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Dark-Sky Sites:

Quebec

 

 

Sites: Montcerf/Litton


Town:  Montcerf (or is it Litton?)

Site:  Réserve Faunique La Vérendrye

Address: Route rurale 1, Montcerf, Québec, Canada, J0W 1N0

Contact:  SEPAQ

Phone: (819) 438-2017, (800) 665-6527

URL:   http://www.sepaq.com/rf/lvy/en/

 http://www.tourisme.gouv.qc.ca/ca-en/fiches/en/attraits/1980952.html

Directions:  Road 117 north from Montréal or any other town located on it, up to kilometer 324. Small sand road to the west leads to airstrip. Click here for a park map or here to go to Google Maps to create a map.

Current weather: 

 

Restrictions:  VERY IMPORTANT: Registration is required at http://www.sepaq.com/rf/lvy/en/ or by phone at either (819) 438-2017 or (800) 665-6527 prior to camping, with payment by credit card (around $20 US per night for 2 persons in 1 car).  If the web site says they are full, try a phone call.

Sky Conditions:  Dark as dark can be.  Only a glow from auroras and Milky Way could make us see each other when I went, my friend says normally darker.

 

Typical naked-eye magnitude limit on a clear, moonless night:
     At the zenith: 7
     East: 6.5
     West: 7
     North: 6.5
     South: 6.5

Best horizon (direction and approximate altitude cut-off):  East and west horizons are almost perfect, only for some trees and the occasional car coming from sand road in front of airstrip, coming from mid-distant Native settlement... Maybe down to 10-15° or less... Bortle 1 or maybe 2 for those horizons.

Worst horizon (direction and approximate altitude cut-off): Northern horizon seemed bad, about Bortle 3-4, but possibly because of faint aurora... Also occasional glow from car headlights since airstrip is parallel to road 117 (secondary highway)... Still down to 15-20°...

Comments from contributor: Probably the darkest road-accessible site in Québec except for Far North... Milky Way was 180°, very bright, casting faint shadows. Veil Nebula can supposedly be seen in 10x50 binoculars without filter, but I didn't know what I was looking for... Possible camping sites are about 10 minutes drive from airstrip. We had chosen Embarras camping, which is around kilometer 316 (forest road 20), on the shore of a very nice lake, with swimmable/navigable beach. Only service is chemical toilet (bring your own paper).

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