Looking to go stargazing? You’re in luck!
You don’t have to be hours from the city to find some great dark skies. It helps, certainly, but with a little bit of searching you can find some nice spots to stargaze close to Miami without having to make a weekend trip out of it.
If you live anywhere in or near our luxury South Florida apartments, then keep this list in mind next time you’re wanting to see some starry skies.
What to look for when stargazing
You don’t always need a high-end telescope to see the celestial wonders hidden among the stars. In fact, you can see star clusters, planets, meteor showers and even a nearby galaxy with the naked eye on a really dark night.
And, with a pair of binoculars, you can see much more!
Here are some of the things you can look for while stargazing.
- Planets: Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Saturn are visible as bright stars that travel along the path of the sun across our night sky. You can’t see much detail without a powerful telescope, but you can see some of Jupiter’s moons with a decent set of binoculars!
- Meteor showers: meteor showers are predictable and occur at least half a dozen times each year in the northern hemisphere. These make for great stargazing!
- The Milky Way: that gray-ish silver band across the sky on a dark, dark night is the edge of our very own Milky Way galaxy! This is where most of the stars are clustered, making for some beautiful scenery.
- Constellations: identifying constellations is what allowed our ancestors to navigate waters, oceans, mountains and desserts. They’ve guided the human race for millennia, and they’re still right there for us to enjoy today!
7 great places to stargaze around Miami
North Beach
Although you’ll still get a decent amount of light pollution here — it’s pretty close to the city — North Beach is probably one of the more relatively dark areas you can get to without driving too far away.
To see as much of the night sky as possible, get as far away from overhead lights as you can, and use an umbrella or hat to shield your eyes from light in your peripheral vision. Print out a star chart so that you don’t ruin your night vision with LED screen light, and you’ll be set so see some pretty amazing views!
Oleta River State Park
It’s choose your own adventure here at Oleta River State Park, especially when it comes to stargazing!
Book a campsite here and enjoy the expanse of stars at your own time and pace all night long. Bring a telescope, a set of binoculars and a star chart and hang out under the canopies of trees and stars to your heart’s content.
Or, if you’re looking for something a little more unique, reserve a spot on one of the park’s Full Moon Kayak Tours, which will take you on a gorgeous moonlit journey through the waters and marshes of the Oleta River!
Bill Sadowski Park & Nature Center
The Southern Cross Astronomical Society uses this park as one of their official observation sites, hosting some amazing weekly stargazing events that are open to the public right here in the natural space.
Fox Observatory at Markham Park
If you want to get serious about stargazing and amateur astronomy, then checking out the events at the Fox Observatory is a must!
The South Florida Amateur Astronomers Association is headquartered here at the Observatory and connecting park, and they host weekly stargazing events that are informative, interactive, free and open to the public. Even if you don’t want to attend an event, you can still visit the park and do some stargazing on your own. The park and pond push a lot of light pollution away, giving you a nice clear view of the dark night skies.
Everglades National Park
We couldn’t possibly leave out one of the largest pieces of dark, city-light-free spaces in South Florida!
The Everglades National Park protects a massive swath of unique biomes and landscapes native to South Florida, all far away from the light pollution of the Miami metropolis.
If you want to get the most out of this gorgeous stargazing spot, book a night or two at a campground where you can spend all the time you want looking for meteors, satellites, star clusters and whatever else your heart desires!
Shark Valley Trails & Observatory Tower
This attraction in the heart of the Everglades National Park is a popular spot for stargazing, thanks to the open expanse of sawgrass marsh providing a clear and unobstructed view of the night sky. An observation tower accessible via boardwalk is the perfect place to stop and check out the stars, though you’ll have to watch out for the alligators that also frequent this scenic spot after nightfall.
Kirby Storter Roadside Park
This is arguably one of the best places to go stargazing in South Florida — perhaps in the whole state!
As part of the Big Cypress National Reserve, this stargazing spot is surrounded by acres of wilderness certified as a Dark Sky Park space, meaning it is internationally recognized for its dark skies and excellent stargazing opportunities. Definitely try to stop by this roadside park on your trip through Big Cypress — it’s a great picnic spot and has a beautiful boardwalk trail, too!
Happy stargazing!
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Featured photo courtesy Pixabay/StockSnap
Colleen Ford is a South African who now lives on Oahu in Hawai'i. She loves to travel, camp, spearfish and hike. She's also part of a super cool canoe club and is pretty decent at it. Colleen enjoys Star Wars and also not being cold ever.
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