Smokey Jack Observatory & Wet Mountain Valley Dark Skies

The story

In 2015, the neighboring towns of Westcliffe and Silver Cliff became Colorado’s first certified International Dark Sky Community—a designation won through years of persistent lobbying by local Suzanne “Smokey” Jack. Jack founded Dark Skies of the Wet Mountain Valley to protect the sky standard between the Wet Mountains and the Sangre de Cristo range. After her passing, local residents, hardware store owners, and concrete suppliers donated labor and supplies to construct a 12-by-12-foot wooden shed with a roll-off roof at the edge of Bluff Park to house a donated 14-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain computer-guided telescope in her honor.

Sitting at nearly 8,000 feet, Smokey Jack Observatory claims the title of the highest-elevation dark-sky observatory on Earth. Because the municipality aggressively enforces strict dark-sky lighting ordinances—requiring downward-shielded streetlights across town—you can stand right on Main Street and see the galactic core of the Milky Way with the naked eye. Once the shed roof slides back during summer observing sessions, volunteer Star Guides steer the 14-inch optic to pull in Saturn's rings, the Andromeda galaxy, and distant star clusters while the jagged silhouettes of the Sangre de Cristo peaks frame the valley.