Our Lost Astro Sites in 2025

[Peter Natscher]

The past few months this year has been devastating for our astro sites.  We have lost Pinnacles West, Pacheco-Dinosaur Point, and last week DARC at Mercy Hot Springs (if that matters to TAC).  Owner Dr. Bob Caton of Modesto is putting the entire DARC observatory + a very large Newtonian telescope that's in one of its large domes for sale.  I got wind of this last week in my phone call to a person who has been managing DARC for Dr. Caton the past few years.

[Akarsh Simha]

Obvious question is do you know how much they’re asking, and will TAC be able to group-buy?

On Wed, Dec 10, 2025 at 12:42 'Peter Natscher' via The Astronomy Connection (TAC) <sf-ba...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

The past few months this year has been devastating for our astro sites.  We have lost Pinnacles West, Pacheco-Dinosaur Point, and last week DARC at Mercy Hot Springs (if that matters to TAC).  Owner Dr. Bob Caton of Modesto is putting the entire DARC observatory + a very large Newtonian telescope that's in one of its large domes for sale.  I got wind of this last week in my phone call to a person who has been managing DARC for Dr. Caton the past few years.

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[Peter Natscher]

DARC has some complications. Access up to the observatory gate off of the J1 road requires getting through the combo locked gate and on to the FAA tower road. The DARC gate is situated on this dirt FAA road. J1 road is the Little Panoche Road running N-S and also where Mercy Hot Springs is located.  To get through the FAA gate and drive on the FAA dirt road up the hill to the observatory, the FAA would require some personal approval to receive the combination to the gate lock that is changed every month.  The DARC manager Ed Gold, of Modesto, has had trouble getting the new combo each month with the FAA bureau. Sometimes, he's driven an hour from Modesto and unable to get through the gate because the FAA office did or didn't change the lock combo or gave him the wrong combo number.  The observatory main house is infested with mice from not being taken care of the past few years.  Apparently, the rattlers outside are not eating enough of them.  There are a few newly constructed and electrified small domes on the site that are  unused and in good shape. There is no cell connection at this site. There was an operating satelllite WiFi system operating from the main house the past 10-15 years.

Contact DARC manager Ed Gold in Modesto: 209 345 2984; email: edgold...@yahoo.com for more information about the property and structures.

[Drew Pletcher]

Just thought I would mention that Coyote Lake Park no longer allows night access for viewing or imaging..  Santa Clara County allows for permit requests with a $2M insurance rider for individuals or groups.

[John Pierce]

On Fri, Jan 2, 2026 at 12:11 AM Drew Pletcher <dple...@gmail.com> wrote:

Just thought I would mention that Coyote Lake Park no longer allows night access for viewing or imaging..

yeeesh.     ok, I added a note on the observers.org page.

 

[Lance Pickens]

Oof, bummer, really liked going there. I never saw any other imagers or observers or rangers. 

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[Vishal Kasliwal]

For those who haven't kept up with the news, what happened to Pinnacles West and Dinosaur Point? 

On Wed, Dec 10, 2025, 12:42 'Peter Natscher' via The Astronomy Connection (TAC) <sf-ba...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

The past few months this year has been devastating for our astro sites.  We have lost Pinnacles West, Pacheco-Dinosaur Point, and last week DARC at Mercy Hot Springs (if that matters to TAC).  Owner Dr. Bob Caton of Modesto is putting the entire DARC observatory + a very large Newtonian telescope that's in one of its large domes for sale.  I got wind of this last week in my phone call to a person who has been managing DARC for Dr. Caton the past few years.

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[Jamie Dillon, DDK]

Vishal, it's all updated on observers.org, on the sites page.

Dinosaur Point is old news, we haven't been there in some 3 years. Any of us, though, can check out Pacheco State Park, by Whiskey Flat, where we used to go once upon a time. Need to find out about the house lights in that area.

[Mark Wagner]

I wonder if you need a permit now to do night fishin'

[microflite]

Jamie, the website just mentions that the site is lost and that the rangers are locking the gate at 8pm. Did they nor provide a reason? This is sad. 

Ashok

On Fri, Jan 2, 2026 at 9:51 AM Jamie Dillon, DDK <ngc1...@gmail.com> wrote:

Vishal, it's all updated on observers.org, on the sites page.

Dinosaur Point is old news, we haven't been there in some 3 years. Any of us, though, can check out Pacheco State Park, by Whiskey Flat, where we used to go once upon a time. Need to find out about the house lights in that area.

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[Peter Natscher]

If you observe or image from your home, you will be reassesed by your county tax collector at a new higher rate.  🦨

[Francesco Meschia]

What they told me is that the West entrance gate was constantly being broken by "bad actors”, and they got tired of spending money on fixing it. So they just put a padlock.

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[Richard Navarrete]

That’s why we can’t have nice things . 😡

Richard

Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS

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[Brad Templeton]

I've been chatting with a woman who runs a dark-sky camping site called Wildfamers/Song of the Ancients that  you can book on HipCamp.    It's about 15 minutes closer than Mercy Hot Springs.      I have not been there (it's been mentioned once or twice on this list) but it has some worthwhile attributes:

1. Bortle 2 sky similar to Lake San Antonio
2. Under 2 hours from South Bay
3. Astronomy friendly owners, they advertise it as a dark-sky site
4. Looks like reasonable horizons
5. Potable water, outdoor hot shower, 4 treed campsites with pads for those who like shade, some picnic tables
6. Able to handle about 50 people
7. Probably has electricity available to recharge portable batteries, doesn't have RV hookups.
8. It doesn't look like it's very heavily used

The downside:  Price on Hipcamp is $25/person/night plus taxes and fees, minimum 2 nights, so $160 for 2 people 2 nights 1 site.   However, my hope is that we might negotiate a reasonable "whole site" price outside of hipcamp, and in particular, on a more ad-hoc basis, so that we can say, "If a night near the new moon has your camp empty and the forecast is good, we'll do an OI and give you $XX."     With the 2 hour drive one could even drive home without camping, I suppose, though it's pushing it.

On Wednesday, December 10, 2025 at 12:42:01 PM UTC-8 Peter Natscher wrote:

[David Kirjassoff]

I’ve been wanting to check that out since I saw their listing on Hipcamp.  If I get a chance to go I’ll document an OR.

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[miloc...@gmail.com]

Thanks for the tip!  FWIW, the Santa Cruz Club did an event this summer about a mile from there, at Hammond Ranch. During the July night I was there, SQM readings were from 21.32 - 21.52, in the same ballpark as Glacier Point, Death Valley,  Mono Lake, and LSA.  Even better, the seeing was very good.  I think I'll see if they'll go for a one night stay, during the weekday, during Winter.  But $50 for two nights compares favorably with LSA which wants $45 for one night, with fewer amenities.

-JimB

[Brad Templeton]

I simplified the pricing.  As noted, the minimum price for one campsite is $159 for 2 nights, 2 people, so that's not better than LSA which is $45/car/night  (and $65 for 2 cars if you coordinate.)     They have a minimum of 2 people and 2 nights on Hipcamp, and strictly it's $10/site plus $25/person, plus hipcamp fee and taxes.

However, I presume in working directly with her we could avoid the hipcamp fees, and get a more flexible deal.      Since we would want the whole property (it's only 4 official campsites but she is open to many more people who want to be in the open field rather than the dedicated shaded campsites) they might be open for a flat fee for the group, or if they need a variable fee, something like $35/car with a minimum number of cars or similar.    I'll see what they say.

LSA of course has the virtue of being totally flexible, you can just show up, aborting if it's cloudy with no notice.   During Calstar they give us the field, but in practice I doubt anybody camps in it unless the other campgrounds are full.    After all, field of dreams is not a great deal compared to the full hookup campsites which are only slightly more.

We astronomers are weirdos.   We want sites that are remote, that nobody is driving nearby and everybody keeps off headlights and no lights on the buildings.  We want exposed campsites with no shade!  And we want very far from any populations but don't care about recreation.

[J Bahn]

Let us know what she says.  I asked about one night during the week, and she says because of Hipcamp, she must book two nights, but she refunds the 2nd night at check in.  With taxes and fees, it'd be $80 for one night for two people.  I guess not too bad for two astronomers.  Under "cancellation policy", it says, and I quote:  "strict".     :-)

 

JimB

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[Peter Santangeli]

Been years (decades?) but I seem to remember that dew was a constant issue there because it was mostly a field… maybe I’m wrong though.

On Fri, Jan 2, 2026 at 9:51 AM Jamie Dillon, DDK <ngc1...@gmail.com> wrote:

Vishal, it's all updated on observers.org, on the sites page.

Dinosaur Point is old news, we haven't been there in some 3 years. Any of us, though, can check out Pacheco State Park, by Whiskey Flat, where we used to go once upon a time. Need to find out about the house lights in that area.

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[Mark Wagner]

Peter,

I remember a Messier Marathon there, where a bar of soap would be more useful than a telescope.  Bathtub 

But there were some excellent nights too.  Here's an old report from Pacheco::

https://deepskyobserving.blogspot.com/1998/10/spotted-beast-of-north.html

Mark

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[Drew Pletcher]

Had been going there since my first astro image of the swan nebula in 2010.  

On Friday, January 2, 2026 at 8:27:57 AM UTC-8 Lance Pickens wrote:

[Pawan Singh]

Regarding the site which Brad is talking about:

Wildfamers/Song of the Ancients

I have been there twice. As visual astronomer, the site is a bit annoying because there are lights in your eyes in 2-3 directions and it is really annoying. Depending on who is there in other sites, you cannot do visual observations till 11:00pm to 2:00am. One time, there were people partying till 1:00am.

If you are imaging, it is not a problem --- but then you do not need to go there to image --- there are other cheaper sites.

[Brad Templeton]

Ah.  Well, that would be a dealbreaker.   I explicitly asked about that, saying that our group would require no lights on site or even from neighbours.      But that was presuming booking the entire site -- were the lights you saw from neighbours or other campers at the site?   This is the challenge of any general campsite, there could be other campers who don't want to maintain dark adaption discipline.     Unless you can have the whole site as happens at Calstar, or in parks closed to all but astronomers.     While I can tolerate a few lights while imaging, I don't want a location that's only for imagers.    Though I am curious what sites you have which have the combination of Bortle 2 and this distance.     I was looking in this area because it's about the closest Bortle 2.   Big Sur also matches but has coastal marine layer etc.

[Pawan Singh]

Brad

Both. Campers tend to go to sleep between 11 to 1:00am. But if we rent all the sites, there wont be anyone else.

The owner lives on the property around 100 meters from the campsite. We can probably work with the owner so that she turns off all house lights by certain time. House is partially shielded by trees in between the house and the campsites. But when observing, at different angles as you move the scope, your eyes get blinded by the lights from the house between the leaves randomly. This is not so different from GSSP where trucks on the roads can blind you if you are on the edges of the GSSP site. If you camp in the middle of big dob alley at GSSP,  you are protected - but occasionally, in between the gaps, you get blinded :-)

There are few other single point of source neighbor lights which can be annoying. These are much further away and dimmer.

However, given the situation we are in, I would recommend this site. We have to take what we can get!

Pawan