Curecanti National Recreation Area International Dark Sky Park

Curecanti National Recreation Area covers about 42,000 acres along the Gunnison River in southwest Colorado, around three reservoirs: Blue Mesa, Morrow Point and Crystal. The International Dark-Sky Association (now DarkSky International) certified it as a Silver Tier International Dark Sky Park in 2021, the first national recreation area in the program. DarkSky describes it as the centerpiece of a string of dark sky places along the Gunnison Valley. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park lies on one side and the Slumgullion Center on the other. The mountains and mesas around the reservoirs help screen the sky. Our light pollution estimate is Bortle 2.

Access at night is easy. The park does not close, so you can be out at any hour. The NPS says overlooks and campgrounds far from the road are best, because they are shielded from the headlights of passing cars, and it recommends them for telescopes and astrophotography. Trails down to the water, such as Pine Creek and Curecanti Creek, are dark but have limited sky because of the canyon walls. The reservoirs give you water for reflections. Astronomy and telescope programs run in summer, and the park holds an AstroFest at three sites along the Gunnison River, with dates that change each year. In winter the NPS suggests cross-country skiing or snowshoeing by moonlight.

The Milky Way core peaks around 22 degrees above the southern horizon here, and our data gives June, May and July the most core hours.