Good place for a star gazing weekend trip?

Submitted by IskandrAGogo t3_101xolt in Washington

Topic.

I want to take kids star gazing since they've mostly lived in the Seattle area their whole lives. I know weather right now will definitely affect how much we can see, but I'm wondering what good places there may be between Port Townsend and Port Angeles or near Ocean Shores to go star gazing?

Edit: I'm trying to avoid going over the Cascades. I don't have chains nor would I want to drive my minivan if it ended up snowing on the dates I plan.

I'm also looking for places that are specifically 3ish hours away. My kids can't handle much longer of a car ride than that.

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Cascadian222 t1_j2qnrl6 wrote

Or you can try in the cascades too! Tons of great stars in Leavenworth, Cle Elum area…anywhere far from a ton of light!

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Radiant_Resident_579 t1_j2r01gj wrote

I was recently googling the same thing, except southern Washington because seeing the milky way is a bucket list item for me. One place that came up i want to try is the Johnston ridge observatory. Far from light pollution and a big open parking lot. Not sure how far that is for you, but its a idea.

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IskandrAGogo OP t1_j2s8hxe wrote

Thank you. That actually looks like a good alternative to the coast, and it's only two and a half hours from me. I'll check it out.

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Radiant_Resident_579 t1_j2vr9j3 wrote

Glad to help. Im daydreaming of getting some friends together and spending a few hours there some clear night. Like a tail gate party for the cosmos.

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blahblahfartpoop t1_j2rjvfj wrote

Goldendale has an amazing sky and a cool observatory. It’s worth the money in gas and accommodations.

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Novel-Art3412 t1_j2s5esu wrote

Somewhere in Olympic National Forest would likely be good for stargazing. You might consider finding a campground in the forest to stay at.

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IskandrAGogo OP t1_j2s86te wrote

Camping is unfortunately out of the question since my three-year-old can't even get through a night in our tent in our backyard.

I was really hoping for suggestions for b aches and stuff to go to, and then spend the night in a hotel.

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CheckmateApostates t1_j30lvxn wrote

Highway 26 between Washtucna and Colfax has some of the darkest skies along a major road. There's a big area where it's safe to pull over a little east of Washtucna.

Edit: Whoops, I just saw your avoidance of heading east of the Cascades lol. Maybe once the weather is better!

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IskandrAGogo OP t1_j31vnik wrote

Yeah. I'm hoping to do something over the summer on the east side, but the days are so long that it's hard to keep my kids up long enough to see stars then. Maybe if we waited until March or April there'd be less of a chance of snow in the passes, and the sun would still set soon enough. It's just hard to plan with weather, so I'm trying to find a few places close by. That way when we have a weekend with a clear sky, we can just go.

There's honestly so many places in Eastern Washington that I want to go to for hiking, etc but there's never enough time for all of them.

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CheckmateApostates t1_j32krw1 wrote

Snoqualmie Pass is usually good by March/April. Astronomical twilight ends out there before 9 pm up to March 27th, so that could be a good time.

I'm an avid hiker/backpacker who lives in Spokane and I love living out here largely because of the access to the outdoors. Lots of good hiking immediately surrounding Spokane (although not necessarily what I'd consider destination hikes for someone from the west side, unless you're looking for something that's not the Olympics or Cascades) and then northward to the Salmo-Priest wilderness. If you can find the time from late June through September, I highly recommend Abercrombie Mountain and/or the nearby Salmo-Priest. Wildflower season up there is mid- to late July.

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mushbuger19 t1_j2tzqo2 wrote

If the sky is clear, go out to Hobuck Beach in Neah Bay. There is a campground right on the beach with cabins that are pretty nice. There isn’t much light pollution out there so the stars are beautiful

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MonikaM14 t1_j2uye12 wrote

The most beautiful sky I have ever seen was on Rialto Beach near the Hole in the Wall, but I don't know of any hotels nearby, just camping

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