Bend Magazine

Central Oregon Life and Style

Subscribe to Bend Magazine
Digital Issues Renew Subscribe
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Home
  • Adventure
  • News & Features
    • Business
    • Community
    • Culture
    • Heritage
  • Food & Drink
    • Beer & Libations
    • Restaurant Guide
  • Events
    • Things To Do Around Bend This Week
    • Giveaways
    • Calendar
  • Bend Home + Design
    • Digital Issues
    • Resource Guide
  • Back Issues
  •  $0.00 - 0 items
You are here: Home / Adventure / Three Stellar Places For Stargazing in Central Oregon

Three Stellar Places For Stargazing in Central Oregon

Published May 3, 2019

Written by Kody Osborne

Photos Nate Wyeth

Check out these places with limited light pollution for some of the best stargazing in Central Oregon.

Central Oregon Stars

The beauty of living in the high elevation and relatively low population region of Central Oregon is that our night skies are some of the best places in the U.S. to see stars. You don’t have to travel far from home to get a taste of what the galaxy has to offer. Early summer is a great time to stay out late and immerse yourself in the natural world. Whether you view by telescope, binoculars, or nothing but your own set of eyes, here are three locations we recommend to get a view of our galaxy.

Cascades Lakes

Within just a few dozen miles of Bend, you can find yourself at any one of your favorite Cascade Lakes trailheads. Really anywhere will do, but we recommend hitting Todd Lake. Open meadows nestled in majestic pines with a serene setting of chorus frogs serenading your visit makes this the perfect location to go looking for constellations and the occasional shooting star. Remember: these are breeding grounds for many local amphibians, so please respect their space and avoid trampling the shoreline.

Old McKenzie Highway

You’ve yet to really experience the Milky Way if you haven’t observed it from the heart of one of North America’s largest lava fields. As you surround yourself with jagged rocks that feel almost extra-terrestrial, you get the feeling that you are watching the stars from the surface of another planet. Head west from Sisters on Highway 242 towards the Dee Wright Observatory (telescopes not included) and accompanying lava flows. Find yourself a place with a good view of the southern sky. Note: The Old McKenzie Highway, aka Highway 242, is closed during winter and spring and typically opens in mid-June to motor vehicle traffic.

The Badlands

For arguably the darkest skies and best star viewing in the western United States, head east on Highway 20 towards the Badlands Wilderness, an ancient juniper forest perched on the edge of a shield volcano. With few visual obstructions, this expansive and open natural wonder gives you the sense of being surrounded by the cosmos. While looking south will no doubt give the best view of the Milky Way, turn your eyes in any direction and find the majority of constellations viewable in the Northern Hemisphere, as well as planets like Jupiter and Saturn.

Central Oregon Stars

Photos by Nate Wyeth

Photo by Nate Wyeth

Share This Article
« A Walking Tour of Historic Downtown Bend
What to Know When You Float the Deschutes River »
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Newsletter

Sign Up Here

sponsor

Best Restaurants in Bend Central Oregon
  • Bend-
  • La Pine-
  • Madras-
  • Maupin-
  • Prineville-
  • Redmond-
  • Sisters-
  • Sunriver

Heritage

The legacy of Bend’s Skyliners ski club lives on

Two dollars was all it took to create one of the most enduring legacies in Bend’s ski history.

Where to Find the Real Haunted Houses of Bend

It was a dark and stormy night…” goes the often-mocked cliché used by wannabe mystery writers.

The Other Quarantine: A Bend Family’s Fight to Overcome Polio

Like coronavirus, the first major outbreak of polio in the U.S. struck in New York, in 1916. The scourge spread west, gripping the country with fear along its trajectory.

We also recommend

5 places to snowshoe near Bend this winter

A hot toddy with a twist from Bend’s Pine Tavern

How former NFL star Vernon Davis joined Riff Coffee’s advisory board

Bend’s Richard James Yozamp brings street art home

Somewhere That’s Green, Bend’s whimsical new plant store

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2021 · Oregon Media LLC

Bend Magazine: About Us · Contact Us · Advertise
Company: Publisher's Letter · Oregon Media, LLC
Subscribe:
Give a Gift · Subscriptions

Pledge for the Wild

Never see this message again.