Welcome to Mayo Dark Sky Park

Where the darkest skies reveal the brightest stars

Mayo is now home to Ireland’s first International Dark Sky Park, showcasing some of the darkest, most pristine skies in the world.

Nestled between the remote Nephin Mountain Range and the unspoiled Atlantic coastline, the Dark Sky Park extends across an area of 150km2. Its borders encompass the lands of Wild Nephin National Park.

Half the Park is After Dark

Wild Nephin National Park becomes Mayo Dark Sky Park at night.  The site is completely free to access anytime, day or night and we have 3 signature viewing sites for you to choose from.  Our darkest accessible site is the Brogan Carroll Bothy, which is located on the eastern side of the park and is approximately 20km north of Newport town (turning towards Furnace).  This remote and beautiful location is stunning and offers visitors a range of walking loops from the Letterkeen trail head car park. 

Further west and on the Wild Atlantic Way, the Ballycroy Visitor Centre is open daily (February – November), with interpretation and educational information on Wild Nephin National Park and Mayo Dark Sky Park.  The grounds are accessible at night and visitors can enjoy a short looped walk on easy terrain at any time.  Ballycroy Visitor Centre would not be the darkest of our sites as it is closer to the village but has easy road access from the N59. 

On a clear night here in Mayo, you can see thousands of twinkling stars along with other planets in our solar system, The Milky Way and even meteor showers all with the naked eye. There’s so much you can discover by looking up at the night skies.

We have committed to keeping the skies above us dark, for present and future generations to enjoy the wonder of a naturally dark night sky.

Join us and discover the beauty of Mayo’s Dark Skies.

For camping in the Dark Sky Park, please refer to the National Park’s policy.