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.
Data Table of Missouri Parks:
| Region | Type | Name | Latitude | Longitude | SQM | Bortle | Elev |
| Central | State | Annie and Abel Van Meter State | 39.25846 | -93.26233 | 21.84 | 3 | 235 |
| Central | State | Arrow Rock State Historic Site | 39.06567 | -92.94240 | 21.74 | 3 | 219 |
| Central | State | Boone's Lick State Historic Si | 39.07839 | -92.88090 | 21.81 | 3 | 209 |
| Central | State | Bothwell Lodge State Historic | 38.79474 | -93.22256 | 21.35 | 4 | 257 |
| Central | State | Clark's Hill/Norton State Hist | 38.55777 | -92.03008 | 20.84 | 4 | 172 |
| Central | State | Finger Lakes State Park | 39.08709 | -92.31976 | 21.00 | 4 | 224 |
| Central | State | Jewell Cemetery State Historic | 38.92003 | -92.33617 | 18.95 | 6 | 225 |
| Central | State | Katy Trail, McKittrick Trailhe | 38.73421 | -91.44309 | 21.44 | 4 | 159 |
| Central | State | Missouri State Museum | 38.57931 | -92.17273 | 19.13 | 6 | 180 |
| Central | State | Rock Bridge Memorial State Par | 38.87108 | -92.31518 | 20.26 | 5 | 233 |
| Central | State | Sappington Cemetery State Hist | 39.03320 | -93.00710 | 21.80 | 3 | 225 |
| Kansas City | State | Battle of Island Mound State H | 38.23685 | -94.43982 | 21.69 | 3 | 267 |
| Kansas City | State | Battle of Lexington State Hist | 39.19035 | -93.88037 | 20.61 | 4 | 256 |
| Kansas City | State | Big Lake SP | 40.08624 | -95.34281 | 21.74 | 3 | 270 |
| Kansas City | State | Confederate Memorial SHS | 39.09666 | -93.72446 | 21.07 | 4 | 244 |
| Kansas City | USA | Harry S Truman National Histor | 39.09375 | -94.42339 | 18.51 | 7 | 318 |
| Kansas City | State | Katy Trail SP - Rock Island Sp | 38.68773 | -90.67777 | 19.67 | 5 | 190 |
| Kansas City | State | Knob Noster SP | 38.75304 | -93.57738 | 20.19 | 5 | 249 |
| Kansas City | State | Lewis and Clark SP | 39.53901 | -95.05230 | 21.21 | 4 | 252 |
| Kansas City | State | Thomas Hart Benton Home and St | 39.06234 | -94.59781 | 17.67 | 8 | 290 |
| Kansas City | State | Wallace SP | 39.65598 | -94.21654 | 21.51 | 4 | 298 |
| Kansas City | State | Watkins Woolen Mill SP and SHS | 39.40214 | -94.25838 | 20.88 | 4 | 277 |
| Kansas City | State | Weston Bend SP | 39.38852 | -94.87184 | 20.77 | 4 | 285 |
| Lakes | State | Bennett Spring SP | 37.70376 | -92.84020 | 21.52 | 4 | 344 |
| Lakes | State | Big Sugar Creek SP | 36.62140 | -94.29433 | 21.58 | 4 | 357 |
| Lakes | State | Bryant Creek SP | 36.83241 | -92.42708 | 21.93 | 2 | 265 |
| 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 |
| Lakes | State | Harry S Truman SP | 38.27775 | -93.44368 | 21.62 | 4 | 215 |
| Lakes | State | Lake of the Ozarks SP | 38.07459 | -92.57222 | 21.52 | 4 | 231 |
| Lakes | State | Pomme de Terre SP | 37.87986 | -93.31946 | 21.61 | 4 | 281 |
| Lakes | State | Prairie SP | 37.52392 | -94.56757 | 21.75 | 3 | 274 |
| Lakes | State | Roaring River SP | 36.58760 | -93.81953 | 21.62 | 4 | 423 |
| Lakes | State | Stockton SP | 37.61411 | -93.75001 | 21.83 | 3 | 265 |
| Lakes | State | Table Rock SP | 36.58627 | -93.30564 | 20.54 | 4 | 281 |
| Northeast | State | Battle of Athens SHS | 40.58492 | -91.69649 | 21.84 | 3 | 204 |
| Northeast | State | Crowder SP | 40.08778 | -93.66789 | 21.42 | 4 | 234 |
| Northeast | State | Cuivre River SP | 39.03556 | -90.92955 | 21.20 | 4 | 212 |
| Northeast | State | Gen. John J. Pershing Boyhood | 39.78813 | -93.16934 | 21.53 | 4 | 248 |
| Northeast | State | Graham Cave SP | 38.90938 | -91.57241 | 21.60 | 4 | 226 |
| Northeast | State | Iliniwek Village SHS | 40.42938 | -91.55787 | 21.63 | 4 | 157 |
| Northeast | State | Locust Creek Covered Bridge SH | 39.79229 | -93.23402 | 21.86 | 3 | 214 |
| Northeast | State | Long Branch SP | 39.77485 | -92.52624 | 21.41 | 4 | 254 |
| 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 | Pershing SP | 39.76700 | -93.22133 | 21.83 | 3 | 219 |
| Northeast | State | Thousand Hills SP | 40.18533 | -92.64669 | 21.26 | 4 | 274 |
| Northeast | State | Union Covered Bridge SHS | 39.43310 | -92.10278 | 21.85 | 3 | 224 |
| Northeast | State | Wakonda SP | 40.00680 | -91.51870 | 21.27 | 4 | 162 |
| Southeast | State | Big Oak Tree State Park | 36.64084 | -89.29266 | 21.78 | 3 | 90 |
| Southeast | State | Bollinger Mill State Historic | 37.36815 | -89.80290 | 21.45 | 4 | 121 |
| Southeast | State | Current River State Park | 37.33169 | -91.42021 | 21.96 | 2 | 286 |
| Southeast | State | Dillard Mill State Historic Si | 37.72099 | -91.20603 | 21.88 | 3 | 305 |
| Southeast | State | Echo Bluff State Park | 37.31612 | -91.41137 | 21.96 | 2 | 218 |
| Southeast | State | Elephant Rocks State Park | 37.65445 | -90.68782 | 21.62 | 4 | 389 |
| Southeast | State | Grand Gulf State Park | 36.54392 | -91.64393 | 21.88 | 3 | 258 |
| Southeast | State | Hunter-Dawson State Historic S | 36.59636 | -89.52342 | 20.69 | 4 | 93 |
| Southeast | State | Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park | 37.54891 | -90.84846 | 21.89 | 2 | 263 |
| Southeast | State | Lake Wappapello State Park | 36.94217 | -90.33847 | 21.75 | 3 | 117 |
| Southeast | State | Montauk State Park | 37.46091 | -91.67796 | 21.91 | 2 | 377 |
| Southeast | State | Morris State Park | 36.53782 | -90.03848 | 21.46 | 4 | 89 |
| Southeast | State | Onondaga Cave State Park | 38.06203 | -91.23619 | 21.70 | 3 | 265 |
| Southeast | USA | Ozark National Scenic Riverway | 37.18984 | -91.27692 | 21.95 | 2 | 181 |
| Southeast | State | Roger Pryor Pioneer Backcountr | 37.30371 | -91.40402 | 21.96 | 2 | 293 |
| Southeast | State | Sam A. Baker State Park | 37.25967 | -90.52496 | 21.91 | 2 | 171 |
| Southeast | State | Taum Sauk Mountain State Park | 37.57231 | -90.72723 | 21.83 | 3 | 541 |
| Southeast | State | Towosahgy State Historic Site | 36.69399 | -89.23506 | 21.78 | 3 | 90 |
| Southeast | State | Trail of Tears State Park | 37.43879 | -89.48098 | 21.30 | 4 | 164 |
| St. Louis | State | Castlewood State Park | 38.54870 | -90.54494 | 19.39 | 6 | 161 |
| St. Louis | State | Dr. Edmund A. Babler Memorial | 38.61743 | -90.69027 | 19.99 | 5 | 203 |
| St. Louis | State | Edward "Ted" and Pat Jones-Con | 38.83617 | -90.12599 | 19.21 | 6 | 128 |
| St. Louis | USA | Gateway Arch National Park | 38.62463 | -90.18488 | 17.38 | 9 | 127 |
| St. Louis | State | Hawn State Park | 37.83083 | -90.22915 | 21.64 | 4 | 206 |
| St. Louis | State | Meramec State Park | 38.20559 | -91.09703 | 21.38 | 4 | 193 |
| St. Louis | State | Robertsville State Park | 38.42704 | -90.81199 | 20.91 | 4 | 174 |
| St. Louis | State | Route 66 State Park | 38.50285 | -90.59342 | 19.94 | 5 | 219 |
| St. Louis | State | St. Francois State Park | 37.97396 | -90.53701 | 21.18 | 4 | 281 |
| St. Louis | State | St. Joe State Park | 37.80745 | -90.50688 | 20.80 | 4 | 314 |
| St. Louis | State | Washington State Park | 38.08393 | -90.68335 | 21.39 | 4 | 256 |