Dark Sky Initiative
Preserve Big Bear's Dark Skies, Stargazing, and Night Sky Photography
Big Bear Lake enjoys a unique quality when the sun goes down - an optimal environment for stargazing and night sky photography! At 7000 feet and away from the bright metropolitan lights, Big Bear offers nightly views of constellations, planets, and even the Milky Way. But like our natural environment, it's as healthy as we keep it, and Big Bear's night skies are threatened by artificial lighting from urbanization - also known as light pollution.
We are losing sight of one star per night due to light pollution. Vatch Arouchian, Big Bear Valley Astronomical Society
A statistic...
In North America, the brightness of the night sky increases by 10.4% every year.
A Plan of Action...
Care For Big Bear is spearheading the effort to curb light pollution through the Dark Sky Initiative. The Initiative invites community residents, businesses and visitors to support practices that preserve the darkness of our night sky to protect the wildlife, human health and tourism that depend on it.
An Astrotourism Driven Initiative
Big Bear Battles Light Pollution
Explore the current efforts to curb light pollution from Care for Big Bear and the County of San Bernardino. Share these brochures and take the Dark Sky Pledge to help keep Big Bear's night sky dark!
Being a SoCal destination, Big Bear is surrounded by ever expanding cities, and our valley suffers more and more from light pollution, inhibiting our ability to see and enjoy the night sky. Brady Enger, Bending Energy Photography
It takes a village...so join us!
Policies are one thing, but buy in from community members is really what drives valley-wide goals and initiatives. Ready to help the Big Bear Valley go dark?