Dark Sky Guides

Thanks for the shout-out, Travels with Baggage. It was great to have Jody Robbins along on our Dark Sky Adventure Tour recently. This is a great article to learn about all of the different things to see and do while in Waterton Lakes National Park!

Check out this description of our Dark Sky Adventure Tour! Thank you Robin and Arlene for this great mention! It was wonderful to be able to share such a great night under the Perseid Meteor Shower with you!

Have you already done a tour with us? Post a review on TripAdvisor and let us know how we're doing! Your online support goes a long way and means the world to us! Thank You Everyone!

We're on the list of "The Best Things to Do in Waterton in Summer"! Thanks for joining us on a Dark Sky Adventure Tour HikeBikeTravel, Leigh McAdam. We appreciate the mention and are so glad to have been able to share Waterton's amazing night sky with you!

Still not sure if joining us for a nighttime experience is right for you and your family? Check out this great read which names us as one of the 7 Adventurous Things to Do in WLNP with kids! Thanks for the shout-out Sarah!

The Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak this time next week! Keeps Your Eyes on the Skies and watch for "Shooting Stars"!

Check out this incredible photo of the Milky Way over Waterton Lakes National Park. Carl James submitted this recently to the IDA's "Capture the Dark Photography Contest" and it was named Top 3 in the International Dark Sky Places category! Take a look here for more: https://www.darksky.org/winning-submissions-for-capture-t/

A Dark Sky Tour is one of the reasons why Waterton Lakes National Park should be on your Go-To List! Thank you so much Kate Robertson for joining us on a tour this year and giving us a mention here!

The Perseid Meteor Show is peaking right now! Join tonight's Dark Sky Adventure Tour, while space is still available, for your chance to watch the meteor show in a truly dark sky location. Last night we saw over 20 shooting stars in an hour!

We really appreciate receiving feedback like this! To those of you that have been on a tour with us: send us a message, leave us a FB recommendation, post a Google Review or leave a rating on TripAdvisor! Thank you everyone for your support this year! We feel very lucky to have the opportunity to interact with all of the amazing individuals that come on tour with us.

Check out this description of our Dark Sky Adventure Tour! Thank you Robin and Arlene for this great mention! It was wonderful to be able to share such a great night under the Perseid Meteor Shower with you!

Have you already done a tour with us? Post a review on TripAdvisor and let us know how we're doing! Your online support goes a long way and means the world to us! Thank You Everyone!

Our "Travel Alberta ALTO" Award-winning tour is for the adventurous! Join us for a Dark Sky Adventure Tour!

Still not sure if joining us for a nighttime experience is right for you and your family? Check out this great read which names us as one of the 7 Adventurous Things to Do in WLNP with kids! Thanks for the shout-out Sarah!

The Perseid Meteor Show is peaking right now! Join tonight's Dark Sky Adventure Tour, while space is still available, for your chance to watch the meteor show in a truly dark sky location. Last night we saw over 20 shooting stars in an hour!

Light to Protect the Night. Do your part to reduce light pollution - check out these 5 tips for responsible outdoor lighting.

Thanks for the shout-out, Travels with Baggage. It was great to have Jody Robbins along on our Dark Sky Adventure Tour recently. This is a great article to learn about all of the different things to see and do while in Waterton Lakes National Park!

Tonight is the New Moon! Nights on either side of the new moon are great for seeing the Milky Way overhead!

Thanks Alberta for doing your part to Support Local!

We're on the list of "The Best Things to Do in Waterton in Summer"! Thanks for joining us on a Dark Sky Adventure Tour HikeBikeTravel, Leigh McAdam. We appreciate the mention and are so glad to have been able to share Waterton's amazing night sky with you!

The Perseid meteor shower will reach its peak this time next week! Keeps Your Eyes on the Skies and watch for "Shooting Stars"!

Sunrise... or Sunset...? What's your favorite time to view the sky? Let us know in the comments below!

This is just a sample of what was on display in the dark skies of Waterton Lakes National Park last night... Depending on which direction you were looking, you could see the Aurora Borealis, Comet NEOWISE, Noctilucent Clouds, and the Milky Way! Book a tour with us and Discover Your Universe!

The Astrospheric sky forecast looks great for the coming nights! Book a tour and Discover Your Universe! https://darkskyguides.ca/tours

Check out this incredible photo of the Milky Way over Waterton Lakes National Park. Carl James submitted this recently to the IDA's "Capture the Dark Photography Contest" and it was named Top 3 in the International Dark Sky Places category! Take a look here for more: https://www.darksky.org/winning-submissions-for-capture-t/

Here's a great photo of Comet NEOWISE, taken last night by our good friend and mentor, Alan Dyer at AmazingSky. Get out after dark and remember to keep your eyes on the skies!

In the absence of telescopes and other stargazing equipment, all of our tours will instead focus on immersive storytelling experiences that will be augmented by naked-eye stargazing, and interpretation that encourages guests to explore with all of their senses.

We really appreciate receiving feedback like this! To those of you that have been on a tour with us: send us a message, leave us a FB recommendation, post a Google Review or leave a rating on TripAdvisor! Thank you everyone for your support this year! We feel very lucky to have the opportunity to interact with all of the amazing individuals that come on tour with us.

Please note, to ensure the safest and healthiest tour environment possible, Dark Sky Guides has made the decision that tours WILL NOT offer telescopes, binoculars or other optical stargazing equipment at this time, and until further notice. This decision has been made to reduce guests’ exposure to high-touch surfaces, and to avoid damaging the sensitive optics of the stargazing equipment from extra/additional cleaning/disinfectants.

Take a look at our COVID-19 Health & Safety Plan to see what we're doing to reopen and (re)bound.

Join us on a Twilight Wildlife Walk to learn about some of Waterton Lakes National Park's nocturnal inhabitants

Happy Canada Day! There's no better way to celebrate than visiting (or at least thinking about) Waterton Lakes National Park!

Our "Travel Alberta ALTO" Award-winning tour is for the adventurous! Join us for a Dark Sky Adventure Tour!

Light to Protect the Night. Do your part to reduce light pollution - check out these 5 tips for responsible outdoor lighting.

Remember to Support Local (and we're about as local as they get in Waterton Lakes National Park)!

We've created a brand new tour just for you! Join us nightly on our Twilight Wildlife Walk: https://darkskyguides.ca/tours

It has been worth the wait... We are now ready to reopen and (re)bound, so join us for a tour in Waterton Lakes National Park. Visit: www.darkskyguides.ca and book today!

Waterton Lakes National Park has been named an International Dark Sky Park because of the lack of light pollution in the area, but that doesn’t mean there’s not room to continue to reduce light pollution... Do your part to help Protect the Night!

Get ready to go stargazing in Waterton Lakes National Park!

Take a look at the sky forecast (courtesy "Astrospheric") for the coming days! This is a feature we plan on sharing with you from time to time, as it shows the projected sky conditions, and will give you a good idea of when you should plan to book your next night sky tour with us!

Join us for a short, easy stroll around the Waterton townsite after dark. The Starry Skies Townsite Stroll is the perfect tour to get acquainted with our Dark Sky Park.

Yes, we finished last year by receiving the ALTO Award for New Tourism Experience of the Year, but we're not content with that. Stay tuned for an upcoming announcement about a new experience coming soon...!!

Winter tours are now available! Join us for a Starry Skies Townsite Stroll. Book your tour today!

Remember to Look Up! Err... Look ahead! Our online booking calendar has been updated for the 2020 season and now is the time to book your experience with the Dark Sky Guides! Check out: https://darkskyguides.ca/tours to see all available tours for this year.

The mountains look nice, no matter what time of the day (or night) you look at them. Happy International Mountain Day! Photo Credit: Travel Alberta, Jeff Bartlett and Jack Fusco.

We are taking a short break after the tourism season here in Waterton Lakes National Park, but we are busy working on an exciting new service offering that we hope to roll out in January 2020 (we just need a little more time to get things ready). Stay tuned for more!

We were hoping to be ready for regularly scheduled weekend tours now, but we need a little more time to get ready for Winter in Waterton. New tour offering coming 2020: https://www.avenuecalgary.com//mountai/winter-in-waterton/

This is something you don't see every day...! https://www.space.com/mercury-transit-2019-why-its-rare.html

Take a look at this!

Congratulations to all of the 2019 Alto Awards Finalists and Winners!

What a great way to end our second season in business! We were recently awarded the 2019 Alto Award for "New Tourism Experience", at the annual Travel Alberta Industry Conference! Thank you to everyone for their support. And thank you to Travel Drumheller for presenting us with the Alto Award!

Check out the wondrous night sky within the Waterton-Glacier International Dark Sky Park! Book your stargazing experience now: darkskyguides.ca

Our last session with the Waterton Wildflower Festival turned out to be a fantastic night. The full strawberry moon of June, stole the show! . . . #watertonwildflowerfestival #dsg #wlnp #fullmoon #strawberrymoon #darkskyguides

The Waterton Wildflower Festival is still underway, with many great sessions still to come. We are hosting one more stargazing event tonight. Join us for a beautiful evening under tonight’s full strawberry moon! . . . #watertonlakesnationalpark #flowerfest #wlnp #dsg #darkskyguides #watertonwildflowerfestival

Our booth (#619) is set up; we're ready and excited for the Outdoor Adventure & Travel Show - Calgary! We hope to see you this weekend - and in the meantime, Keep Your Eyes on the Skies!

We're heading north for the Outdoor Adventure & Travel Show - Calgary. Come visit us at Booth #619.

We are going to be at the Outdoor Adventure & Travel Show - Calgary this weekend. Use this promo code for discounted admission to the show and come visit us! #OASCalgary

We are getting excited to begin offering stargazing experiences again! The 2019 tour schedule has been updated! Check out tour availability and book a tour now at: https://darkskyguides.ca/tours - Photo courtesy Travel Alberta / John Price

Photo courtesy Travel Alberta / John Price

The Road Not Taken

"Dwell on the beauty of life, watch the stars, and see yourself running with them." Thank you Debbie Napoli West, Steve West, Zach West, Josh West and the entire Trappers Mountain Grill family for your inspiration and support throughout our first year of operations!

Make sure to check out that Full Moon tonight!

While we love to just stargaze, we've realized there are more business-related To-Do's than we originally anticipated. As such, we are pushing back the launch of our winter tour offering to early January, 2019. Until then, Keep Your Eyes on the Skies!

Lest We Forget.

This is why we do what we do!

We have recently completed our inaugural summer season of operations and are reviewing the season's tours, in an attempt to improve on our operations going forward. We are taking the next couple weeks to do some research and test out potential new stargazing equipment, as well as fine-tune some of our company's policies, procedures, and operating practices. Our intention is to offer tours on a limited basis throughout the coming winter months! We plan to offer scheduled tours on weekends throughout the winter, and by specific request during weekdays. We hope to roll out our winter tour experience in early November 2018, and at that point the calendar of available tours will be updated! Until then, Keep Your Eyes on the Skies!

We've had an amazing inaugural year of operations and things just keep getting better! One of our Co-Founders has been named Top 40 Under 40 by Canadian Traveller & CT Magazine!

We've been named a finalist for the 2018 Travel Alberta Alto Awards, in the "New Tourism Experience" category! Hopefully the stars will align and we will have even better news to report after the award winners are announced next week! :) Wish us luck!

*GIVEAWAY!* As a designated Dark Sky Preserve, Waterton is the perfect place to stargaze. Waterton's Dark Sky Guides (who are doing tours year-round!), are off...ering a stargazing tour for two to one lucky winner! To enter, LIKE our page and COMMENT below with either your favourite thing to do in Waterton or a photo from your time spent in the Park. Contest ends October 8th at 11:59 MT, and winner will be chosen at random and contacted the next day. Good Luck! And for more details about the Dark Sky Guides, visit their website at https://darkskyguides.ca/.

Waterton Lakes National Park is open and ready to welcome visitors for the Labour Day holiday weekend. The townsite, Entrance Road and adjacent facilities, acti...vities on Waterton lakes, various hiking trails and Chief Mountain Highway are available. The Red Rock Parkway is available for non-motorized use to Coppermine Creek. Visit our website for a list of what is available, along with information on recreational opportunities to help you plan your trip: https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/pn-np/ab/waterton/visit/ouvert-open When planning your visit, keep in mind the Boundary Wildfire is active but remains outside the park`s boundary. The evacuation alert and closure of certain areas in Waterton Lakes National Park have been lifted. The Boundary Creek fire does not pose a risk to Waterton Lakes National Park at this time. Visitors may experience smoke in the area.

It may be smokey and hazy in Waterton due to surrounding fires outside the National Park, but that sure makes for some great views of the moon! And remember, Waterton Lakes National Park is still open. We have NOT evacuated! The Waterton Community Center is still going ahead with celebrations to commemorate the efforts of the Fire & Emergency Crews from the 2017 Kenow Fire, today! Pat's Waterton is still set to host their annual Show 'N' Shine on August 26th, and Waterton Shoreline Cruise Co. is currently offering sightseeing boat tours on Waterton Lake. There is lots to see and do, and plenty of places to shop and eat, here in Waterton!

Have you already taken a stargazing tour with us?!? Please post a review on TripAdvisor and help us to build our online reputation!

The best meteor shower of the year will be visible tonight! Join our tour and Discover your Universe!

It is a New Moon right now! That means there won't be any moon-glow to disrupt our view of the Perseids Meteor Shower! Remember to Keep Your Eyes on the Skies!

Join one of our stargazing tours, as we look towards the northeast this weekend in our search for the Perseid Meteor Shower.

Get ready to watch an amazing meteor shower over the coming days! The Perseids will be visible all weekend long! Book your stargazing tour now, to join us as we go in search of this annual meteor shower!

Look at what our Amazing Friends at Pat's Waterton have brought in! This might just be the best way to spend the day here in Waterton Lakes National Park. Have a great Heritage Day August Long Weekend!

Mars is big, bright, and dominates the night sky right now! The best way to check out the Red Planet is to take a tour with the Dark Sky Guides in Waterton Lakes National Park! Book your stargazing experience for the Heritage Day August Long Weekend now!

Water on Mars?!? Check this out to whet your appetite for all things Mars. Then book your night sky experience with us to see Mars through our telescopes and learn even more. But you'd better book quickly, tours are filling up fast for this upcoming long weekend!