Pristine Night Skies

Evening light at House on Metolius, with the Moon and Venus in the sky.

The night skies over House on Metolius are the kind you almost forget exist until you’re standing under them — a deep, velvety black dome scattered with more stars than you’d think were legally allowed in the lower 48. Thanks to virtually zero light pollution in this corner of Central Oregon, nighttime here feels like stepping into a planetarium where someone quietly switched off the projector and replaced it with the real thing.

It’s one of the best places you’ll ever find for stargazing: perfect for watching meteor showers streak across the sky, tracing constellations with your kids, or catching rare shows like the aurora borealis when it decides to wander this far south. Even the Milky Way pops with that unmistakable “oh wow” clarity you only get in truly dark-sky regions.

And yes — we even had a front-row seat for the last solar eclipse as it swept across Oregon. The next one won’t pass over us for… well, let’s just say no one currently alive should feel pressured to block their calendar. But we do have some gorgeous photos from the last one, and the stargazing in the meantime is more than enough to keep you looking up.