The view of the Milky Way is exceptional in the park, but the best times of the year to spot it are in July and August. But, no matter what time of year it is, if you stick around until the sun sets, you’ll find a shimmering quilt of stars overhead. Rising out of Acadia National Park, Cadillac Mountain is the first place to see the sun shine in the United States for much of the year. The tiny towns and simply vast wilderness of Aroostook mean little light pollution, so even if you don’t spot the dancing green waves of the Northern Lights you’ll be treated to innumerable stars on any clear night. And in Maine, you can’t go any farther north than Aroostook County. The farther north you find yourself, the more likely you’ll be lucky enough to spy the Aurora Borealis. Even though we haven’t quite nailed time-travel yet, the monument’s night skies glimmer just as brightly as they did when the native Wabanaki people would have seen 11,000 years ago. So if you’re hoping to spy some new stars in the eastern half of the United States, there’s just no better place. And in the United States, there’s only one east of the Mississippi. So, what does that mean? First of all, only 13 exist throughout the entire world. And now, The International Dark-Sky Association, the world’s recognized authority on combatting light pollution, has designated the monument as an International Dark Sky Sanctuary. The Katahdin Woods & Waters National Monument is known for its hiking, paddling and all-around epic outdoor recreation. Where to Stargaze in Maine A Natural Monument, A Dark Sky Sanctuary So, where can you lay your blanket to soak in the galactic scenery? Here are a few of our favorite night sky viewing locations across the state. Home to some of the most pristine night skies you could imagine and even one of the world’s few Dark Sky Sanctuaries (more on that in a sec), you can find specially designated viewing areas, or simply take in the jaw-dropping lightshow just by finding yourself in our wide-open spaces. A largely rural state, Maine provides plenty of places to gaze up and engage the universe. And in Maine, we take our dark skies seriously. We depend on the dark to frame our galaxy’s billions of glittering stars brightly and clearly.
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