SKY · LIGHT POLLUTION · USA
Dark-Sky Sites Near San Francisco
The Bay Area glow is Bortle 8; the coast and Sierra foothills darken with distance. To actually see the Milky Way and faint stars, you'll want to reach a darker site — and there are real dark-sky destinations within range of San Francisco, listed below.
SKY DARKNESS · SAN FRANCISCO
Sky class (estimate)Bortle 8 · City sky
What you can seeThe sky glows; you can read a newspaper outside. Only the brightest stars, planets and the Moon.
Bortle class is an authored estimate for the city centre, on the standard Bortle dark-sky scale — not a measured figure.
Darker skies within reach
~4 HR DRIVE NORTH-EASTLassen Volcanic National ParkBortle 2 skies in the far north of the state.
~2 HR DRIVE SOUTHPinnacles National ParkBortle 4 within easy reach south.
Dark-sky designations from the International Dark-Sky Association and well-recognised dark regions. Distances are rough driving guides — always check access, opening hours and the weather before you go.
Plan tonight from San Francisco
More sky over San Francisco
SEE IT ON THE MAP
The live sky map shows the day/night line over San Francisco in real time.