Included In This Toolkit

In collaboration and celebration with Governor Cox declaring April 2022 Utah’s second official Dark Sky Month, the Utah Office of Tourism is redistributing its toolkit with dark sky-related resources and assets for our tourism industry partners to utilize and share throughout this month and beyond.

The Dark Skies Edition Toolkit includes the following resources:

• A Beginner’s Guide to Dark Skies
• An Astrotourism Industry Guide
• A Customizable Utah Dark Sky Month Press Release
• The Official Dark Sky Month Press Release
• Visit Utah’s Social Tips for Dark Sky Month
• Shareable Dark Sky Digital Content from VisitUtah.com
• UOT’s Dark Sky Image Library

Click the buttons below to access the resources!

Utah Dark Sky Month Declaration

From the Office of Governor Spencer J. Cox
On April 1st, 2022, Governor Cox declared the month of April as Utah Dark Sky Month for the second consecutive year. The declaration encourages residents and visitors alike to celebrate this month by visiting one of Utah’s 24 accredited International Dark Sky Places – including all of the Mighty 5® national parks, 10 state parks, and two towns.

Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism

Collaboration of the Dark Sky Cooperatives
In January 2022, the Institute of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism at Utah State University became the home base for the Colorado Plateau and Basin and Range Dark Sky Cooperatives. Through this partnership, informational and educational resources of both organizations have been collated into the Gateway & Natural Amenity Region Initiative’s GNAR Dark Skies Toolkit. These tools can be used by individuals, communities, and planners to promote and protect natural night skies.

Celebrate International Dark Sky Week

April 22 - 30, 2022
Every year, the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) hosts International Dark Sky Week during the month of April in order to create greater awareness about light pollution and its negative consequences, the solutions, and simultaneously celebrate the night. This year, IDA is inviting everyone to discover the night during the week of April 22-30. This is an exciting opportunity to create interest and bring new people into the dark sky movement.

Check out IDA's Outreach Toolkit to learn more about how to participate in International Dark Sky Week 2022!

Utah State Parks 

Dark Sky Events and Programming
Justina Parsons-Bernstein, Dark Sky Initiative ​Coordinator for Utah State Parks, has compiled a list of dark sky events and programming that occurs across the state throughout the year. Keep up to date with each park’s website and social media pages, linked in the document, for current scheduling.