Who doesn’t want to make original memories with their special someone? But when it comes to choosing an activity, what do you pick that'll leave you both starry-eyed? If your usual movie night got way too mainstream for you, why not try something different and memorable to light up your evening sky: stargazing!
It may sound intimidating if you’re a beginner but trust me, stargazing is the ideal choice for the ultimate romantic outing. Plus, who wouldn't love being under an open sky of stars and galactic beauty while sipping hot chocolate or cuddling together around a campfire? Together in this dreamy scene of glittering galaxies far away - now that's romance at its finest!
What Is Stargazing?
Stargazing is the amazing adventure of admiring and exploring the pristine beauty of the night sky. It can be a wonderfully relaxing experience just to pause and appreciate the universe, taking in its grandeur as you observe celestial bodies with your own eyes. Stargazing -- which has been around since ancient times -- allows us to marvel at nature’s amazing expanse, offering a unique pleasure that cannot be replicated through any other means. It is an amazing journey that helps inspire curiosity and appreciation for the stars above.
Romantic Stargazing in the USA: Where to Go and What to Expect
Whether you’re looking for a place to make a special memory or just want to take a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, stargazing is an activity you should consider. While there are many places across the United States where you can go for a romantic stargazing experience, here are some of the best spots.
Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
The wide open night sky above the Grand Canyon creates a beautiful contrast against its red-orange canyon walls. The lack of light pollution makes it one of the darkest national parks in the country, providing optimal conditions for stargazing. If you plan ahead and get lucky with clear skies, you may even be able to spot some constellations like Orion or Cassiopeia. Not only that, but if you come during peak times—when meteor showers occur—you’ll have an even better chance at seeing shooting stars!
Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, Idaho
This National Monument and Preserve is known as one of the best stargazing locations in Idaho due to its remote location in central Idaho and its proximity to dark skies. You won’t find any cities nearby so there’s no light pollution obscuring your view of the stars! During your visit, don’t forget to look out for planets like Jupiter or Venus as they rise and set each night over this surreal landscape.
Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
Bryce Canyon is another great destination for stargazers thanks to its wide open views of dark night skies. It features some of the clearest air found anywhere on Earth, making it ideal for viewing stars in all their glory. Plus, because it sits atop an 8,000 foot plateau in Southern Utah, Bryce Canyon has little light pollution from surrounding towns or cities so it's perfect for star gazing! Furthermore, because there are no roads running through this park at night, visitors can enjoy an uninterrupted view of thousands upon thousands of stars without any disturbance from car headlights or street lamps.
Embrace the night sky in all its glory and discover a romantic side of nature together!
From Grand Canyon National Park to Craters of the Moon, there are plenty of star-filled adventures waiting for you across America. Whether it’s a meteor shower or spotting constellations, let your love light up the darkness as you explore our universe hand-in-hand. Create long lasting memories with an unforgettable stargazing experience – pack your bags now and start planning today!
How to Plan a Stargazing Date
Whether you’re hoping to woo your beloved or simply spend a romantic evening together, a stargazing date can be the perfect way to show your special someone how much you care. From finding the ideal spot for stargazing to making sure that you have all of the necessary gear, here’s how to plan an unforgettable stargazing date.
Pick a Good Location
The first step in planning a great stargazing date is picking out the perfect location. The key is to find somewhere that is as dark and free from light pollution as possible. This means avoiding city parks and other populated areas with lots of light sources. Instead, opt for small local parks or even just a wide open field where you can take in all of the stars without any distractions.
Dress Comfortably
Once you’ve picked out a spot for your stargazing date, it’s time to think about what kind of clothes you should wear. Since many spots can get quite chilly during the night, it’s important to dress comfortably and in layers so that you and your date stay warm throughout the night. Bring along blankets and pillows so that both of you are comfortable while lying on the ground looking up at the stars.
Pack Well
Don’t forget to pack ahead! For starters, make sure that you have plenty of snacks and drinks on hand for when hunger strikes during your stargazing session. If it’s cold outside, bring along some hot chocolate or coffee drinks to keep everyone cozy. Don't forget a flashlight for when it gets dark! Also, consider bringing along binoculars so that both of you can get an up-close view of constellations and planets in greater detail.
Arrive During The Light
Arrive early enough so that there's still some light left in order to make setup easier; this also ensures that both of you can get settled into your designated spot before it gets too dark out. Once everything is ready and everyone has their snacks and blankets unpacked, then it's time for the fun part—stargazing! Take turns pointing out different constellations or look through binoculars if available so that both of you can appreciate all of the beauty above together.
With these simple tips, now all that’s left is executing them! Grab your partner and head out into nature for an unforgettable evening spent under a starlit sky gazing up at wonders beyond our world. With proper planning (and maybe even some champagne!), this could be an evening neither one of you will ever forget!
What to Bring on a Stargazing Date
A stargazing date is the perfect way to spend an evening with your significant other! To make sure your night under the stars is one to remember, here’s a list of items that you should bring along.
A portable telescope will give you both a closer look at the night sky. With this tool, you’ll be able to spot galaxies and planets that you may not have seen without it. Many telescopes come with convenient carrying cases so they can easily be brought outdoors. Plus, it’s quite romantic if one of you shows the other how to use it!
Picnic Basket and Treats
Who said picnics are only for daytime? Pack up a few snacks and treats in a picnic basket and bring them along for your stargazing date! Fruits, nuts, pastries, and even some wine are all great options for a nighttime picnic spread. Plus, having something delicious to snack on will make your night out even more special.
Bug Spray
Mosquitoes love the night time just as much as humans do! Make sure that neither of you gets eaten alive during your stargazing date by bringing along some bug spray. This way, you can enjoy each other’s company without worrying about pesky bugs interrupting your evening.
Picnic Blanket
Last but not least—the classic picnic blanket! No outdoor date is complete without one of these cozy items. Choose something soft and large enough to fit both of you comfortably while lying down or sitting up on the ground looking at the stars together.
Make sure to pack all these items first before heading out! With these things in hand (and maybe a few more), you will have everything necessary for an unforgettable experience under the stars! Enjoy every second of it!
3 Portable Telescope For Beginners
FYI, Prices and ratings are accurate as of time of writing.
Highlights: Easy-to-use, portable telescope, quick to set up and easy to transport, making it ideal for family stargazing trip.
Helpful review: "great scope pix taken with iPhone 14 Pro Max (it’s an awesome camera for astrophotography) especially if your GF is a professional photographer lol. highly recommend scope - and better tripod. I found a used Velbon 368 fluid head very stable easy to use". - CJ
Get it from Amazon now: $106.06- $139.95 & FREE Returns
Trending review: "Got this for my 10 year old son. So he'd have a scope light enough for him to bring outside and set up on his own, and cheap enough that it's not a huge loss if it gets messed up. Also, I kinda wanted a travel scope to use for myself too. I have plenty of large scopes that take a lot of time to set up. This is perfect for setting up and taking down quickly and easily. There is lots of chromatic aberration around the edges of the moon, but its pefectly fine for a $100 scope. I've included a couple moon pics taken by my son and a quick single exposure of the Orion Nebula that he took. Both he took with a phone, using the supplied phone attachment. The scopes construction is extremely cheap plastic. But that also makes it very light and portable. The tripod is very light as well, but that makes it the worst item in the bundle. It is very shaky and positioning it on an object, especially with a phone attached, is quite a pain. But as long as you understand and are OK with this being a travel scope, it's a great purchase. I love the little thing as much, if not more, than my kid." - NG
Get it from Amazon now: $106.06- $139.95 & FREE Returns
Reassuring review: "First and foremost this is a travel telescope. That being said, all the reviews that talk about it being loose and flimsy are accurate but wrong. Of course a travel version will be lighter than a fixed version. This has been great for my daughter and myself. Easy to put together and use. We will be looking to but some extra apperatures. Also, we really like that it comes with a backpack for storage and transport." - DINGO
Get it from Amazon now: $106.06- $139.95 & FREE Returns
Highlights: Easy-to-use, portable telescope, quick to set up and easy to transport, making it ideal for family stargazing trip.
Helpful review: "This is a good basic refractor telescope. I finally used it to see something rather than just seeing how difficult it would be to put together (it's easy). Pros:I saw good detail on the moon for a hazy night for the magnification, and decent detail on the tree branches when I was looking and trying to focus. comes with a relatively roomy carrying case.Good view-finder - I was able to find the moon with it and then fine tune the focus knob on the telescope itself to find the moon. Cons: The manual/user's guide lacks detail (very few drawings and if you don't know what the parts are supposed to look like, it's a lot of guess work or googling)tripod - while good, it's very short, especially when the telescope is tilted up near 90 degrees. Smart phone adapter - while good in concept, the directions for use are inadequate, and it is too heavy for the weight of the telescope and tripod. It tends to knock it out of alignment with whatever you're trying to view". - Christina C. Shuy
Get it from Amazon now: $79.10 - $96.25 & FREE Returns
Trending review: "This telescope is amazing. I bought it for my 11 year old, NASA obsessed daughter. She loves it, and is able to identify stars and constellations. It was a little tricky for me to put together, as I didn't find the instructions to be very thorough, but once I figured it out, everything came together quickly. It was delivered quickly, and well packaged. Absolutely great for space obsessed kids - especially for the price!" - Marie Fogo
Get it from Amazon now: $79.10 - $96.25 & FREE Returns
Reassuring review: "I absolutely love this telescope. It checked off all of the boxes for me: easy to assemble, lightweight, compact, and clear views through every lens. I live in the city so I anticipated having some difficulty using this in my backyard, but this was not the case! This telescope has exceptional quality for a very reasonable price. I am also a big fan of the smartphone adapter. I am generally not good at putting things together but this took me at most 15 minutes to do so. I cannot wait to see how this thing performs outside of the city, I'm sure it will be breathtaking! I am very pleased with this purchase and would highly recommend to any other star gazers out there!." - Ali
Get it from Amazon now: $79.10 - $96.25 & FREE Returns
Highlights: Fully multi-coated lens, Adjustable Tripod, Universal Smartphone adapter.
Helpful review: "While the picture shoes a backpack case, I wasn't sure what I was actually going to be getting, but when it arrived, this backpack holds everything! The straps on this backpack are padded which helps because this is not a light telescope. I bought this because I am no way an expert telescope user and would call myself a beginner and this telescope was really easy for me to figure out. While I ordered this after the Christmas star was out, I was still able to use this with my family to look at the stars and even the moon. On nights that it's a little foggy, we're still able to see some stars but this is by far better than trying to look at them through binoculars. We recently took a night hiking trip and were able to see different constellations. We used a free website and no matter which direction we faced, we were able to use the website and this telescope and see majority of the constellations it showed on the website. While some of them were a little to blurry to see because they were out too far, the ones we were able to see came in clear and perfect. We were even able to take cleat pictures and video of the constellations. Attaching the phone holder was really easy to do but the picture and video quality, we found does depend on the phone you're using, With newer phones, we never had a problem with the picture quality but with older ones, the picture wasn't that great, However, when looking through the lens by itself, clear and perfect view. The tripod is really easy to stabilize, even when not on level ground. The legs can be easily adjusted to have one side shorter or longer than the other side or sides. Really easy to move around and you can lock it into place. I am really impressed with the magnification with this telescope and we are able to see the craters of the moon clearly as if it was closer than it really is. This telescope is really easy to use and it is really convenient to have the backpack to hold everything." - Ronny Acosta
Get it from Amazon now: $76.10 - $86.99 & FREE Returns
Trending review: "This is a great first telescope for someone thinking of getting into this hobby. It’s easy to assemble, though the instructions could use a little bit of work, It’s not difficult to put together yourself.It was very well packaged, and the backpack case that came with it is a lot better than cases you get with similar items. There’s a good selection of start up lenses and you can add on to the telescope with extra lenses and different filters for things like, stars, moon, and even the sun (DO NOT USE WITHOUT THE PROPER FILTER!!) . I’ve never owned a telescope before, so it took a little bit of getting used to sighting in objects, but was made easy with the finder scope that’s included. The backpack has Velcro straps and a separator so it won’t move around or bang against other things like the included tripod. The included tripod does what it’s meant to do, but if you are out in the wind as I was, it does shake a little but really wasn’t a big deal. All in all for a first telescope, you’re not going to go wrong and for the price it’s a lot cheaper than other telescope that can cost thousands! So before you decide on spending thousands and finding that you’re not that into the hobby, spend a little and you won’t be disappointed!" - Matthew Gardner
Get it from Amazon now: $76.10 - $86.99 & FREE Returns
Reassuring review: "This telescope was easy to put together, and it wasn’t too bad to assemble it like others have stated. You can’t beat the price for the size of the aperture you get on this telescope! I will say this, this telescope requires a lot of time and effort to learn how to use, but there are plenty of resources online. I knew nothing about telescopes before I got this one, but did a lot of research and was able to figure it all out. So if you’re willing to put in the time and effort, this telescope is amazing for the price! Overall we loved it!." - Jeevan
Get it from Amazon now: $76.10 - $86.99 & FREE Returns
Stargazing With Your Significant Other is a Wonderful Way to Combine Two Things You Love!
Stargazing is a great way to spend time with your partner and it doesn't cost anything. All you need is a clear night, some comfortable blankets, and maybe some hot cocoa. It's the perfect activity for date night. And who knows, you might just see something really speical up in the sky!