New River Gorge National Park

How dark the sky is at New River Gorge: Bortle Class 4, rural and suburban transition

The zenith sky here reads 21.21 magnitudes per square arcsecond. That is about 2.1 times the brightness of a pristine natural sky (22.0), the extra coming from artificial light scattered in the air.

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.

What's up from New River Gorge by season

At latitude 37.8°N, the north celestial pole stands 38° above the horizon, close to Polaris. Every star north of declination -52° rises at some time of year. The Milky Way core in Sagittarius climbs to 23° 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.

Showpieces from New River Gorge through the year

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

Never set from New River Gorge

• Camelopardalis
• Cassiopeia
• Cepheus
• Draco
• Ursa Major
• Ursa Minor

Only skim the southern horizon from New River Gorge

• Centaurus
• Grus
• Norma
• Phoenix
• Telescopium
• Vela

Never rise from New River Gorge

• Apus
• Ara
• Carina
• Chamaeleon
• Circinus
• Crux
• Dorado
• Horologium
• Hydrus
• Indus
• Mensa
• Musca
• Octans
• Pavo
• Pictor
• Reticulum
• Triangulum Australe
• Tucana
• Volans

Where to set up at New River Gorge

The coordinates on this page point to Grandview area (former Grandview State Park), at 760 m (2,490 ft): 37.836°N, 81.074°W.

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

New River Gorge among the dark sky places of West Virginia

Each dot is a dark sky place, colored by Bortle class; select one for its page. Diamonds are star parties. See West Virginia dark sky places for the full list, darkest first.

Camping and lodging at New River Gorge

Primitive sites: primitive.

The nearest town with motels or inns is Beckley, WV. 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 New River Gorge

Star parties near New River Gorge

Planning a trip? Astrotourism in West Virginia 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 New River Gorge

Nearest astronomy clubs

• Kanawha Valley Astronomical SocietyCross Lanes, West Virginia, 92 km (57 mi). Meets 3rd Friday monthly, 6 pm winter or 7 pm summer
• Star City Astronomy NetworkRoanoke, Virginia, 114 km (71 mi). Meets No regular meetings; members meet at observing sessions
• Roanoke Valley Astronomical SocietyRoanoke, Virginia, 116 km (72 mi)
• Ohio Valley Astronomical SocietyWest Virginia, 136 km (84 mi)
• Blue Ridge Astronomy ClubForest, Virginia, 168 km (104 mi). Meets Usually 4th Tuesday monthly, local public library community room in Bedford/Forest/Lynchburg area (varies)

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

New River Gorge record

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