Darkest Sky Areas of New Mexico
The map to the right shows light polluted areas in New Mexico as well as the areas
of darkest skies in the state. Obviously, light pollution is mainly associated with
metropolitan areas. The darkest sky areas are shown in dark brown on this map,
which is an overlay of a NM map and a map of "artificial night sky brightness"
maps found on this website:
(http://www.inquinamentoluminoso.it/dmsp/) .
of darkest skies in the state. Obviously, light pollution is mainly associated with
metropolitan areas. The darkest sky areas are shown in dark brown on this map,
which is an overlay of a NM map and a map of "artificial night sky brightness"
maps found on this website:
(http://www.inquinamentoluminoso.it/dmsp/) .
Pie Town, Datil, NM Area
This area of dark skies is close the Very Large Array Radio Telescope facility to the west of Socorro,
NM. Highway 60 out of Socorro is the main road into this area. It is well maintained and in some places
is as straight as an arrow. This area is very sparsely populated which certainly contributes to the
pristine night skies. We stayed here two nights in June, 2008 and the skies were just spectacular. The
Milky Way, especially near Sagittarius was almost 3-dimensional. Dark lanes were clearly visible as was
M7 at the base of Scorpius (unaided eye). There were so many stars that it was difficult to pick out
some constellations. The starlight was so bright that trees were silhouetted against the sky. Simply a
beautiful sight and well worth the trip.
For a good review of the history of this part of New Mexico, see
http://www.southernnewmexico.com/Articles/Southwest/Catron/DatilPieTownandQuemado.html
Pie Town and Datil are the main towns along highway 60 and provide little in the way of services. Of
course Pie Town is noted for its pies and is worth a visit to one of the two restaurants in the area, but
otherwise there is not much to see.
Datil does have a gas station, general store, RV park and motel all of which are part of the Eagle Guest
Ranch located at the main intersection of the town. One on-line review of the motel was fairly
positive...."As long as you aren't the type that considers a Holiday Inn "camping out", this property will
do you fine. The people are friendly, the location and price can't be beat if your travels take you to this
area and they keep the place clean." But for $40 per night, don't expect much. The RV park is pretty
primitive, but does have full hookups (water, electric and sewer).
If you are camping, the Datil Well BLM Campground is a great place to stay. It is located just to the west
of Datil and information can be obtained from the following website.
http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/recreation/socorro/datil_well_campground.2.html
There are about 20 campsites, plus a group area for as many as 50 campers. Only the group area can
be reserved. When we visited the campground in June, 2008, Mike Fuson was the host. His phone
number is 575-772-5840. According to Mike "The stargazin' would be a lot better if the Milky Way
wasn't so bright."
We actually stayed at the Montosa RV Park and Campground which is just east of the VLA. This is
actually just outside of the dark sky area shown on the map, but we found the skies here to be very
good. This is a nicer RV park than the one in Datil, but is still pretty primitive. It is about 30 miles east
of the Datil Well Campground. It is an easy drive along highway 60, however. This park's website can
be found at:
http://www.montosarvpark.com
Here are some pictures of the area.
NM. Highway 60 out of Socorro is the main road into this area. It is well maintained and in some places
is as straight as an arrow. This area is very sparsely populated which certainly contributes to the
pristine night skies. We stayed here two nights in June, 2008 and the skies were just spectacular. The
Milky Way, especially near Sagittarius was almost 3-dimensional. Dark lanes were clearly visible as was
M7 at the base of Scorpius (unaided eye). There were so many stars that it was difficult to pick out
some constellations. The starlight was so bright that trees were silhouetted against the sky. Simply a
beautiful sight and well worth the trip.
For a good review of the history of this part of New Mexico, see
http://www.southernnewmexico.com/Articles/Southwest/Catron/DatilPieTownandQuemado.html
Pie Town and Datil are the main towns along highway 60 and provide little in the way of services. Of
course Pie Town is noted for its pies and is worth a visit to one of the two restaurants in the area, but
otherwise there is not much to see.
Datil does have a gas station, general store, RV park and motel all of which are part of the Eagle Guest
Ranch located at the main intersection of the town. One on-line review of the motel was fairly
positive...."As long as you aren't the type that considers a Holiday Inn "camping out", this property will
do you fine. The people are friendly, the location and price can't be beat if your travels take you to this
area and they keep the place clean." But for $40 per night, don't expect much. The RV park is pretty
primitive, but does have full hookups (water, electric and sewer).
If you are camping, the Datil Well BLM Campground is a great place to stay. It is located just to the west
of Datil and information can be obtained from the following website.
http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/recreation/socorro/datil_well_campground.2.html
There are about 20 campsites, plus a group area for as many as 50 campers. Only the group area can
be reserved. When we visited the campground in June, 2008, Mike Fuson was the host. His phone
number is 575-772-5840. According to Mike "The stargazin' would be a lot better if the Milky Way
wasn't so bright."
We actually stayed at the Montosa RV Park and Campground which is just east of the VLA. This is
actually just outside of the dark sky area shown on the map, but we found the skies here to be very
good. This is a nicer RV park than the one in Datil, but is still pretty primitive. It is about 30 miles east
of the Datil Well Campground. It is an easy drive along highway 60, however. This park's website can
be found at:
http://www.montosarvpark.com
Here are some pictures of the area.