Star Gazing

The clear, unobstructed, dramatic night skies of the Central Idaho Dark Sky Reserve, a 1,417 square mile swath of remote, rugged lands in central Idaho, was the first International Dark Sky Reserve in the US and is still one of only a dozen in the world. Three wilderness areas, the Sawtooth Wilderness, White Clouds Wilderness, and Hemingway-Boulders Wilderness, that encompass the reserve's core are bisected by Idaho Route 75, which provides access. In an area that has largely resisted mass electrification for over a century, the reserve is one of America's last significant ‘pools’ of natural nighttime darkness. The northeast section of the reserve is easily accessed from Mackay.