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Dark Ranger Telescope Tours
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Tour the Universe through our BIG telescopes!

Have a Bryce Night!

Everybody wishes you to have a "Nice Day" but we want you to have a "Bryce Night?"  -- the best possible nights for stargazing.  If your travel dates are flexible, check our list  for the Bryce-ist of nights. Then come back to this page to book your telescope tour.
Have a Bryce night

The Astronomy You Prefer

Within the ranks of the Dark Rangers, there is enough knowledge  to give you an entertaining show on almost any astronomy subject.  When booking your tour below, you'll be invited to pick your show preference by title.
Our multimedia shows
Yes, reservations are required.
That way we will know how many telescopes to setup.

SUMMER AND WINTER PUBLIC TELESCOPE TOURS

Pick your season. Summer nights are the least cold and offer a greater variety of deep-space objects. Winter nights are especially frigid,  but cold air is also the most transparent, resulting in stunningly bright stars. Moonless nights during December thru March offer the rare view of the Orion Spur, the closest but dimmer arm of the Milky Way -- a subtle but sublime sight  few humans have or will ever see with their own eyes.   Scroll to the bottom of the page for pricing and cancellation policy.
 Summer Telescope Tour (May - October)
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These public Summer Telescope Tours are offered nightly at the Dark Ranger Observatory (adjacent to, but NOT inside Bryce Canyon National Park).
  • May:                                                                                                                                                                 9:00pm - midnight
  • June & July:                                                                              9:15pm - midnight
  • August:                                                                                                                                   9:00pm -  midnight
  • September                                                                                         8:30pm - 11:30pm
  • October                                        8:00pm - 11:00pm

If you would prefer to have 1-2 Dark Rangers all to yourself,  you could reserve a   private telescope tour on a Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday night.
Summer sky is dominated by the beauty of the Milky Way's Sagittarius Arm,  fully extending to the horizons on moonless nights. It is so expansive, it's  best viewed not through our telescopes, but from a Zero-gravity lounger add-on.  With  our BIG telescopes we can show a variety of other distant galaxies, exploded stars, star-birth nebulae, and awesome star clusters.  Close-up and colorful views of the planets are possible year-round, but best  in  summer when they are highest above the horizons.

Nightly Tour Format:
  • 15-30 minutes viewing planets and bright stars in the twilight for practice focusing  the telescopes
  • 30-45 minutes outdoor multimedia show
  • 5-15 minutes Laser Constellation Tour
  • Back to the telescopes for deep space objects (nebulae, star clusters, galaxies, etc.) up to midnight or until you are  tired, cold, or bored. :-)
DRESS WARMLY, so you don't get tired or bored early!
Winter Telescope Tour (November - April)
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 2-hour  Winter Telescope Tours are offered at the Dark Ranger Observatory  (adjacent to, but NOT within Bryce Canyon), on Monday, Wednesday,  Friday,  and Saturday (plus holiday Sundays):

  • Nov. 1 -  1st Sat. of Nov (ST):                                8:00pm - 10:00pm
  • Nov. 1st Sun. (ST) - December:     7:00pm - 9:00pm
  • Jan. - 2nd Sat. March (DST)               8:00pm - 10:00pm
  • 2nd Sun.  March (DST)  - April:            8:30pm - 10:30pm

Need a Sunday, Tuesday,   or Thursday, winter night? EVERY winter night, including those, can be booked as  a Small Private Telescope Tour, which due to lack of stranger-danger, comes with added bonus of enjoying an indoor warm-up with an educational slideshow. 
 While cold air is best for telescopes, it's challenging for humans. Our winter nighttime temperatures can be  10°
to -10°F (-12° to -24°C). 
DRESS VERY WARMLY!
Unless you are a Yeti / Wampa you will need:
                                                 -  Multiple  layers of clothing   including a  ski hat
                                                  - Snow boots  or hiking boots with toe-warmers   
                                                   - Ski gloves or winter gloves with hand-warmers     


Nightly Tour Format:
  • 15-30 minutes viewing planets and bright stars in the twilight for practice focusing  the telescopes
  • 10-15 minute Laser Constellation Tour with FREE hot drinks and FREE Zero-Gravity Chairs
  • Back to the telescopes for deep space objects (nebulae, star clusters, galaxies, etc.) until 10pm or whenever you become cold, tired, or board.
NOTE: Due to COVID-19, our auditorium will be CLOSED to public tours  winter of 2020-2021. Please choose a Small Private Telescope Tour  if you want  the added benefit of using our auditorium as a warming hut, and enjoying  one of our popular multimedia shows.
 full moon hike (suspended until further notice)
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Our Full Moon Hikes begin & end at the Dark Ranger Observatory (adjacent to, but NOT within Bryce Canyon) and are offered during full Moons:
  • Start times vary so that we can begin the tour with exciting telescope views of the Moon rise.
  • Click Book Now to see our Moon hike calendar



Please standby while we develop new hiking routes

Our hikes are conducted on 3 different routes of varying difficulty, ranging from 1.5 (2.5 km) to 3.5 miles (5.5 km) in round-trip length -- the first to book a given night will be contacted and invited to pick the route.

All hikes fully immerse you in the nocturnal realm. Indeed, flashlights & headlamps are NOT USED! Instead you will trust in the guidance of your fearless Dark Ranger and your innate, if untested, ability to safely explore the night. And of course, you'll also get to use our BIG telescopes -- before and after the hike.
  • Hiking shoes/boots ABSOLUTELY required
  • Children MUST be 6+ years of age to attend
  • Watch this to learn more about Moon Hikes




 Public Telescope Tour Gift Certificate
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Give the gift of a Public Telescope Tour!

 Buy this gift certificate which is redeemable up to the value of $110 (including Utah 7.1% Sales Tax), for a public telescope tour at Dark Ranger Telescope Tour's Public Observatory any night of 2021 or 2022 with availability.

This gift certificate is 30% off the maximum $110 redeemable value* if you buy before Feb. 12, 2021!

* Any unused balance will be converted to store credit.

Click here to purchase $1 Alternate Night Insurance


4-ticket Minimum:

For ALL activities a 4-ticket minimum must be met each night.
For example, if you are the first person to book for a particular night and you only buy 2 tickets you will not be charged until the minimum of 4 is met. If  by 6pm the night of your tour, nobody else has booked 2 more tickets,  the tour will be cancelled and you will not have been charged.  Alternatively, if you decide to book 2 extra tickets (for 2 imaginary friends)  the show will go on.   If later, somebody else books  2 or more tickets for the same night, your 2 imaginary tickets will be fully refunded,  after the tour takes place. 

Standard Ticket Prices

NOTE: Pricing includes Utah sales tax. Depending on your bank, 3-6%  Non-refundable transaction fees will also be assessed.
Adults (20 years & older) =
 Teens (13-19) =                                            
Kids (6-12) =                                                   
Little Kids (< 6 years) =                        
Private Tour (up to 42 people) =
    


$40
$20
$10
FREE
click link

Our Standard Cancellation Policy

Based on pre-transaction fees prices at left, we refund 94% (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 42 hrs in advance. 58% is refunded if cancellation is made between 42 and 4 hrs prior to start time.

Rescheduling is always an option,  but no same-night refunds.

But what if it'S cloudy?

Why the weird prices and cancellation windows?  It's a Douglas Adams thing...
You haven't booked a telescope tour yet?

Maybe our TripAdvisor reviews will convince you!


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According to TripAdvisor We Are Among the Top-Ranked Telescope Experiences on Earth.
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