The core clears 10 degrees during full darkness on most nights from February to October. In January, 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 | 55% |
| February | 6 | February 10 to 16 | 0.6 | 62% |
| March | 19 | March 9 to 15 | 1.9 | 60% |
| April | 33 | April 6 to 12 | 3.0 | 57% |
| May | 41 | May 3 to 9 | 4.1 | 59% |
| June | 50 | June 1 to 7 | 5.4 | 50% |
| July | 51 | July 1 to 7 | 5.1 | 49% |
| August | 46 | August 1 to 7 | 3.4 | 46% |
| September | 25 | September 21 to 27 | 1.7 | 42% |
| October | 7 | October 1 to 7 | 0.5 | 45% |
| November | 0 | Core not visible | 0 | 51% |
| December | 0 | Core not visible | 0 | 57% |
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 10:42 pm to 4:12 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 10:22 pm to 3:42 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 9:52 pm to 1:42 am, with the moon 0% lit that night.
Clock times are Central time with daylight saving applied. The best nights fall around the new moon, so the dates shift by about 11 days each year.
About Hot Springs National Park
Hot Springs is one of the smallest national parks, and it sits right beside a city in Arkansas. Bathhouse Row is a line of grand early-twentieth-century bathhouses, and a couple of them still offer soaks in the natural thermal water. Trails climb the wooded hills behind the town.
Congress set the hot springs aside as a federal reservation in 1832, well before Yellowstone existed. It became a national park in 1921.
Hot Springs National Park is a national park in Arkansas. The National Park Service places its center at 34.52 degrees north and 93.06 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 Hot Springs National Park compares
Its best monthly core score of 51 ranks 29 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 Hot Springs National Park runs from 42% in September to 62% in February.
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 Hot Springs National Park, it puts the added glow at about 7.4 times the natural brightness of a moonless sky (a ratio of 7.367). That makes it 43rd 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 Hot Springs 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 Hot Springs National Park all year?
The core clears 10 degrees during full darkness on most nights from February to October. In January, 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 Hot Springs National Park?
The Park Service models how much artificial light brightens the sky across the lower 48. At the point used for Hot Springs National Park, it puts the added glow at about 7.4 times the natural brightness of a moonless sky (a ratio of 7.367). That makes it 43rd 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 Hot Springs 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 10:22 pm to 3:42 am.
