Rooster Rock State Park is an amazing Oregon State Park for astronomy during an OMSI star party! The park isn’t normally open at night, unless there is a Star Party, so the closest location will be the Vista House.

For those who do not want to drive to Stub Stewart or other sites for Star Parties, consider coming here as it is a lovely location. Plus, there are a plethora of day options available! It is worth noting that REI will sometimes have outdoor events at the park during the day which are not astronomy related and the beach is not animal friendly. There are a plethora of grilling options for those who want to eat, as well as a ranger station for those who want to ask the rangers some questions about some surrounding conditions.

As the city of Portland and surrounding areas have grown in population in recent years, this has meant that light pollution has stayed stable in the Yellow Zone of the Bortle Scale. On the official Bortle Scale, that would equate to a 4.5, which means that it would be hard to find the Milky Way as it would be washed out by the surrounding city of Portland lights.

Location

• How far outside of Portland? 25 miles, ~30 minutes
• Google Maps Location

Parking

• # of spots: 100 or more
• Cost For Parking: Day Use Pass
• Parking Permit(s) Required: None, but Oregon State Parks Pass is equivalent to the Day Use Fee
• Where Permit(s) Can Be Obtained: Day Use Fee Obtained At Gate

Overnight Accommodations

The closest overnight accommodations would be Ainsworth State Park. There are no overnight accommodations at the park. The park is closed at night unless there is an OMSI event.

Upcoming Weather

CORBETT WEATHER

Current Seeing Conditions/Forecasts

The chart above is courtesy of ClearDarkSky.com and the chart below is courtesy of Clearoutside.com