I LOVE traveling – whether it be camping, exploring a historical town, or spending hours in a foreign museum, I love every single second spent absorbing everything I can about places away from home. The pandemic kind of changed a lot of travel plans, but now that places are starting to open back up, “National Geographic” researched the best travel destinations for several categories, like family, nature, adventure, and more.
As I was scrolling for the list, I noticed that a spot in northern Minnesota was named one of the TOP FIVE destinations for nature lovers, and it looks absolutely breathtaking. The Heart of the Continent Dark Sky Initiative is a collaborative effort between Minnesota and Canada to create one of the largest dark-sky spaces on Earth. Minnesota contributes the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Voyageurs National Park, the state’s very first International Dark Sky Park. Both of these areas are actually dark-sky certified as of 2020, and connects with the Ontario Quetico Provincial Park. Together, these destinations create over a million acres of sky with little to no light pollution; meaning you can star gaze to your heart’s desire.
Now, I’ve been told pictures cannot even begin to capture the actual experience of seeing the hundreds of thousands of stars that illuminate the sky. The sky alights with all kinds of hues of blue, black, purple – and you can even see the aurora clearly. The best part is, it’s about a 4 and a half hour drive from the Fargo-Moorhead area.
Whether you’re looking for a family trip, you just really love nature, or want to experience a hard-core night of stargazing, you better believe this is a destination that would make an incredible trip. It’s already added to my bucket list!
XOXO, Alyssa
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