Gifford Pinchot National Forest

How dark the sky is at Gifford Pinchot: Bortle Class 2, typical truly dark site

The zenith sky here reads 21.92 magnitudes per square arcsecond. That is as dark as a natural sky gets: almost all the glow comes from airglow and starlight, not lamps.

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 Gifford Pinchot by season

At latitude 46.2°N, the north celestial pole stands 46° above the horizon, close to Polaris. Every star north of declination -44° rises at some time of year. The Milky Way core in Sagittarius climbs to 15° 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 Gifford Pinchot 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 Gifford Pinchot

• Camelopardalis
• Cassiopeia
• Cepheus
• Draco
• Lacerta
• Lynx
• Perseus
• Ursa Major
• Ursa Minor

Only skim the southern horizon from Gifford Pinchot

• Antlia
• Caelum
• Columba
• Corona Australis
• Lupus
• Microscopium
• Puppis

Never rise from Gifford Pinchot

• Apus
• Ara
• Carina
• Centaurus
• Chamaeleon
• Circinus
• Crux
• Dorado
• Grus
• Horologium
• Hydrus
• Indus
• Mensa
• Musca
• Norma
• Octans
• Pavo
• Phoenix
• Pictor
• Reticulum
• Telescopium
• Triangulum Australe
• Tucana
• Vela
• Volans

Where to set up at Gifford Pinchot

The coordinates on this page point to Windy Ridge Interpretive Site, Mount St. Helens NVM, at 1,250 m (4,100 ft): 46.250°N, 122.137°W.

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

Gifford Pinchot among the dark sky places of Washington

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

Camping and lodging at Gifford Pinchot

The nearest town with motels or inns is Randle, WA. 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 Gifford Pinchot

Star parties near Gifford Pinchot

Planning a trip? Astrotourism in Washington 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 Gifford Pinchot

Observatories within 100 km

• Herold ObservatoryOnalaska, Washington, 57 km (35 mi), open to the public
• Vernonia Peak Observatory (VPO)Vernonia, Oregon, 97 km (60 mi), research observatory

Nearest astronomy clubs

• Friends of Galileo Astronomy ClubLongview, Washington, 65 km (40 mi)
• Rose City AstronomersPortland, Oregon, 92 km (57 mi). Meets 3rd Monday monthly, 7:30 pm
• Tacoma Astronomical SocietyTacoma, Washington, 110 km (68 mi)
• Seattle Astronomical SocietySeattle, Washington, 158 km (98 mi). Meets Monthly membership meetup, Wednesday 7 pm (3rd Wednesday in 2026)
• Battle Point Astronomical AssocBainbridge Island, Washington, 160 km (99 mi)

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

Gifford Pinchot record

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