About 40 participants, including Larimer County Commissioner Jody Shadduck McNally and Estes Park Mayor Gary Hall and his wife Linda, met up at the Estes Park Memorial Observatory and then fanned out across the Estes Valley on Tuesday evening, April 13, after sunset, turning stargazing into a data-driven exercise aimed at preserving the region’s night skies.
The dark-sky measurement night, organized by Visit Estes Park, trained volunteers to use handheld devices known as Sky Quality Meters to quantify the brightness of the night sky — a key step toward understanding and reducing light pollution.
The meters measure sky brightness in magnitudes per square arcsecond, a standard used by astronomers. About the size of a small remote control and costing about $155, the devices are designed to deliver precise readings even in very dark conditions.
Working in small groups of four to six, participants were assigned three to four different locations throughout the Estes Valley, spanning from Rocky Mountain National Park to several miles into the Big Thompson Canyon.
The teams were asked to take three readings at each location, recording the time, ambient temperature, sky conditions, and GPS coordinates to determine a median value.
Before the teams set out, an indoor demonstration reading registered about 9 on the Sky Quality Meter, a level considered extremely bright due to the artificial lighting in the observatory’s conference room. Outside, typical readings ranged from 17 to 22, with higher numbers indicating darker skies. Values above 21 are considered exceptionally dark.
Organizers said the data collected will help establish a baseline for Estes Park as it explores becoming a certified dark sky community, a designation promoted by DarkSky International. Irving Antonio Tinoco Guevara, a DarkSky Colorado mentor who helps towns start the dark sky process, said Estes Park is a strong candidate for dark sky certification.
“Here in Estes Park, it’s already dark enough to see the Milky Way, which is around the 20s to the 25s,” Guevara said. “And so the data that we collect, it’s more to prove that our skies here are dark enough to see [the] Milky Way, to keep pristine, more of a validation for the skies here.”
Beyond the numbers, the event reinforced the importance of dark skies for the environment, public health, and community identity.
Migratory birds, particularly songbirds, rely on dark skies to navigate, with thousands passing over Colorado each spring and fall. Excessive artificial light can disorient them and increase mortality rates. Organizers also emphasized the role darkness plays in human health, noting that exposure to light at night can disrupt circadian rhythms.
“There’s also our connection to the universe,” Deborah Price, an environmental educator and DarkSky Colorado board member, told attendees. “If you can’t see the stars, you forget that we’re part of something much bigger.”
The informational presentation included guidance on responsible outdoor lighting, emphasizing principles such as using light only when necessary, directing it downward, keeping brightness levels low, and favoring warmer color temperatures. Properly shielded lighting, presenters said, can improve visibility and safety while reducing glare and wasted energy, Price said.
The effort comes amid growing interest in astro-tourism, a travel trend centered on stargazing. Dana Paiement, destination development director for Visit Estes Park, told the volunteer night sky researchers that dark skies are becoming an economic asset, with visitors seeking destinations where the Milky Way and other celestial features remain visible. In Colorado alone, such tourism has been estimated to generate billions of dollars in economic activity.
“Stargazing is important because it’s dependent on clear, dark skies,” Paiement said. “This is a growing trend – astro tourism. People are wanting to visit destinations where they can see the night skies.”
Communities across the state, including Breckenridge and Lyons, are pursuing or have achieved dark sky certification. Organizers say Estes Park is now taking early steps along that path. Visit Estes Park will host a Dark Sky Workshop on April 22 – Earth Day – beginning at 11:30 a.m. at the Memorial Observatory. Click here to RSVP.
The event will include a technical working session for Town of Estes Park and Larimer County staff focused on lighting standards, ordinance implementation, and application review. Michael Rymer, Communities Program Manager from DarkSky International, will lead the technical portion, and an overview of the tourism benefits of preserving dark skies will be shared.
The next dark sky measurement event in Estes Park is scheduled for Sept. 7, 2026.
“To have the night sky available for everybody to use in a safe manner, in a place where tourism can become, you know, prevalent, where the town doesn’t feel pressured or scared, right?” Guevara said. “We want to keep a balance for everything. I feel like, if we help more and more people come to these events…people will realize that… It’s doable. It’s possible.”
This story is one in a series on the Dark Sky movement and the effort by Visit Estes Park to seek DarkSky International certification for the Estes Valley. Other stories in this series include Dark Skies over Estes: Part I, The History of the Dark Sky Movement: Part II, Dark Skies over Estes and beyond: Part III.
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