Obed Wild and Scenic River: Where Half the Park Is After Dark

The Milky Way over Obed Wild and Scenic River. NPS

One visitor described stepping out of a tent late at night to stars so many, so bright and so close they seemed near enough to pick from the sky. For many people, the Milky Way seen from Lilly Bluff Overlook at Obed Wild and Scenic River is a first: a wispy river of stars overhead, while below, the real river runs on through the natural amphitheater of its gorge. By night, visitors look up at the same constellations their ancestors saw.

An International Dark Sky Park

In 2017, the International Dark Sky Association named the Obed an International Dark Sky Park. National parks hold some of the last remaining refuges of darkness, and the Obed — whose interpretive goals include reconnecting people with nature and the value of quiet, solitude and darkness in a noisy, developed world — is one of them.

How it qualified: the park showed exceptional dark-sky conditions and a strong commitment to protecting them.

• Since 2013, year-round astronomy and dark-sky programs, run with local amateur astronomers from the ORION Astronomy Club in Oak Ridge and the Knoxville Observers in Knoxville, Tennessee.
• Years of work toward certification: collecting data, offering Night Sky Junior Ranger programs, and making sure every park activity treats the night sky as a natural resource.

"Just as it is important for people to be able to hike, rock climb, fish, paddle and so many other activities in this beautiful place, it is essential that the wonders of the night sky be available for all to experience," said Superintendent Niki Stephanie Nicholas.

Why darkness is disappearing

Rapid development worldwide has brought ever more lights — for advertising, buildings and streets, and security — and with them light pollution.

• Waste: by one estimate, about 30 percent of all light produced in the United States is wasted, at a cost of billions of dollars. Dark sky–friendly lighting can cut both light pollution and energy waste.
• Lost view: light pollution hides the night sky.
• Wildlife: some birds navigate by the stars, and light pollution interferes. Some believe that falling moth numbers are linked to their attraction to lights and the deaths that follow.

The Obed offers national park visitors a night sky that is becoming rarer and rarer.

Sources

Based on "Obed Wild and Scenic River - Where Half the Park is After Dark," submitted by Niki Stephanie Nicholas, Superintendent, Big Fork NRRA/Obed WSR, National Park Service, featured in the 2023 Wild and Scenic River Currents; a work of the United States government in the public domain. A visitor's words are paraphrased.