Looking for places in southern Arizona to see the Milky Way? This is a light pollution map for our region. The darkest areas are unpolluted, and rainbow colors from blue to white are areas with the greatest amounts of light pollution. The blue symbols are Accredited International Dark Sky Places, which include Saguaro National Park, Tumacácori National Historical Park, Chiricahua National Monument, Kartchner Caverns State Park, and Oracle State Park. The cities of Bisbee and Tubac are Accredited International Dark Sky Communities. The Diamond Mountain Retreat Center is an International Dark Sky Lodging facility. Other red symbols are likely future Dark Sky Places. A list of Dark Sky locations is shown here.
Overlays include: roads, border and VIIRS-DNB 2022 annual radiance composite (colors).
One of our favorite places to enjoy a starry night is the community of Tubac, only a 50 minute drive south from Tucson on I-19. Voted USA Today’s Best Small Town Arts Scene for the past three years for its 100-plus shops and galleries, this community with a population of only 1,527 also features the historic Tubac Presidio State Historic Park and lush birding trails through cottonwood gallery forests along the Santa Cruz River.
Our idea of the perfect day is a visit to Tumacácori National Historical Park in the morning, have lunch at Elvira’s, spend the afternoon exploring the galleries and shops, take a relaxing tour of Tubac Presidio, enjoy a great dinner at Habanero’s, and cap it all off with an evening stroll down by the river and under the stars. If you want to indulge yourself even more in Tubac’s beautiful night skies, here are some places to stay. (Photo of Tumacácori by Burley Packwood.)