Hike beneath the Milky Way

Most people who walk at night do so for the quiet or the challenge — but few consider where they walk as carefully as when. If you’re going to step into darkness, there’s no richer place than an official Dark Sky Reserve or Park: landscapes where artificial light is actively kept out and the night still appears as it did to our ancestors. For walkers, that means not just remoteness and safety — but a deeper, more elemental encounter with night itself.

Here in Ireland, we’re fortunate to have two such sanctuaries: the Kerry International Dark Sky Reserve, stretching from Kells Bay to Valentia Island, and the Mayo International Dark Sky Park, spanning the vast bogs and coastal hills of Wild Nephin & Ballycroy. On the right night, you can trace the Milky Way unaided — a rarity in modern Europe.

What is a Dark Sky Reserve?

A Dark Sky Reserve is a landscape recognised internationally for exceptionally low light pollution. It combines a protected dark core zone with a surrounding buffer zone of towns and villages where residents agree to minimise light spill — shielding and aiming lights downward, using warmer colours, limiting use to when needed (timers/sensors), and monitoring sky quality long term. It’s often considered the gold standard because it relies on enduring community cooperation, not just a boundary line.

Dark Sky Reserve vs Dark Sky Park

A Dark Sky Park protects the land inside its boundary (typically under one land manager), focusing on visitor experience and education. A Dark Sky Reserve protects a whole night-time landscape by agreement — wilderness plus neighbouring settlements in the buffer zone. Both are superb for night walking; a Reserve simply asks more of the wider community.

Why It Matters — for Wildlife and for Us

Owls, bats and night predators can hunt naturally without glare. Nocturnal insects and pollinators are not lured to fatal lights. Migrating birds aren’t dragged off course by urban glow. Coastal and marine species stay synced with moonlight, not floodlights.

For walkers, a Dark Sky place restores night as a living ecosystem — not just an absence of light.

The Irish Dark Sky Sites

Kerry — International Dark Sky Reserve. One of Europe’s darkest coastal landscapes (Kells Bay to Valentia Island), where communities actively protect the sky; the Milky Way is often visible to the naked eye.

Mayo — International Dark Sky Park. Within Wild Nephin & Ballycroy National Park — remote bog and mountain country; silence and wilderness first, without the need for a buffer-zone agreement.

In progress: Sperrin Mountains (NI) applying for Dark Sky Park status. Emerging (not yet certified): Omey Island (Connemara), Hook Peninsula (Wexford).

Where in the World?

There are currently 23 International Dark Sky Reserves worldwide:

Australia: River Murray
Canada: Mont-Mégantic
England: Cranborne Chase, Exmoor National Park, Moore’s Reserve, North York Moors National Park, Yorkshire Dales National Park
France: Alpes Azur Mercantour, Cévennes National Park, Landes de Gascogne Regional Natural Park, Pic du Midi, Regional Natural Park of Millevaches, Regional Natural Park of Morvan, Regional Natural Park of Vercors
Germany: Rhön, Westhavelland
Ireland: Kerry
Mexico: Greater Big Bend
Namibia: NamibRand Nature Reserve
New Zealand: Aoraki Mackenzie, Wairarapa
United States: Central Idaho, Greater Big Bend
Wales: Bannau Brycheiniog National Park (Brecon Beacons), Eryri National Park (Snowdonia)

Before You Go

To walk in a Dark Sky landscape at night is to rediscover what the world once was before electricity — not just visually, but emotionally and ecologically. Winter is the perfect season to try it. But go with care. If you’re setting out after dark, make sure you have at least a basic competence in night navigation — and if not, please see our guide to navigating safely at night before you go. The experience can be transformative — especially when you enter the dark with respect.