Dark Sky Stargazing

The skies above Borrego are among the darkest in Southern California — dark enough that on a moonless winter night you can see the Milky Way casting a faint shadow on bare ground. Astronomy clubs in San Diego make pilgrimages here with telescopes, and the local Borrego Springs Performing Arts Center occasionally runs public star parties.

You don't need a tour to enjoy it. Drive ten minutes north on Henderson Canyon Road or east on Borrego Springs Road, find a turnout, kill the headlights, and give your eyes fifteen minutes to adjust. New moon weekends are best; winter offers Orion and the Milky Way's brightest section.

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Borrego Springs became only the second International Dark Sky Community in the world when it received the designation in 2009 — the result of a years-long campaign by local astronomers to replace the town's lights with full-cutoff fixtures and to convince surrounding ranches and businesses to do the same. The nearest large city, San Diego, sits behind a wall of mountains that blocks most of the urban glow.

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