Dark Night Skies, Photography, and Bird Watching

Stargazing is UP in Searcy County! The Buffalo National River is the 1st park in Arkansas to be named an International Dark Sky Park! Searcy County is a great destination for Milky Way viewing and photographing the Aurora Borealis, meteors, and comets! Searcy County has some of the darkest night skies in the Eastern United States with Bortle Dark-Sky Scale Two designations for sites along the Buffalo National River from Woolum to Tyler Bend to Gilbert to the Spring Creek Access to Buffalo Point! The Bortle Dark-Sky Scale runs from one to nine. Very few places in the United States achieve a one. With a designation of two here in Searcy County, the Milky Way can be seen in great detail! The Town of Gilbert Arkansas is the 1st in Arkansas to have dark-sky compliant lighting! Searcy County is also home to the annual Dark Sky Festival, 19-20 September at Bear Creek Log Cabins near Marshall! Lodging locations are available locally that provide access to a great natural night sky! The Mountain Homestead Natural Area just outside Marshall allows dark sky viewing. Searcy County is the shoreline for an ocean of stars! 

Searcy County also has two designated "Important Bird Areas," the Buffalo National River and the Ozark National Forest! Go bird watching at the Mountain Homestead Natural Area just outside Marshall!