 Antelope, Oregon Dark Sky Community, Bortle 2 Oregon Star Party (star party) Tokatee Klootchman Oregon Tokatee Klootchman Oregon
Bortle 1 Bortle 2 Bortle 3 Bortle 4 Bortle 5 or brighter Class not yet rated Star party

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 Tokatee Klootchman

The nearest town with motels or inns is Yachats, OR. Check the official site for campgrounds and overnight rules; many parks close their gates at night, so ask about after-dark access.

Dark sky places nearest Tokatee Klootchman

PlaceWhereBortleDistance
Stonefield Beach State Recreation SiteOregon22 km (1 mi)
Carl G. Washburne State ParkOregon26 km (3 mi)
Siuslaw National ForestOregon356 km (35 mi)
Golden & Silver Falls State Natural AreaOregon282 km (51 mi)
Sitka Sedge State Natural AreaOregon2118 km (73 mi)
Cape Lookout State ParkOregon2128 km (79 mi)
Cascadia County ParkOregon2132 km (82 mi)
Cape Blanco State ParkOregon2157 km (97 mi)

Star parties near Tokatee Klootchman

Star partyNearDistanceUsual timing
Oregon Star PartyPrineville, Oregon318 km (198 mi)August new moon
Golden State Star PartyAdin, California425 km (264 mi)Summer new moon
Island Star PartyDuncan, British Columbia509 km (316 mi)August
Table Mountain Star PartyOroville, Washington633 km (393 mi)Summer new moon

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 Tokatee Klootchman

Observatories within 100 km

Nearest astronomy clubs

See observatories and astronomy clubs in Oregon. Local clubs often hold their star parties at dark sky places like this one.

Tokatee Klootchman record

Every value in the dark sky places dataset for Tokatee Klootchman
Park528
NameTokatee Klootchman
TypeLongState Natural Site
Type1SNS
Bortle2
StatelongOregon
StateOR
Webhttps://stateparks.oregon.gov/park_129.php
Lat44.20818
Lon-124.11512
LatLonSpotTokatee Klootchman viewpoint
Elevation_m15
LandManagerOregon Parks and Recreation Department
StatusOpen
StatusNoteDay use only
LodgingYachats, OR
Sourceshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokatee_Klootchman_State_Natural_Site;https://stateparks.oregon.gov/park_129.php
SQM21.96

From the site's dark sky places dataset (parks_q426). The sky by season is computed from the coordinates.