Hello all- I was a member of AOAS when I grew up in Ft. Smith back in the late 80's. Since then, I moved to Fayetteville and just bought a Zhumell Z10 Dobsonian 10 in. scope. I am looking for suggestions for a great place/area to go within 30 miles of here with little light pollution. I am guessing that somewhere in the Boston Mts. would be ideal. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance.

Welcome to the AOAS website!

As for good places to observe within 30 miles of Fayetteville, I'd say anywhere in SE Madison County, South Newton County, or NW Johnson County would qualify. If you check Google Earth using the Artificial Night Sky Brightness overlay, you should easily be able to find a good place. See the story How Dark Is It Really? on this website for more info.

Of course, you might say I'm a bit biased about the BEST place within 30 miles of Fayetteville.

Thanks, I did see this article on the site. Pretty cool overlay for Google Earth. Thanks

I was going to post a similar question, but then I saw this and thought I'd bump it. Ever find a good spot? I'm new to the area myself. I finally have access to a scope (thanks to the club!) and with no winter star parties I'm itching to get out to some nice dark spots, check out the winter sky, and maybe do a little camping. Mulberry Mountain fits the bill pretty well, but I was hoping for someplace a tad closer.