The area ·
The short version
Spoonbill Lodge is at 7,500 feet in the Coconino National Forest, 45 minutes south of Flagstaff. There is no light pollution in any direction. On a clear night near a new moon, you see the Milky Way with bare eyes from the deck.
This post explains how to plan a stay for stargazing near Flagstaff: how to pick the dates, and what you will see.
Why this spot
The lodge is high, so there is less air between you and the stars. There is no town in any direction, so there is no glow on the horizon. Nobody else is on the property, so the only lights are yours.
Flagstaff was the first International Dark Sky City. Lowell Observatory is there, 45 minutes north of the lodge.
The moon decides your dates
The moon matters more than anything else you control. A full moon makes the sky so bright that the Milky Way disappears. A new moon leaves the sky dark all night.
Plan your stay for the week around a new moon. Look up the new-moon dates for your month before you book.
The moon rises about 50 minutes later each night. A few days after a full moon, the first hours of the night are still dark. A few days before a new moon, the moon rises just before dawn.
Clouds matter too. Check the forecast for cloud cover, not only for rain.
The best months, and what is overhead
September and October have the clearest skies of the year, with warm days and cold nights. In September, the Milky Way still stands in the south-west after dark. In October and November, look for the Andromeda Galaxy as a faint, long smudge.
From June to August, the brightest part of the Milky Way is in the south in the evening. In July and August, a short, hard storm arrives most afternoons, and the evening clears. The Perseid meteor shower peaks around August 12.
Winter, from November to March, has the longest nights and the coldest. Orion and the Pleiades are overhead. The Geminid meteor shower peaks around December 13. Snow can close the roads, so read the winter driving notes before you book.
Spring, in April and May, is the quietest season and the most changeable. Before dawn, the core of the Milky Way rises in the south-east.
Let your eyes adjust
Your eyes take 20 to 30 minutes to adjust fully to the dark. One look at a white light or a phone screen undoes most of that.
Turn off the deck lights, and the lights in any window that faces where you sit. Quiet hours start at 10:00 pm, and they cover outdoor lights as well as noise.
Walk away from the lodge, onto the field. Use a red light to see the ground. A headlamp with a red setting works, or a flashlight with red cellophane over it.
We keep flashlights and headlamps in the lodge.
Set your phone screen to its night mode, and turn the brightness to the minimum.
Watch the ground. The field is level, but the forest around it has uneven ground and wildlife. Elk and deer move at dusk.
Bare eyes, binoculars, and a small telescope
With bare eyes on a dark night, you see the Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy in fall, and meteors. Satellites cross the sky in a steady line. Planes blink.
With binoculars, you see the craters along the edge of the moon’s shadow. You see the four large moons of Jupiter as points of light in a line. The Pleiades break into dozens of stars.
With a small telescope, you see the rings of Saturn, the cloud bands of Jupiter, and the Orion Nebula in winter.
Bring binoculars if you own a pair. A normal pair of 7x50 or 10x50 binoculars shows Jupiter’s moons and many star clusters.
A stargazing app helps you name what you see. Download it before you arrive, because cell service in the forest is unreliable.
Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff
Lowell Observatory is in Flagstaff, about 45 minutes north on Lake Mary Road. Astronomers discovered Pluto there. It has evening programs and public telescope viewing.
Book ahead, especially in summer. Check the observatory’s own website for its hours and programs, because we do not list them here.
One plan works well. Go to an early evening program at Lowell. Then drive back for the dark sky at the lodge. Drive slowly on the forest road at dusk, and watch for elk and deer.
Photograph it
You need a tripod. A sharp photograph of the Milky Way takes an exposure of 15 to 20 seconds, and no hand stays still that long.
Start with these settings. Use manual mode and your widest lens, at its widest aperture, such as f/2.8. Set the ISO to 3200. Set the shutter to 15 to 20 seconds. A longer exposure turns the stars into short lines.
Focus by hand. Turn on live view and zoom in on a bright star. Turn the focus ring until the star is a small point.
Use the two-second timer, so your finger does not shake the camera.
A recent phone can also do this in its night mode. Put the phone on a tripod, or rest it on something solid.
Turn off the deck lights first. They light the trees and wash out the sky. The tall pines make a dark edge at the bottom of the frame.
Stay warm enough to stay out
It gets cold fast after dark. The temperature changes 30 to 40 degrees in a day, in every season. Dress for a night much colder than the afternoon.
Bring a hat, gloves, and a warm jacket, even in summer. You get cold faster when you sit still than when you walk.
Bring a camp chair that leans back, or a pad to lie on. Bring a blanket for your legs.
Boil the kettle before you go out, and take a hot drink. The coffee bar has coffee and tea.
Outdoor heaters for the deck are an add-on. Ask for them before your stay.
The firepit keeps people warm, but its light hurts your night vision. Light the fire early, and let it burn down before you look up. Check the fire restrictions first.