Port Crescent State Park is located near Port Austin, 115 miles (185 km) due north of Detroit, Michigan. Erected over the site of a vanished town—Port Crescent—the park lies on a beach front featuring sand dunes, right on the shore of Lake Huron. Being sufficiently far from light pollution centers and with skies that rate at Bortle class 3, the park was declared a dark sky preserve in 2012. The park is open every day from 8:00 am until 10:00 pm. A stargazer told EarthSky that “there is a Dark Sky Preserve located in Port Crescent State Park that makes for an absolutely astounding place to watch the night sky, right on the shores of Lake Huron at the tip of the Thumb!”
Deborah Byrd
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About the Author:
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.