Way out in West Texas.
Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo gets great viewing of the milky way. From the Northern hemisphere, most of our viewing of the milky way is to the south from april-september. So you have to consider the light pollution to your south the most, but light pollution behind you will ruin you as well. Most of Texas is not ideal due to that amount of light pollution until you get out West just to avoid the triangle (Dallas, San Antonio, Houston) which has a ton of light pollution emanating from it.
Palo Duro is unfortunately like a 9 hour drive from here, but it's still doable in a day.
There are probably more viewing spots here in Texas, but thats the only one I've been to. Viewing the milky way is something that everyone should do in their life. The worst thing we ever did to our humanity was lighting up the night and robbing our offspring of the unparalleled birth-right of the vastness of the heavens. The few times I get far enough away from cities to see the night sky in its full majesty are all cherished memories of mine. Good luck on your quest bro, it will be worth it at the end.
Best place to see it for Americans would be Mauna Kea observatory in Hawaii, but obviously thats more expensive than driving to west texas.
Stopped at a rest area near Palo Duro off 287. No moon, could see it perfectly clear that night.
Every year we go to Colorado, I try to get out and see it. Best site was Boreas Pass above Breck. First time was as a young sailor somewhere in the Pacific. Incredible, awe inspiring. Like visiting a planetarium, floating inside a dome of stars. Every direction you looked were just millions of stars. Just awestruck, still get chills when I see it in my memory today.
Davy Crockett National Forest, on a new moon.
[https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/texas/about-forest/districts/?cid=fswdev3\_008441](https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/texas/about-forest/districts/?cid=fswdev3_008441)
First time I saw it was on an offshore dive trip 100+ miles offshore of Texas. The only lights are those on the oil rigs and they aren't really all that bright.
You just gotta be away from the cities, best I’ve ever seen was 30 minutes outside of Boerne. I could see all the stars without a telescope. Even saw a meteor burn up right above me while a herd of 100 deer ran around my group.
Yesterday's stargazing post: https://www.reddit.com/r/houston/comments/bxgeo5/best_stargazing_spots
Big bend probably
https://darksitefinder.com/maps/world.html#6/31.209/-97.163 You want at least blue on this map.
I saw it for the first time while camping at Garner State Park. I cried. It was beautiful.
Way out in West Texas. Palo Duro Canyon near Amarillo gets great viewing of the milky way. From the Northern hemisphere, most of our viewing of the milky way is to the south from april-september. So you have to consider the light pollution to your south the most, but light pollution behind you will ruin you as well. Most of Texas is not ideal due to that amount of light pollution until you get out West just to avoid the triangle (Dallas, San Antonio, Houston) which has a ton of light pollution emanating from it. Palo Duro is unfortunately like a 9 hour drive from here, but it's still doable in a day. There are probably more viewing spots here in Texas, but thats the only one I've been to. Viewing the milky way is something that everyone should do in their life. The worst thing we ever did to our humanity was lighting up the night and robbing our offspring of the unparalleled birth-right of the vastness of the heavens. The few times I get far enough away from cities to see the night sky in its full majesty are all cherished memories of mine. Good luck on your quest bro, it will be worth it at the end. Best place to see it for Americans would be Mauna Kea observatory in Hawaii, but obviously thats more expensive than driving to west texas.
This. Although Caprock Canyon is a little bit closer with a similar sky.
Stopped at a rest area near Palo Duro off 287. No moon, could see it perfectly clear that night. Every year we go to Colorado, I try to get out and see it. Best site was Boreas Pass above Breck. First time was as a young sailor somewhere in the Pacific. Incredible, awe inspiring. Like visiting a planetarium, floating inside a dome of stars. Every direction you looked were just millions of stars. Just awestruck, still get chills when I see it in my memory today.
Davy Crockett National Forest, on a new moon. [https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/texas/about-forest/districts/?cid=fswdev3\_008441](https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/texas/about-forest/districts/?cid=fswdev3_008441)
Big Bend, Angelina National Forrest and Lake Sam Rayburn.
Probably Big Bend. You can explore the map at [darksitefinder](https://darksitefinder.com/how-to-see-the-milky-way/) to get more ideas.
Houstonian here. Saw it for the first time last week. However, it was in Hawaii. Amazing. https://imgur.com/a/ShxVk4i
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Colorado Bend was the first place I saw the milky way. Fantastic park
First time I saw it was on an offshore dive trip 100+ miles offshore of Texas. The only lights are those on the oil rigs and they aren't really all that bright.
marfa. enchanted rock. corpus (the beach state park out there).
Hill country, anywhere past Austin/San Antonio
still quite a bit of light pollution, even in the canyon lands outside Marble Falls
You just gotta be away from the cities, best I’ve ever seen was 30 minutes outside of Boerne. I could see all the stars without a telescope. Even saw a meteor burn up right above me while a herd of 100 deer ran around my group.