Washington's Underrated State Park Is A Beautiful Destination With One Of The Nation's Largest Public Telescopes

The beautiful, unique, isolated little town of Goldendale, Washington, which is known for having a free-to-visit replica of Stonehenge, is also one of the best destinations for stargazing that you could hope for. Its skies are darker and freer from light pollution than most of the rest of the United States. It's the perfect place to camp and look up at the brilliant, glimmering stars. If you want to get a closer look and understand the stars a little better though, the town has you covered. Visit the Goldendale Observatory State Park, and you'll feel closer to the stars than ever before.

When you think of a Washington State Park you might imagine a rocky coastal paradise full of beaches and trails, but that's not what you should expect at Goldendale Observatory State Park. The actual land is only five acres (about the size of four football fields) but the real show in this remote corner of the state is not the land. It's the sky. The observatory itself is well worth a pilgrimage (or a stop on a Washington wine and waterfall road trip). In addition to some fascinating educational programs, the observatory contains one of the largest telescopes available to the public on the planet. You'll see the stars, closer and brighter than you've ever seen them before, Jupiter's cloud belts, the International Space Station, and startlingly close views of the surface of the moon.

If you love astronomy, you won't want to miss the observatory. This park is one of the best for stargazing in America. While the park itself is very small, it is set up on a hill with very little light pollution, so on a clear, moonless night you can see an incredible display of stars up above you before you even enter the observatory. Once you step inside the observatory, however, the show really begins. There are two different programs here, the afternoon sun program and the evening star program. The afternoon show is only two-hours long and gives you an up-close look at the sun (without hurting your eyes) while the evening program can be as long as three hours.

During the evening program, a park ranger will take you outside so you can look up at the night sky and have them explain to you exactly what celestial bodies you're looking at. Afterwards, you can go inside and use the massive telescope and see far more than you ever could with the naked eye. Keep your eyes on the weather as the date of your trip approaches. Clouds and rain will definitely put a damper on your experience, and many visitors on Tripadvisor have mentioned how chilly it can get wandering around the top of a windy hill in Washington state.

Goldendale Observatory State Park is about a four-hour drive from the soul of Seattle, the bustling Pike Street Market. While it is a Washington state park, the observatory is actually a closer drive from the tranquil urban city of Portland, Oregon, so if you're an astronomy buff coming from outside the Pacific Northwest, you're actually better off flying into Portland International Airport (PDX), renting a car, and driving two hours along I-84 East to the observatory.

It's completely free to visit the park and attend programs at the observatory, but you should make a free reservation on the website. Make sure to arrive on time to secure your spot. If you're planning to park in the parking lot you'll have to get yourself a WA State Parks Discover Pass. If you don't already have one, you can purchase one at the observatory. You can spend $10 to get one for the day, and if you plan to visit two or three other Washington state parks during your trip, it's worth it to spring for the annual pass.