What is the Cherry Springs Dark Sky Find?

The Cherry Springs Dark Sky Fund is a long-term tax-exempt bank account, which has been established with the PPFF and the Pennsylvania Recreation & Parks Society (PRPS). Donations will provide money for projects specifically at Cherry Springs State Park without having to go through the state's General Fund.

Project money will be used to preserve the park as a Dark-Sky Province and to make improvements, which will enhance the area for astronomy and public stargazing.

Projects chosen will be at the discretion of Park Management and the Dark Sky Fund Advisory Board.

Cherry Springs State Park

Cherry Springs State Park is located in North central Pennsylvania in the heart of what is know as "God's Country" along Route 44 in Potter County. The most recent change to the park has been its visitors. Previously, primitive camping and a rural setting combined to make Cherry Springs an excellent retreat from the pressures of everyday life.

While this is still true, in the early 1990's a handful of amateur astronomers began to discover the exceptional viewing conditions of Cherry Springs' dark skies and word began to spread. Stargazers who had previously traveled to Arizona and New Mexico in order to view under pristinely dark sky conditions away from urban light pollution were discovering they had some of the best sky conditions in the country right in their own back yard. This "new" resource was also recognized by Park Management, leading the way for the DCNR to officially designate Cherry Springs as an official Dark-Sky Province in the year 2000.