A number of years ago the four brothers were sitting around the dying embers of a campfire, gazing up at the stars on a clear, calm, summer night. Each sat lost in thought, contemplating the solar system, the Milky Way Galaxy, and his tiny place in the universe. And thus, a plan was born… The brothers would begin working towards sharing the night sky of their home with visitors and travelers coming to Waterton Park.
The Planets Align
As the years passed, the idea persisted, and eventually it began to grow and become clearer, as the brothers began to develop a business plan. In 2015, the brothers first broached their idea with Parks Canada, and in early 2016, Parks Canada officially began putting together an application for dark sky status from both the International Dark Sky Association (IDA), and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC). In April 2017, the IDA announced that Waterton (in conjunction with Glacier National Park, MT) had been recognized as a Provisional International Dark Sky Park. The stage was set and it was now time for the brothers to put their plan into action.
From the Ashes of a Fire, A Business was Born
In September 2017 the Kenow Mountain Fire burnt a significant portion of Waterton Lakes National Park. At that point, the brothers knew it would be more important than ever, to show people that there is more to Waterton that just daytime hiking through (the once forested) mountain landscapes. And so, Dark Sky Guides was born.
Together, the Robinson brothers have over 40 years of guiding experience in Waterton Lakes National Park. And over the years, the brothers have traveled to many destinations around the world, picking up best practices from other tour guides and companies across the planet.
Dark Sky Guides offer small, personalized tours that will open peoples’ eyes to a completely new area of Waterton Lakes National Park – the night sky above. The brothers hope to encourage every single tour participant to connect on a personal level with the National Park, in their own particular way.
After two revolutions around the Sun
The 2018 inaugural season was a huge success, with many sold out tours. Even despite the threat of yet another fire (The Boundary Creek Fire), demand for tours was strong. The season came to a spectacularly starry close, with many clear nights showcasing the Milky Way, and planets such as Venus, Juipter, and Saturn. More importantly, Mars was in opposition (the point where the sun, Earth and Mars are all in a line, so that the two planets are closest together) throughout summer 2018 - the next time the Red Planet will be that close to Earth will be in 2035. In October 2018, Dark Sky Guides was named a finalist at the annual Travel Alberta Industry Conference in the category of "New Tourism Experience".
The 2019 season proved to be even more exciting that year one. Demand for tours continued to increase and DSG continued to perfect its tour offering. This second year of operations was filled with memorable stargazing experiences. Tour participants were treated Aurora Borealis (Norther Lights) sightings numerous times toward the end of the summer season, and a number of wildlife sightings were had over the course of the year (including Elk, Moose, Badger and even a mother Mountain Lion and 2 cubs!). The 2019 season came to a near-perfect conclusion when DSG was again named a finalist for the Travel Alberta Industry Conference ALTO Tourism Awards’ “New Tourism Experience”. However, unlike the previous year, this year DSG was named the Winner of the New Tourism Experience ALTO Award!
As the Dark Sky Guides move into 2020, they look to continue perfecting their award winning Dark Sky Adventure Tours and Night Sky Discovery Tours. But more importantly, the Dark Sky Guides are excited to introduce a couple of brand new service offerings: the shoulder-season Starry Skies Townsite Stroll Tour, as well as opening of the brand new Waterton Planetarium!
