The Keweenaw Mountain Lodge in the Upper Peninsula has been accepted into the International Dark-Sky Association, the third recognized dark sky park in Michigan.
The Keweenaw Mountain Lodge in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula has been accepted into the International Dark-Sky Association, the third dark sky park in the state. Such areas are becoming more popular in the United States as people become more interested in ecotourism experiences.
With the support of Starry Skies Lake Superior IDA chapter and the Heart of the Continent Partnership, Quetico becomes the 3rd public land in the region to achieve the Dark Sky Park designation following Voyageurs National Park and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota. This unique international partnership builds on a long history of cooperation to create an internationally significant area of pristine protected night skies in Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Minnesota.
Achieving this designation involved a rigorous two-year process which required:
– Light management planning to convert existing external lighting to dark sky compliant light fixtures.
– Annual sky quality measurements to ensure dark sky criteria were met.