Yellowstone National Park has some of the darkest skies I’ve ever witnessed in the United States. Almost the entirety of the park is Bortle class 1 dark skies, with only small sections of the park near West Yellowstone and Gardiner Bortle class 2 dark skies. Class 1 skies are the darkest of dark skies, a classification awards to only the darkest skies completely free from light pollution. It is in these places that the stars and Milky Way shine the brightest. Yellowstone is 3,472 square miles and over 2.2 million acres. It’s larger than the states of Delaware and Rhode Island combined, which means despite the fact that as of late 2025 it’s not yet an International Dark Sky Park, there is a lot of dark sky areas to explore here (far more than most locations).
Created on March 1, 1872, by an act of Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant, Yellowstone was America's First National Park. It’s America’s oldest national park and I’ve always found it one of the most rewarding to explore. Yellowstone spans 3 states, with 96% of the park in Wyoming, 3% in Montana and 1% in Idaho.
I’ve always enjoyed exploring here under the night skies, though to be honest it’s definitely a little nerve wracking. I’ve seen grizzly bears at night, heard wolves close by and seen bison seemingly appear out of nowhere at night in Yellowstone. I always keep bear spray handy and it’s important to take the proper precautions. The reward is some of the darkest skies I’ve ever experienced. When the clouds roll in at night, the sky is nothing but a black void. When they break, you’re surrounded by a blanket of stars as far as the eye can see.
I’ve witness the Aurora Borealis in vivid displays above Yellowstone, which is something I will never forget. Seeing the magenta and purple Aurora dance across the skies above places like Midway Geyser Basin is something I’ll never forget. It’s rare to witness the Aurora Borealis this far south, but when the conditions like up it’s an experience you’ll never forget.
Seeing the Milky Way core rise into the heavens above Yellowstone is truly something else. The remote landscape combined with the stars and Milky Way in the skies above is one of those experiences that always makes time stand still. It’s a feeling of peace and solitude that is getting harder and harder to find in the modern world. Everything is still and silent here at night, so quiet you can hear yourself breath. I’ve spent close to 2 decades exploring Yellowstone, and the quiet nights spent here will always be some of my favorite memoires.
Where it’s the Milky Way over the Firehole River, Old Faithful, Lower Geyser Basin, the Madison River, Lamar Valley or even the remote Northwest corner of the park in Montana, it’s always a wonderful experience I’ll never forget. I live for those brief, few moments where it feels like it’s just me and nature, alone and in perfect harmony. It always fills me with a sense of wonder and awe, and I hope everyone viewing my Yellowstone Astrophotography Fine Art Photography gallery experiences the same feelings of wonder and awe that I’ve always experienced here.
