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Fountain Hills is a Dark Sky Community, Astrotourism Hub

If you look around Fountain Hills, you’ll see something beautiful around every corner—whether it’s the stunning Sonoran Desert mountains, our awe-inspiring World Famous Fountain, or the compelling public art featured throughout our streets and parks. But the beauty doesn’t stop there. On a clear night, if you look up, you’ll see the night sky illuminated by a field of bright stars—yet another beautiful view not every town can offer. Fountain Hills earned its dark sky designation from DarkSky International in 2018, making it one of only two international dark sky communities near a major metropolitan city.

Fountain Hills, Arizona’s, dark sky designation guarantees an awe-inspiring experience for you and your family. Just 30 minutes from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, you can plan a vacation or spend an evening indulging in astrotourism activities:

Previewing the night sky through telescopes.
Watching the rising suns, planets, and moons.
Joining festivals and celebrations around celestial events.
Attending educational events.
Enjoying starry nights while you dine or walk around Fountain Hills.
Stargazing at Fountain Park and other dark sky designated areas.

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Photo credit: Vicky Derksen at nightskytourist.com

Where to View the Dark Skies in Fountain Hills

When the light pollution is low in an area, the night sky comes into sharper focus. As a designated dark sky city, Fountain Hills offers plenty of opportunities to view the dark skies from a wide range of vantage points. If you’re looking for a dark sky restaurant, Fountain Hills features a great number of dining options that include patio seating. On a cool, clear evening, you can enjoy a lovely outdoor dinner under a canopy of stars.

Many of our parks are also great places for stargazing, such as the eastern side of Fountain Park. Other town parks also offer incredible night sky views as long as the ball field lights aren’t illuminated. If they are, you can head out to the many hiking and biking trails around Fountain Hills. The McDowell Mountain Regional Park trails will offer sweeping views of the night sky.

What a Dark Sky Designation Means

Fountain Hills’ dark sky designation is an affirmation of the efforts the town regularly makes to preserve the night sky. Those include ensuring that lighting throughout the town minimizes light pollution and providing educational opportunities to help everyone understand the importance of dark skies.

For our town’s residents and visiting travelers, our dark skies provide countless opportunities to marvel at the night sky. Add these outdoor adventures to your itinerary:

Visit ADERO Scottsdale for a private dark sky viewing experience.
Sign up for an educational seminar around dark skies.
Attend a celestial event or Fountain Hills’ Dark Sky Festival.
Dine under the stars (many restaurants have outdoor seating).
Stargaze while walking around Downtown and Fountain Park.
Camp in the McDowell Mountains.
Go on a guided night hike.
Preview and attend the grand opening of the International Dark Sky Discovery Center.

The Fountain Hills dark sky community also offers a source of respite, enjoyment, and inspiration for our visitors, especially those who have never had the opportunity to experience the wonders of the night sky. Dark skies also serve as a source of inspiration for the next generation—perhaps to become astronomers, astronauts, and environmental scientists, but certainly to reach for the stars.

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Why Dark Skies in Arizona Are Important

Our well-being is deeply connected to our natural circadian rhythms, and those rhythms depend on darkness. Light pollution can significantly disrupt the smooth functioning of our internal systems, resulting in sleep problems as well as changes to our hormone levels, eating patterns, mental well-being, and overall resilience. That’s why dark skies in Arizona—and places across the globe—are so important. They serve as an antidote to the effects of unnatural light, helping us to reset our internal clocks, reduce our stress levels, and improve our health. They allow us to get the rest and recovery we need.

Fountain Hills’ dark sky designation also means a great deal to the environment and the future. Light pollution also significantly impacts the health and well-being of wildlife, affecting the migratory patterns of birds and other species, misdirecting animals heading to breeding grounds, reducing biodiversity, and disrupting many other natural processes. The night sky is a critical part of a delicate ecosystem, as well as health and well-being, and the dark sky community of Fountain Hills is dedicated to ensuring a safe habitat for the wildlife that passes through or calls this place home.

Learn More on the National Parks Service’s Website

Dark Skies News and Updates

There are a lot of exciting things happening in Fountain Hills, especially when it comes to celebrating and protecting our precious dark skies. Fountain Hills is the future home of the International Dark Sky Discovery Center. This destination will provide incredible educational opportunities for everyone to learn more about astronomy and to understand why it’s so important for us to preserve and protect the dark skies for everyone and everything on the planet. Learn more about the mission and the progress of the International Dark Sky Discovery Center.

If you want to learn more about Fountain Hills’ journey toward its dark sky community designation and about upcoming events, visit the FH Dark Sky Preservation website.

Events Calendar

There are so many opportunities to enjoy the wonder of our dark sky community and immerse yourself in the ecosystem it protects. Our calendar of events is a great source of information on dark sky educational opportunities and events throughout Fountain Hills, such as the Fountain Hills Dark Sky Festival. You’ll also discover a lot of other ways to get out and enjoy everything our town has to offer.

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