Missouri's Darkest Skies
Review of sky brightness measurements to find the darkest state parks in Missouri
Where are the darkest skies in Missouri?
We are often asked where to find the darkest skies in Missouri.
We took a simple approach to answer this question by looking at sky brightness measurements for Missouri State Parks. We extracted sky brightness measurements from the "World Atlas 2015" located at http://lightpollutionmap.info. One of the most important readings from this map is the Sky Quality Meter ("SQM") measurement. The SQM measures sky brightness in magnitudes per square arc second, it's the same unit used to describe the surface brightness of deep-sky objects. The larger the number, the darker the sky.
Based on this report from the World Atlas 2015 map, Missouri still has nearly 60 state parks with an SQM of 21.00 or higher. To place this in perspective, IDA requires a reading of 21.20 or higher for a park to be considered a candidate for an "International Dark Sky Park" designation. This provides a basis of hope that some of our parks in Missouri might become qualified as an "International Dark Sky Place" under IDA's IDSP program.
Map of Missouri's Sky Brightness:
Click here for more information about finding Missouri's darkest skies.
Sky Quality Meter Measurements of Missouri's Parks:
| Region | Type | Name | Latitude | Longitude | SQM | Bortle | Elev |
| Southeast | State | Current River State Park | 37.33169 | -91.42021 | 21.96 | 2 | 286 |
| Southeast | State | Echo Bluff State Park | 37.31612 | -91.41137 | 21.96 | 2 | 218 |
| Southeast | State | Roger Pryor Pioneer Backcountr | 37.30371 | -91.40402 | 21.96 | 2 | 293 |
| Southeast | USA | Ozark National Scenic Riverway | 37.18984 | -91.27692 | 21.95 | 2 | 181 |
| Lakes | State | Bryant Creek SP | 36.83241 | -92.42708 | 21.93 | 2 | 265 |
| Southeast | State | Montauk State Park | 37.46091 | -91.67796 | 21.91 | 2 | 377 |
| Southeast | State | Sam A. Baker State Park | 37.25967 | -90.52496 | 21.91 | 2 | 171 |
| Southeast | State | Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park | 37.54891 | -90.84846 | 21.89 | 2 | 263 |
| Southeast | State | Dillard Mill State Historic Si | 37.72099 | -91.20603 | 21.88 | 3 | 305 |
| Southeast | State | Grand Gulf State Park | 36.54392 | -91.64393 | 21.88 | 3 | 258 |
| Northeast | State | Mark Twain Birthplace SHS | 39.48862 | -91.78567 | 21.87 | 3 | 181 |
| Northeast | State | Mark Twain SP | 39.48800 | -91.79060 | 21.87 | 3 | 181 |
| Northeast | State | Locust Creek Covered Bridge SH | 39.79229 | -93.23402 | 21.86 | 3 | 214 |
| Northeast | State | Union Covered Bridge SHS | 39.43310 | -92.10278 | 21.85 | 3 | 224 |
| Central | State | Annie and Abel Van Meter State | 39.25846 | -93.26233 | 21.84 | 3 | 235 |
| Northeast | State | Battle of Athens SHS | 40.58492 | -91.69649 | 21.84 | 3 | 204 |
| Lakes | State | Stockton SP | 37.61411 | -93.75001 | 21.83 | 3 | 265 |
| Northeast | State | Pershing SP | 39.76700 | -93.22133 | 21.83 | 3 | 219 |
| Southeast | State | Taum Sauk Mountain State Park | 37.57231 | -90.72723 | 21.83 | 3 | 541 |
| Central | State | Boone's Lick State Historic Si | 39.07839 | -92.88090 | 21.81 | 3 | 209 |
| Central | State | Sappington Cemetery State Hist | 39.03320 | -93.00710 | 21.80 | 3 | 225 |
| Southeast | State | Big Oak Tree State Park | 36.64084 | -89.29266 | 21.78 | 3 | 90 |
| Southeast | State | Towosahgy State Historic Site | 36.69399 | -89.23506 | 21.78 | 3 | 90 |
| Lakes | State | Prairie SP | 37.52392 | -94.56757 | 21.75 | 3 | 274 |
| Southeast | State | Lake Wappapello State Park | 36.94217 | -90.33847 | 21.75 | 3 | 117 |
| Central | State | Arrow Rock State Historic Site | 39.06567 | -92.94240 | 21.74 | 3 | 219 |
| Kansas City | State | Big Lake SP | 40.08624 | -95.34281 | 21.74 | 3 | 270 |
| Southeast | State | Onondaga Cave State Park | 38.06203 | -91.23619 | 21.70 | 3 | 265 |
| Kansas City | State | Battle of Island Mound State H | 38.23685 | -94.43982 | 21.69 | 3 | 267 |
| St. Louis | State | Hawn State Park | 37.83083 | -90.22915 | 21.64 | 4 | 206 |
| Northeast | State | Iliniwek Village SHS | 40.42938 | -91.55787 | 21.63 | 4 | 157 |
| Lakes | State | Harry S Truman SP | 38.27775 | -93.44368 | 21.62 | 4 | 215 |
| Lakes | State | Roaring River SP | 36.58760 | -93.81953 | 21.62 | 4 | 423 |
| Southeast | State | Elephant Rocks State Park | 37.65445 | -90.68782 | 21.62 | 4 | 389 |
| Lakes | State | Pomme de Terre SP | 37.87986 | -93.31946 | 21.61 | 4 | 281 |
| Northeast | State | Graham Cave SP | 38.90938 | -91.57241 | 21.60 | 4 | 226 |
| Lakes | State | Big Sugar Creek SP | 36.62140 | -94.29433 | 21.58 | 4 | 357 |
| Northeast | State | Gen. John J. Pershing Boyhood | 39.78813 | -93.16934 | 21.53 | 4 | 248 |
| Lakes | State | Bennett Spring SP | 37.70376 | -92.84020 | 21.52 | 4 | 344 |
| Lakes | State | Lake of the Ozarks SP | 38.07459 | -92.57222 | 21.52 | 4 | 231 |
| Kansas City | State | Wallace SP | 39.65598 | -94.21654 | 21.51 | 4 | 298 |
| Southeast | State | Morris State Park | 36.53782 | -90.03848 | 21.46 | 4 | 89 |
| Southeast | State | Bollinger Mill State Historic | 37.36815 | -89.80290 | 21.45 | 4 | 121 |
| Central | State | Katy Trail, McKittrick Trailhe | 38.73421 | -91.44309 | 21.44 | 4 | 159 |
| Northeast | State | Crowder SP | 40.08778 | -93.66789 | 21.42 | 4 | 234 |
| Northeast | State | Long Branch SP | 39.77485 | -92.52624 | 21.41 | 4 | 254 |
| St. Louis | State | Washington State Park | 38.08393 | -90.68335 | 21.39 | 4 | 256 |
| St. Louis | State | Meramec State Park | 38.20559 | -91.09703 | 21.38 | 4 | 193 |
| Central | State | Bothwell Lodge State Historic | 38.79474 | -93.22256 | 21.35 | 4 | 257 |
| Southeast | State | Trail of Tears State Park | 37.43879 | -89.48098 | 21.30 | 4 | 164 |
| Northeast | State | Wakonda SP | 40.00680 | -91.51870 | 21.27 | 4 | 162 |
| Northeast | State | Thousand Hills SP | 40.18533 | -92.64669 | 21.26 | 4 | 274 |
| Kansas City | State | Lewis and Clark SP | 39.53901 | -95.05230 | 21.21 | 4 | 252 |
| Northeast | State | Cuivre River SP | 39.03556 | -90.92955 | 21.20 | 4 | 212 |
| St. Louis | State | St. Francois State Park | 37.97396 | -90.53701 | 21.18 | 4 | 281 |
| Lakes | USA | George Washington Carver Natio | 36.98646 | -94.35481 | 21.15 | 4 | 328 |
| Lakes | State | Ha Ha Tonka SP | 37.96698 | -92.76039 | 21.13 | 4 | 320 |
| Kansas City | State | Confederate Memorial SHS | 39.09666 | -93.72446 | 21.07 | 4 | 244 |
| Central | State | Finger Lakes State Park | 39.08709 | -92.31976 | 21.00 | 4 | 224 |
| St. Louis | State | Robertsville State Park | 38.42704 | -90.81199 | 20.91 | 4 | 174 |
| Kansas City | State | Watkins Woolen Mill SP and SHS | 39.40214 | -94.25838 | 20.88 | 4 | 277 |
| Central | State | Clark's Hill/Norton State Hist | 38.55777 | -92.03008 | 20.84 | 4 | 172 |
| St. Louis | State | St. Joe State Park | 37.80745 | -90.50688 | 20.80 | 4 | 314 |
| Kansas City | State | Weston Bend SP | 39.38852 | -94.87184 | 20.77 | 4 | 285 |
| Southeast | State | Hunter-Dawson State Historic S | 36.59636 | -89.52342 | 20.69 | 4 | 93 |
| Kansas City | State | Battle of Lexington State Hist | 39.19035 | -93.88037 | 20.61 | 4 | 256 |
| Lakes | State | Table Rock SP | 36.58627 | -93.30564 | 20.54 | 4 | 281 |
| Central | State | Rock Bridge Memorial State Par | 38.87108 | -92.31518 | 20.26 | 5 | 233 |
| Kansas City | State | Knob Noster SP | 38.75304 | -93.57738 | 20.19 | 5 | 249 |
| St. Louis | State | Dr. Edmund A. Babler Memorial | 38.61743 | -90.69027 | 19.99 | 5 | 203 |
| St. Louis | State | Route 66 State Park | 38.50285 | -90.59342 | 19.94 | 5 | 219 |
| Kansas City | State | Katy Trail SP - Rock Island Sp | 38.68773 | -90.67777 | 19.67 | 5 | 190 |
| St. Louis | State | Castlewood State Park | 38.54870 | -90.54494 | 19.39 | 6 | 161 |
| St. Louis | State | Edward "Ted" and Pat Jones-Con | 38.83617 | -90.12599 | 19.21 | 6 | 128 |
| Central | State | Missouri State Museum | 38.57931 | -92.17273 | 19.13 | 6 | 180 |
| Central | State | Jewell Cemetery State Historic | 38.92003 | -92.33617 | 18.95 | 6 | 225 |
| Kansas City | USA | Harry S Truman National Histor | 39.09375 | -94.42339 | 18.51 | 7 | 318 |
| Kansas City | State | Thomas Hart Benton Home and St | 39.06234 | -94.59781 | 17.67 | 8 | 290 |
| St. Louis | USA | Gateway Arch National Park | 38.62463 | -90.18488 | 17.38 | 9 | 127 |
Mission
The mission of DarkSky Missouri is to raise awareness about light pollution issues in Missouri, promote quality outdoor lighting, protect our natural environment and our beautiful night sky, and educate the public how reducing light pollution can lower energy costs.