The core clears 10 degrees during full darkness on most nights from March to October. In January, February, November and December it's out of reach, either too close to the Sun or too low in the dark.
Core score by month
| Month | Core score | Best week | Moon-free core hours a night | Average cloud |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | Core not visible | 0 | 84% |
| February | 0 | February 9 to 15 | 0.0 | 81% |
| March | 6 | March 10 to 16 | 1.1 | 77% |
| April | 13 | April 6 to 12 | 2.0 | 74% |
| May | 20 | May 4 to 10 | 3.0 | 74% |
| June | 34 | June 1 to 7 | 4.2 | 66% |
| July | 38 | July 1 to 7 | 3.9 | 61% |
| August | 25 | August 1 to 7 | 2.5 | 60% |
| September | 11 | September 1 to 7 | 1.0 | 58% |
| October | 2 | October 1 to 7 | 0.2 | 68% |
| November | 0 | Core not visible | 0 | 73% |
| December | 0 | Core not visible | 0 | 84% |
Times are for the best seven nights in each month. Moon-free means the moon is below the horizon. The core counts as visible above 10 degrees in full darkness, when the Sun is more than 18 degrees below the horizon.
The best nights in 2027
- June: June 4 is the best night. The core is above 10 degrees and the moon is down from 11:36 pm to 3:46 am, with the moon 0% lit that night.
- July: July 1 is the best night. The core is above 10 degrees and the moon is down from 11:16 pm to 3:16 am, with the moon 5% lit that night.
- August: August 1 is the best night. The core is above 10 degrees and the moon is down from 10:36 pm to 1:16 am, with the moon 0% lit that night.
Clock times are Eastern time with daylight saving applied. The best nights fall around the new moon, so the dates shift by about 11 days each year.
About Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Cuyahoga Valley is a green strip of forest, farms and waterfalls between Cleveland and Akron. You can walk or bike the old canal towpath, ride a scenic train, and hike to Brandywine Falls without leaving the Ohio suburbs behind for long. It's a park in the middle of a busy region.
The Ohio and Erie Canal was built between 1825 and 1832 and carried grain and goods through the valley. When the canal faded, the land stayed rural. Congress created a national recreation area here in 1974 and renamed it a national park in 2000.
Cuyahoga Valley National Park is a national park in Ohio. The National Park Service places its center at 41.26 degrees north and 81.57 degrees west, and the sky calculations on this page use that point. Visitor information, fees and alerts are on the park's own page. National Park Service (opens in a new tab).
How Cuyahoga Valley National Park compares
Its best monthly core score of 38 ranks 45 of 54 national park units that can see the core. The highest is Lassen Volcanic National Park at 86, and the lowest is Voyageurs National Park at 13. Cloud at Cuyahoga Valley National Park runs from 58% in September to 84% in December.
The score ranks months and parks. It isn't a forecast for any night, and it leaves out local weather, smoke and light from nearby towns. How the core score works.
How dark is the sky?
The Park Service models how much artificial light brightens the sky across the lower 48. At the point used for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, it puts the added glow at about 21.4 times the natural brightness of a moonless sky (a ratio of 21.352). That makes it 46th darkest of the 47 parks it covers. Lower is darker. This is a model, not a reading taken at the park, and it describes one point, so the edges of a large park can differ.
Questions people ask
When is the best time to see the Milky Way at Cuyahoga Valley National Park?
June, July and August are the best months. The best week of 2027 is July 1 to 7.
Can you see the Milky Way at Cuyahoga Valley National Park all year?
The core clears 10 degrees during full darkness on most nights from March to October. In January, February, November and December it's out of reach, either too close to the Sun or too low in the dark.
How dark is the sky at Cuyahoga Valley National Park?
The Park Service models how much artificial light brightens the sky across the lower 48. At the point used for Cuyahoga Valley National Park, it puts the added glow at about 21.4 times the natural brightness of a moonless sky (a ratio of 21.352). That makes it 46th darkest of the 47 parks it covers. Lower is darker. This is a model, not a reading taken at the park, and it describes one point, so the edges of a large park can differ.
Does the moon matter at Cuyahoga Valley National Park?
Yes. A bright moon hides the Milky Way. The best night in July is July 1, when the moon is 5% lit and the core is above 10 degrees from 11:16 pm to 3:16 am.
