The Joshua Tree Night Sky Festival returns October 9–11, 2026, held in and around the dark skies of Joshua Tree National Park. This is one of the premier dark sky events in Southern California — a three-day celebration of astronomy, night photography, and the increasingly rare experience of seeing the Milky Way with the naked eye. Joshua Tree sits at the intersection of two distinct desert ecosystems at an elevation that provides exceptional clarity on autumn nights. The national park is an International Dark Sky Park designation, and the October festival takes advantage of ideal conditions: minimal moonlight, stable atmospheric seeing, and temperatures cool enough to stand outside comfortably for …