SKY · LIGHT POLLUTION · USA
Dark-Sky Sites Near Seattle
Puget Sound glow at Bortle 7–8; the Cascades and Olympics darken quickly. 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 Seattle, listed below.
SKY DARKNESS · SEATTLE
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
~3.5 HR DRIVE SOUTH-EASTGoldendale Observatory SPDark-sky observatory park in eastern Washington.
~3 HR + FERRY WESTOlympic National Park (interior)Bortle 2–3 in the remote west.
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 Seattle
More sky over Seattle
SEE IT ON THE MAP
The live sky map shows the day/night line over Seattle in real time.