Obed Wild and Scenic River
Some light pollution · Constellations, not much Milky Way
3 stays nearby →Pickett CCC Memorial State Park & Pogue Creek Canyon State Natural Area, a Dark Sky Park
A park built by the Civilian Conservation Corps on Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau, with sandstone arches, 1930s cabins, and an astronomy field at Pogue Creek Canyon.
- How dark?
- Dark · Milky Way overhead, hazy lower down
- Food & town
- Jamestown · about 9 mi
- Certified
- Dark Sky Park · 2015
How dark is it, really?
Dark enough to see the Milky Way overhead on a clear night, though glow from nearby towns washes out the sky near the horizon. (For the detail-minded: Bortle class 4, an estimate.)
When should I go?
Pick a night when the moon is down. The next stretch of moonless evenings is Nov 6–12.
| Best nights | Moonlight | Worth staying up for |
|---|---|---|
| Nov 6–12 | Thin crescent, sets early | A sky full of stars, and extra shooting stars (Leonids) |
| Dec 5–11 | Thin crescent, sets early | A sky full of stars, and extra shooting stars (Geminids) |
| Jan 3–9 | Thin crescent, rises late | A sky full of stars, and a meteor shower peak (Quadrantids) |
More dark windows, through Oct 2027
| Best nights | Moonlight | Worth staying up for |
|---|---|---|
| Feb 1–8 | Mostly none · thin crescent on the edge nights | A sky full of stars |
| Mar 3–9 | Thin crescent, rises late | The Milky Way core |
| Apr 1–8 | Mostly none · thin crescent on the edge nights | The Milky Way core |
| May 1–7 | Thin crescent, rises late | The Milky Way core, and a meteor shower peak (Eta Aquariids) |
| Jun 1–6 | Thin crescent, sets early | The Milky Way core |
| Jul 1–6 | None · darkest skies | The Milky Way core |
| Jul 31–Aug 5 | None · darkest skies | The Milky Way core, and extra shooting stars (Southern Delta Aquariids and Perseids) |
| Aug 29–Sep 4 | Crescent, sets early | The Milky Way core |
| Sep 27–Oct 3 | Thin crescent, sets early | The Milky Way core |
Computed from public astronomical data for this location. Updated monthly. How it's computed
Milky Way season here: Mid Feb to mid Oct. Out of season until mid Feb. In season now, through mid Oct.
Meteor showers ahead: Leonids on Nov 17–18 (half moon, sets around midnight), Geminids on Dec 13–14 (thin crescent, sets early), Ursids on Dec 22–23 (full moon, up all night), and Quadrantids on Jan 3–4 (thin crescent, rises late)Lyrids on Apr 22–23 (bright moon for most of the night)Eta Aquariids on May 5–6 (none · darkest skies)Southern Delta Aquariids on Jul 30–31 (thin crescent, rises late)Perseids on Aug 12–13 (bright moon for most of the night).
Email me before the next dark window at Pickett CCC Memorial State Park & Pogue Creek Canyon State Natural Area.
About one email a month, a few days before the moon goes dark: the dates here, the moonlight, and what's worth staying up for. Unsubscribe in one click.
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What it's like
Pickett sits on the Cumberland Plateau in northern Tennessee: a 922-acre park whose roads, trails, and cabins were built by the Civilian Conservation Corps, inside the larger Pickett State Forest and next to the Big South Fork. Together with Pogue Creek Canyon State Natural Area it forms a Dark Sky Park of about 4,000 acres, in a part of the East where truly dark places are fast disappearing. Tennessee says no state park in the Southeast earned the designation before it.
When evening comes, the park points stargazers to the Pogue Creek Canyon Astronomy Field. The park has worked with the Barnard-Seyfert Astronomical Society and the University of Tennessee's space science outreach program on an annual star party and summer night sky programs. In spring and summer, ranger-led hikes go to Hazard Cave, a huge sandstone overhang, to see glow worms light up in the dark.
For now, plan to stay in a cabin: the campground is closed while its bathhouse and sites are renovated. Five of the cabins are the original 1930s CCC buildings, in wood shingle or stone, each with a fireplace and a screened porch; there are standard and deluxe cabins too.
By day, walk the Hazard Cave and Natural Bridge trails, paddle the 12-acre Arch Lake, and visit the CCC Museum. Coming in on Highway 297 from the Big South Fork, expect S-curves and sharp bends that can be hard going with a horse trailer or a large RV.
Food, fuel, and supplies
Jamestown, TN is about 9 mi away in a straight line, with groceries (Walmart Supercenter, Save-A-Lot), 5 gas stations, and 16 places to eat on the map. The nearest gas is closer: Beaty Wildwood Grocery, about 4 mi away. Nearest places to eat on the map: Simply Fresh (about 9 mi), Taco Bell (about 9 mi), and DQ Grill & Chill (about 9 mi). Cell service is patchy across the park, with AT&T the most reliable, though the visitor center and many of the cabins have Wi-Fi.
Distances are straight-line and approximate. Places on the map may not be open. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
✓ Certification verified Jun 2026 against DarkSky International registry (Internet Archive capture) · darkness: Bortle 4, estimated (Sep 2026) · nearest town from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) (Sep 2026)
Dark sky places near Pickett CCC Memorial State Park & Pogue Creek Canyon State Natural Area
For a trip with more than one dark night: the closest within 150 miles, nearest first. Distances are straight-line, not driving.
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