There is only One place to officially Stargaze in all of Illinois
If you want to see the night sky put on a show in the Land of Lincoln you have to get far away from The Second City, but trust me, it is worth it!
I lived in Chicago for years and use to work at the famed Adler Planetarium, and we would always have to tell our guests if they really want to see the night sky as our ancestors did, you gotta get FAR away from Chicago. Luckily, Illinois is a big state with plenty of places that are far away from Chicago like the Middle Fork River Forrest Preserve which was named the one official stargazing spot in all of Illinois according to Only In Your State.
Middle Fork River Forrest Preserve is located just north and east of Champaign, IL close to the Indiana border, but what makes it great for stargazing? On the site they say...
"Middle Fork River Forest Preserve was named an official International Dark Sky Park in 2018, making it the only one in the whole state. As you might expect, the night sky views here are simply stunning...The waterfowl area is open around the clock for night sky viewing, but you can also get great photos in while camping at the Harry L. Swartz campground. A stargazing camping adventure sounds like a great thing to plan around a meteor shower!"
Craxzy that Illinois only has 1 designated area in the state that is a "Dark Sky Spot" If I owned property that could qualify as a dark sky spot in the state of Illinois I would try to get it opened up and make a business out of it! I do miss living in Chicago some days but I definitely don't miss the light pollution.
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