Interactive map of where in America you can see the most stars

With artificial light illuminating our skies every night, it’s hard to believe that there are places in America 'dark enough' to see an abundance of stars.

Well, there are hundreds of parks across the world designated as International Dark Sky Places that provide some of the best views for stargazing.

This interactive map shows exactly which parks in North America restrict artificial light pollution to see a sky full of stars – a view that a city will definitely not provide.

In the story map below, or in a separate web browser, find and click on “N America” in the list of options above (or the grid in the story map below). Then, move your cursor down and zoom in to select a park from the map – each one will contain the year the area became designated as a Dark Sky Park, among other things.

Plus, can see the list of parks with the best night skies around the rest of the world, too.

The Goldendale Observatory State Park, the only park in Washington state that was classified as a Dark Sky Park, has since been taken off the list for failing to comply with polices set by the International Dark Sky Association.

The park is currently going through a $1.5 million state-funded renovation, including adding a new reconfigured telescope that gives visitors better views of the sky.

And although other Washington state parks don’t have that ‘Dark Sky Park’ status, the Washington Trails Association has created its own list of where you can still enjoy a pretty good view of the night sky.