Stargazing locations

[madamadakun]

Hey all. With all the solar activity and all, I am wondering if anyone knows any good place to watch stars and northern lights. I didnt want to drive too far, say an hour's drive from toronto, as i have to work next day.

I was driving around east of newmarket but couldnt find a place with not much lights, with parking, and a place with no obstruction. Does anyone have some good suggestion?
I wanted to take some pics of aurora so wanted to be prepare.
Many thanks.

[deltone]

The Lindsay area.

[thestar99]

If you are ever in downtown Toronto Broadview/Gerrard( Riverdale park) there is a beautiful park where you can see the stars and also look at the toronto skyline.

[jayk]

If you are ever in downtown Toronto Broadview/Gerrard( Riverdale park) there is a beautiful park where you can see the stars and also look at the toronto skyline.

Is this a safe area?

[Frig]

Hey all. With all the solar activity and all, I am wondering if anyone knows any good place to watch stars and northern lights. I didnt want to drive too far, say an hour's drive from toronto, as i have to work next day.

I was driving around east of newmarket but couldnt find a place with not much lights, with parking, and a place with no obstruction. Does anyone have some good suggestion?
I wanted to take some pics of aurora so wanted to be prepare.
Many thanks.

The chances of you seeing the aurora from the toronto area are extremely slim. even if you will be able to see them it will be far in the distance not the magical photos you see online. on top of that you will need a camera with good exposure to collect enough light. i dont think your typical digital camera can do that.

[madamadakun]

The chances of you seeing the aurora from the toronto area are extremely slim. even if you will be able to see them it will be far in the distance not the magical photos you see online. on top of that you will need a camera with good exposure to collect enough light. i dont think your typical digital camera can do that.

The first time i saw it was at stouville rd and 404 back in 2002. The problem was there were so many cars flying by it was really unsafe for me to park on the side. As for pics, worst case i will use my 35mm, which i have took a few pics before with it. I dont think is doable to take pics in toronto but i dont mind driving a bit to find a good spot.

[smitty9999]

Muskoka Barrens

[Frig]

The first time i saw it was at stouville rd and 404 back in 2002. The problem was there were so many cars flying by it was really unsafe for me to park on the side. As for pics, worst case i will use my 35mm, which i have took a few pics before with it. I dont think is doable to take pics in toronto but i dont mind driving a bit to find a good spot.

about a year or two ago when there was strong aurora activity, people were getting good images from the orillia area... it might be too far of a drive though.
theres the observatory in richmond hill but the GTA lights will prevent you from seeing anything.
the best place to check out will be haliburton forest dark sky preserve but its a 3 hour drive:
http://www.haliburtonforest.com/astro.html

[umop]

For stars alone, pick any side road at least 20 mins north of Steeles (there will still be some light pollution at this point but it's not as bad as in Toronto).

For northern lights, I think you'd need a lot of luck to see them that close to the city.