BOOK A PRIVATE TELESCOPE TOUR - It's like booking an entire restaurant for 1 table!
private TELESCOPE TOURs
Book an exclusive Telescope Tour at 2 different price levels depending on the size of your group (see pricing below). Regardless of your group size, when you book a Private Telescope Tour, you and your colleagues, family, or friends can determine exactly what happens on your private tour night.
While booking your private tour (after entering your credit card information), you will be presented with a questionnaire where you can request specifics like those in the list above to customize your private tour.
- Instead of the regular Telescope Tour, get 2-3 hrs of hands-on training about how to operate different kinds of telescopes and individual consultation on your next telescope purchase.
- Bring YOUR telescope and be taught how to use it better.
- Bring your DSLR an get an introductory lesson in astrophotography (Small Private Tour only)
- You could skip the multimedia show (though many say that's the best part) to maximize time with our telescopes. Bring a list of astronomical objects you'd like to see and we'll help you find them with our scopes.
- Request a longer Laser Constellation Tour.
- Learn how to use the best astronomy apps, and purchase a green laser, so you can impress friends and family with your own laser constellation tours and chase satellites through the night sky.
While booking your private tour (after entering your credit card information), you will be presented with a questionnaire where you can request specifics like those in the list above to customize your private tour.
Small Private Telescope Tours
Any night not already booked or blacked-out.
(Group Sizes 1-9) but with 4-ticket minimum*
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Book this type of private tour for:
- Family Groups who wish to go at their own speed - Couple(s) seeking a romantic experience - Astrophotographers seeking an introductory course in night sky imaging (see add-ons below) - Those considering buying a telescope or wanting help using one they already own (see add-on below) - Flexible start times, you decide as prompted by questionnaire after booking! - Benefit of indoor multimedia show for a COVID-safe warm-up break between 2 sessions at the telescopes. Location: Dark Ranger Observatory's
'Dark Sky Site' Not far from our main public facility, we have hidden our private observatory where the sky is even darker. Though a little more spartan than our main facility (no restroom immediately on-site) we schedule Small Group Private Telescope Tours for that venue. Look for an email a few days prior to your scheduled tour with additional driving directions to this secret location. *Share Your Small Private Tour & Save $
Would you consider sharing your Small Private Telescope Tour in exchange for a $100 rebate? Some people don't plan their entire vacation around visiting us. Can you imagine?! And when they discover we offer private tours they try to buy their way on to one. The questionnaire will ask you about your willingness to share your tour, if such an request is made. Any answer is fine, including "maybe?" That way you can decide after you find out more about who wants to join you.
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Ticket Prices (4-ticket min)*
NOTE: Pricing includes Utah sales tax and includes an estimated 6% for your bank/credit card's non-refundable transaction fees. Exact prices will vary.
Actual group size is <4? Just book tickets for some imaginary adult friends. They won't get in the way. :-)
Improve your chances of avoiding a cloudy night by booking an Alternate Night for $2/Ticket
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Small Private Telescope Tour Add-ons
Small Private Telescope Tours offer the widest variety of Add-ons (also see astrophotography related ones below). Look for these extras which you can include when finalizing your booking. Or contact us if you decide to add them at a later date.
TELESCOPE TEST DRIVE
Looking to buy a telescope? Try a variety of ours first to help you decide. Also select this add-on if you already have a telescope but you'd like help learning how to use it better? $21 add-on (Easy) |
Zero-gravity loungers are FREE for all people attending Small Private Telescope Tours (even the imaginary ones). |
Astrophotography Add-ons (Small Private Tours Only)
Here's an example of wide-angle (aka Milky Way) photography. This would be done with your wide-angle lens on your tripod.
Below are "thru the scope" images where our telescope(s) become your lens. You must bring a $15 Celestron "t-ring" specific to your brand of camera. Email us if you need help finding one.
These up to 3-hr long workshops (assuming you really want to spend the entire time doing astrophotography) have to be first booked above as a Small Private Telescope Tour. THEN while making that booking, you can add various astrophotography add-ons described below.
PORTRAITS UNDER STARS
Your Dark Ranger takes, edits, and emails you (up to 10) professional portraits, of you and yours under our starry sky. We provide the camera. $21 add-on (Very Easy) 
ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY (Planetary)
Only certain planets are in the night sky at certain times. Do your homework before booking! Planetary imaging requires expert photo editing, like stacking & double exposures = more homework after your vacation. We provide the camera. $42 add-on (Very Difficult) |
A wise man once said "Astrophotography is a good way to lose your job, get a no-fault divorce, and withdrawal from society as a whole." However, with the advent of DSLRs, and state-of-the-art image enhancing software, photographing the night sky is not nearly the anti-social, soul-crushing, time-suck of hobby it once was.
Most Dark Rangers still keep a safe distance from the event horizon of astrophotography. Yet, some of us are already in so deep, we are always happy for some companionship inside the abyss, and so we will eagerly teach you the basics of ALL the different kinds of astrophotography as additional add-ons to your Small Private Telescope Tour. We KNOW that some photographers are lucky enough to be allowed to travel with normal humans. And so, out of admiration for the normals, your Astrophotography Dark Ranger will simultaneously entertain the normals with an entirely different telescope, while you predictably ignore you companions, due to the greater love (or at least focus) you may have for your camera. 
ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY (Deep Space)
Deep space imagery is done by attaching YOUR 6400+ ISO DSLR camera to our telescope as if it were a lens. $21 add-on (Difficult) 
ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY (Wide-field)
This is imaging the Milky Way and Constellations. You will get 1 on 1 instruction and good shots with YOUR 3200+ ISO DSLR camera at our observatory. Then take those new skills to successfully image the night sky from any good dark sky location. $21 add-on (Moderately Easy) |
Large Private Telescope Tours
Any night, not already booked
(Group sizes 10 - 42+)
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Book this type of private tour for:
- Company retreats - Tour companies - Family reunions - Wedding receptions (Yes, we can come to you!) - Science-supporting, government & non-profits - Educational / scouts Location: Dark Ranger Observatory
(adjacent, but NOT inside Bryce Canyon Natl. Park). Start Time: You decide as prompted by questionnaire after booking! Ticket Prices (10 ticket min)
NOTE: Pricing includes Utah sales tax and includes an estimated 6% for your bank/credit card's non-refundable transaction fees. Exact prices will vary.
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With 42-ish days advanced notice (call or email) we can handle groups up to 150 people by supplying up to 10 telescopes operated by our 5 best Dark Rangers.
NOTE: Alternate night bookings are NOT Available for Large Private Telescope Tours. Due to the logistical costs of accommodating large private tours, we only offer
79% refunds for cloudy nights. |
Science/Conservation Government & Non-profits
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Most of the Dark Rangers are scientists, and all of us conservationists. So, if your science/conservation promoting governmental institution or non-profit organization is looking to re-inspire your employees to continue their important work thru a company retreat, we would be honored to offer them a transformational evening under the stars. And, we'd insist on doing so with a 42% discount -- it's our way of saying thanks and an opportunity to rub shoulders in solidarity.
Location: Dark Ranger Observatory (adjacent, but NOT inside Bryce Canyon Natl. Park). Start Time: You decide as prompted by questionnaire after booking! Pricing is as above for Large Group Private Tour, but ask about a coupon code to get a 42% discount!
Organizers & Drivers = FREE |
Yep! The Dark Rangers are "planet-huggers!" AND you would be too, if you spent as much time using telescopes to confirm there's no place like home. :-)
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K-12 Public School / scout TELESCOPE TOUR
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Where do talented Dark Rangers come from? Some of us are educators and ALL of us can thank at least one talented teacher who positively shaped our lives. So we are eager to not only give back but to also pay it forward in hopes we can help inspire the next generation of astronomers, astronauts, scientists in general... or even Dark Rangers.
Location: Dark Ranger Observatory (adjacent, but NOT inside Bryce Canyon Natl. Park). Start Time: You decide as prompted by questionnaire after booking! Pricing is as above for Large Group Private Tour but ask about a coupon code to get a 42% discount!
Teachers/Chaperones/Drivers = FREE We know all too well that education is often an afterthought when it comes to public funding, so our prices, as low as they are, are STILL negotiable! All that we ask is that you give us plenty of time (42 days advanced notice) so that we can plan and negotiate astro-memories of a lifetime for you and your students.
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Shelby, using Marvin, shows students a partial solar eclipse as part of a daytime-only discount tour.
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What do you mean by STILL negotiable?
If our pricing, even after the 42% discount, is still a deal-breaker, we can negotiate up to a 84% discount in exchange for the equivalent of ~42 hrs of volunteer service. 42 hrs could be 10 kids for 4 hours, 21 kids for 2 hrs, etc. The work / maintenance our Dark Ranger Observatory needs varies with the season but might include:
- litter pick-up - pruning brush - painting / staining - raking and leveling gravel - etc. We'll provide the supplies and tools if your students bring work clothes and ESPECIALLY work gloves. We want to share the wonders of the Universe with you and your students/scouts! Email us at darkrangertelescopetours@gmail.com and let's see if we can work out a deal. |
And / or your Astronomy Merit Badge!
Scouts! We'll help you earn your Space Exploration (Model Rockets) Merit Badge!
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Private Tour Cancellation Policy
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We refund 94% (NOT including the transaction fees your bank/credit card assesses. As a small business, we must retain 6% to cover our bank/credit card merchant fees as we issue refunds) if guest(s) cancels more than 14 DAYS in advance. 42% refund if cancellation occurs between 14 and 4 DAYS prior to start time. Sorry, no refunds after that. That's the price of exclusivity. We need to know as soon as possible when we can put our Private Observatory (small private tours), and especially our Public Observatory (large private tours) back into circulation.
What if it is cloudy? We average 300 clear nights per year so weather cancellations are uncommon. Nevertheless, you can read more about our weather related cancellation policy here. |
