Night Sky Tonight in Hovenweep

The live score above pulls today's forecast and runs it through StarCast's scoring model, which factors in cloud cover, moon illumination, Bortle class, humidity, and atmospheric transparency. Above 70 is an excellent night. Below 40, conditions are poor. The score updates daily.

Hovenweep National Monument preserves six clusters of ancestral Puebloan towers and structures along the Utah-Colorado border. It holds Gold Tier International Dark Sky Park status with some of the darkest accessible skies on the Colorado Plateau. The ancient towers make immediately recognizable foreground: the Square Tower Group rises from a canyon rim and photographs cleanly against the Milky Way core. The monument is extremely remote, with the nearest towns small enough to contribute almost no light pollution. The small campground puts you on-site for all-night access.

The galactic core is visible from March through October. Spring and fall offer the most comfortable temperatures and the least afternoon storm activity. The monument gets very few visitors compared to nearby Mesa Verde and Canyonlands, so there's rarely competition for positions around the tower clusters even on peak weekends.