Kamloops Stargazing & Astronomy Report

Light pollution and stargazing locations near Kamloops

City
Kamloops
Country
Canada
Latitude
50.6745
Longitude
-120.3273

Key Sky Quality Metrics

SQM (mag/arcsec²)
18.63
Bortle class
Class 8 (Class 8)
Darkness Quotient
29%
Dataset
March 2026

City sky

Stargazing in Kamloops

Kamloops is an inland city in British Columbia’s southern interior, known for its dry landscapes, river valleys and role as a regional hub.

The city generally experiences High Light Pollution, with a Darkness Quotient of 29% — making it brighter than many smaller interior communities, though still far from the most heavily lit global metropolises.

For practical observing from within the city, the most reliable targets are the Moon, planets, double stars and the brightest open clusters. A few showpiece deep-sky objects can still be picked out with care, but faint galaxies and delicate nebulae are largely washed away by the urban skyglow.

Kamloops is unusually well placed for escaping that glow, because noticeably darker skies arrive quite quickly in several directions. The nearest reasonable dark-sky improvement is around 15 kilometres away to the south-east, and truly excellent skies are available farther out, with the nearest listed site about 110 kilometres to the south-west near Near Area A (Boston Bar/North Bend/Canyon Alpine), British Columbia.

The map shows Kamloops as a compact but distinct bright core, with a yellow-red centre fading through green and blue into a broader grey halo. That pattern is typical of a mid-sized city whose light dome is strong overhead and over the immediate surroundings, but not so vast that it dominates the whole region.

What stands out is how quickly the brightness breaks up outside the urban area. Large expanses to the north, north-east and west look markedly darker, with black background sky appearing not far beyond the city glow and only scattered smaller light pockets interrupting it.

There is also a chain of brighter patches extending away from the city in one main corridor, showing where settlement and transport routes continue the glow into the surrounding landscape. Even so, Kamloops still sits in a region where the wider background becomes much darker quite readily compared with heavily urbanised areas.

How the sky overhead feels from the city

Looking straight up from Kamloops, the sky is firmly city-bright rather than truly dark, with a zenith reading of 18.63 SQM and an overall Bortle 8 character. The background sky will usually look greyed out rather than richly black, especially once you compare it with nearby rural areas.

The familiar brighter constellations still come through well enough, and the main seasonal star patterns remain easy to follow. What tends to disappear is the finer texture between them: the Milky Way is very difficult, faint star fields look thinned out, and low-contrast deep-sky objects struggle against the background glow.

In practice, Kamloops is better suited to casual urban observing and short sessions on bright targets than to serious faint-object hunting from home.

north - good

At around 15 kilometres north of Kamloops, the sky is already good, reaching Bortle 4. It improves further quite quickly, with genuinely dark conditions appearing by roughly 25 kilometres and excellent darkness farther out.

north-north-east - good

At around 15 kilometres to the north-north-east, conditions are good at Bortle 4. A little farther on, by about 25 kilometres, the sky reaches genuinely dark Bortle 3 territory and continues improving beyond that.

north-east - good

The north-east is another strong direction from Kamloops, with good Bortle 4 sky at about 15 kilometres. Truly dark conditions arrive by roughly 25 kilometres, with even darker rural sky available farther out.

east-north-east - good

About 15 kilometres east-north-east, the sky quality is good at Bortle 4. Darker Bortle 3 conditions are reached by around 25 kilometres, so this is a promising direction for a relatively short stargazing drive.

east - fair

To the east, the sky at around 15 kilometres is fair rather than truly dark, sitting at Bortle 5. The improvement becomes much more noticeable by roughly 25 kilometres, where conditions step up to Bortle 3.

east-south-east - good

At about 15 kilometres east-south-east, the sky is already good at Bortle 4. Genuinely dark conditions follow by roughly 25 kilometres, with stronger rural darkness beyond that.

south-east - good

The south-east is one of Kamloops’ best quick-escape directions, with genuinely dark Bortle 3 sky already available at around 15 kilometres. Farther out it improves again, reaching excellent conditions deeper into the countryside.

south-south-east - good

South-south-east is similarly strong, giving good quick-drive access to dark sky. At around 15 kilometres conditions are already Bortle 3, and they continue to improve farther from the city.

south - good

Looking south for a short drive works very well from Kamloops. By around 15 kilometres the sky reaches Bortle 3, and beyond that it deepens into excellent rural darkness.

south-south-west - good

At around 15 kilometres south-south-west, the sky is good at Bortle 4. A bit farther on, by roughly 25 kilometres, it reaches Bortle 3 and becomes much more rewarding for deep-sky observing.

south-west - good

To the south-west, the sky is good at around 15 kilometres, reaching Bortle 4 despite brighter conditions closer to the city. By roughly 25 kilometres it improves to Bortle 3, and this direction also leads towards the nearest named dark-sky site in the supplied data.

west-south-west - good

Around 15 kilometres west-south-west, conditions are good at Bortle 4. Genuinely dark sky appears by roughly 25 kilometres, with a further step up available deeper out in this direction.

west - good

The west offers good sky quality at around 15 kilometres, where conditions are Bortle 4. By roughly 25 kilometres the sky reaches Bortle 3, and farther out it becomes excellent.

west-north-west - good

At around 15 kilometres west-north-west, the sky is good at Bortle 4. Dark conditions follow by roughly 25 kilometres, and the direction continues to improve strongly with distance.

north-west - good

North-west of Kamloops, a short drive takes you to good Bortle 4 conditions at around 15 kilometres. By roughly 25 kilometres the sky becomes genuinely dark, with excellent rural darkness farther away.

north-north-west - good

The north-north-west also improves quickly from the city, reaching good Bortle 4 sky at about 15 kilometres. By roughly 25 kilometres it reaches Bortle 3, making this another attractive direction for a short observing trip.

zenith - poor

Straight overhead in Kamloops, the sky is poor for faint-object work, with the zenith at Bortle 8. The brighter constellations and main asterisms are still easy enough to recognise, but the background is bright and the Milky Way’s finer structure is largely lost from the city centre.

  • Near Area J (West Chilcotin), British Columbia
    Direction
    W
    Distance (km)
    258.6
    SQM
    21.90
    Bortle
    2

    Milky Way, faint nebulae, deep-sky imaging

  • Near Area C (Bowron Lake/Barlow Creek/Barkerville), British Columbia
    Direction
    SW
    Distance (km)
    256.5
    SQM
    21.80
    Bortle
    2

    Milky Way, faint nebulae, deep-sky imaging

  • Near Area A (Boston Bar/North Bend/Canyon Alpine), British Columbia
    Direction
    SW
    Distance (km)
    110.9
    SQM
    21.67
    Bortle
    3

    Milky Way visible, broadband DSO imaging

Genuinely dark skies are relatively accessible from Kamloops rather than requiring a very long expedition. The nearest strong improvement is to the south-east at around 15 kilometres, where conditions already reach Bortle 3, and the nearest named top-quality site is about 110 kilometres to the south-west at Near Area A (Boston Bar/North Bend/Canyon Alpine), British Columbia.

What makes Kamloops especially appealing is that several directions improve quickly, so even a modest drive can take you from city-bright conditions to a sky where the Milky Way becomes much more convincing.

  • Within 200 km
    Place
    Near Area A (Boston Bar/North Bend/Canyon Alpine), British Columbia
    Direction
    SW
    Distance (km)
    110.9
    SQM
    21.67
    Bortle
    3
  • Within 500 km
    Place
    Near Area J (West Chilcotin), British Columbia
    Direction
    W
    Distance (km)
    258.6
    SQM
    21.90
    Bortle
    2

Long-term sky brightness trend

Kamloops shows a gentle long-term brightening trend in the record, with SQM moving from 18.81 in the earliest reading to 18.63 in the latest one. The fitted trend is small at -0.0136 SQM per year, so this is a gradual shift rather than a dramatic deterioration.

Across the full set of 75 measurements, the mean is 18.79 SQM, with readings ranging from 18.34 to 19.19. In plain terms, the city has remained consistently bright for astronomy, with some variation from one period to another but no abrupt structural change.

For local observers, that means the overall experience from within Kamloops is broadly stable: rewarding for bright objects, but still compromised for faint deep-sky work unless you head out of town.

From within Kamloops, the best targets are the bright, high-contrast ones that can punch through an urban background. The Moon, planets, double stars and the brightest open clusters are the most dependable choices for satisfying city sessions.

A handful of showpiece deep-sky objects are still possible with patience, especially if you observe when they are high in the sky. Bright nebulae such as M42 and the brightest globulars can be attempted, but they will not show the same richness they would under darker conditions.

For the Milky Way, faint galaxies, broad diffuse nebulae and the full spectacle of meteor showers, a darker site outside the city makes a dramatic difference. Kamloops is fortunate here, because those better skies are not especially far away.

  • Moon
  • planets
  • double stars
  • brightest open clusters
  • bright nebulae such as M42
  • the brightest globular clusters
  • Milky Way
  • faint galaxies
  • broadband nebulae
  • meteor showers

Can you see stars from Kamloops?

Yes — plenty of brighter stars and the main constellations are visible from Kamloops. The issue is not whether you can see stars at all, but that the fainter ones are washed out by the city’s bright background sky.

Can you see the Milky Way from Kamloops?

From within the city, the Milky Way is very difficult and often effectively lost in the glow. Once you get a short distance out of town, especially towards the south-east, south or north, it becomes much more realistic.

What Bortle class is Kamloops?

Kamloops is Bortle Class 8 at the city location, which is a city sky. That means bright targets do well, while faint deep-sky observing is heavily compromised.

What is the sky quality meter reading for Kamloops?

The current SQM reading is 18.63. In practical terms, that is a bright urban sky rather than a dark rural one.

Where are the nearest dark skies to Kamloops?

The quickest route to genuinely dark sky is towards the south-east, south and nearby southerly directions, where Bortle 3 conditions appear at around 15 kilometres. The nearest named dark-sky site in the supplied locations is Near Area A (Boston Bar/North Bend/Canyon Alpine), British Columbia, about 110.9 kilometres to the south-west.

Is Kamloops good for astrophotography?

It can be good for lunar, planetary and some brighter deep-sky astrophotography from within the city, especially with filters and careful processing. For wide-field Milky Way work or faint nebulae, you will get much better results by heading outside the urban glow.

How far do you need to drive from Kamloops for better stargazing?

For a clear improvement, a short drive of about 15 kilometres can already make a big difference in the best directions. For the nearest named site with truly excellent darkness, you are looking at roughly 110.9 kilometres to the south-west, with even darker options farther afield.