I'm thinking Dead Horse, Utah. Where else would you suggest?

It'll be me (celebrating 40th) as well as wife and two young girls (will be 3 and 1).

Death Valley or Big Bend

https://www.lightpollutionmap.info

Here is a good dark sky finder if you haven't already looked at a map. Good suggestions already, and another would be Yellowstone...very dark sky there.

One caveat if you didn't know already: April is not a great month for viewing the Milky Way in the northern hemisphere. The core is at a very low angle and peaks around 4-5am. You will still see the outer bands with the naked eye if you have a very dark sky, but not the core.

Glacier Point in Yosemite. They said it is exactly a better view then the desert because of the elevation. We got lucky and went during a local astronomy club night.

What time of year would be best to see the Milky Way?

Also, suggestions on a telescope (under $600)?

Wow! That's exactly what I want to see.

Looks like I search for cooler summer locations for next year (plus the girls will be a tad older so it's help).

Just to make sure you don't have unrealistic expectations...

The Milky Way does not look like that to the naked eye. Even in the best of conditions you will see pretty faint details compared to what you see in that photo. Good astrophotography requires higher end equipment and knowledge to capture details that are invisible to the naked eye.

Having said that, the night sky on a clear night in a place with no light pollution is spectacular, an existential experience in my opinion, and you will see the Milky Way with the naked eye. I just don't want you to be disappointed if you go outside expecting to see something that looks like what you see in that photo or other Milky Way photos you might have seen...

Interesting coincidence...we have two girls the exact same age and I'm hoping to let the toddler stay up late with me at least one night on our trip to Montana this summer to see the night sky. Will need mama's permission, but that's my plan anyway!

Big Bend is the place to go in the lower 48. Just make sure it is a new moon for optimal viewing. When the moon is full out there, you don't even need a flashlight at night.

That said, here are the other Dark Sky areas

https://www.travelandleisure.com/trip-ideas/space-astronomy/darkest-places-in-the-us

Yes, that's a key point regarding the moon. If stargazing is your priority it's gotta be on a new moon. Fortunately that's easy to plan for. Cloudy skies not so much.

And yea...the sky at Big Bend is awesome.

Big Bend would be too hot in the summer though...Yellowstone seems much more inviting. That would be a good camping spot in the fall when they get older though.

Oh mama will let the toddler stay up! Now whether she stay up or not is a different challenge.

fort davis at night even in the summer is pleasant.

Another thought if you if you want to get really specific on dates is to line up your trip with a meteor shower. I looked at the 2022 calendar and unfortunately the perseids fall on a full moon, but there is a shower in late July that falls perfectly on a new moon, which also happens to be a great time of year for seeing the Milky Way. Just throwing it out there...

If you look at my photo above you'll see I happened to catch a meteor in that shot, just above the horizon. I didn't even see it when the shutter was open but was pretty pumped when I saw it in the image later.

Fantastic suggestion, thanks! Let's hope the super volcano doesn't go off when we are at Yellowstone...

schmendeler said:

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fort davis at night even in the summer is pleasant.

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Fort Davis is a good place because they have the McDonald Observatory. Star Parties are always a hit. Even if other places have better skies, Fort Davis has people who set up telescopes and tell you what you're looking at.

Went as a kid to see Halleys.

Took a girl on a date out there once from Odessa. Went to a star party, then hit up the Marfa lights.

Years late, took my wife and kids out. Nice having someone tell us what we are looking at than just me saying "looks like stars!"

Mcdonald Observatory is the only good thing that comes out of Cow College.

Central Oregon near Bend/Mt. Bachelor

2girlsdad said:

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Big Bend would be too hot in the summer though...

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keep thinking this, and please spread the word that there are ZERO areas out there to enjoy in the summer.

Well, we never made it out for star gazing. We did pick up a Celesteon Starsense Explorer DX for $175 though. May have to wait until the now 2 year old is 4 to make this a better experience.

29 palms/Joshua tree was a pretty good spot to see stars.

I do Milky Way photography, so I think of it from that standpoint and not just looking with the naked eye.

Big Bend is supposed to be one of the best, still haven't done it.

Joshua tree is great but need to find a spot shielded from the glow of the Palm Springs area.

Glacier point is awesome. Little bit of a tough drive up there at night, but if you are already there not so bad.

Areas near mt hood and mt rainier are pretty great. Anza Borrego and Death Valley of course.

Other non west coast places that have been great for me: St. John, Vieques, Bermuda.