Wood Buffalo National Park
Wood Buffalo National Park, the largest national park in Canada, is located 430 miles (690 km) north of Edmonton, near the northern border of Alberta. The park was designated in 2013 the world’s largest Dark Sky Reserve by the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. With dark skies approaching level 1 in the Bortle scale, the park features superb conditions for amateur astronomy. Year-round backcountry permits are available, while front country camping (with self-registration) is available from May to September. There are no gates to enter the park and observation sites remain open year-round, although precautions are needed during the winter because of potentially dangerous conditions. A Dark Sky Festival hosted by the Thebacha & Wood Buffalo Astronomical Society (https://www.tawbas.ca/) is scheduled every year in August.