Indiana has one certified dark sky place in our directory: one dark sky community, Beverly Shores, Indiana, certified in 2014.
The DarkSky International place types guide (opens in new tab) says a dark sky community is a town or municipality that enforces a strong outdoor lighting ordinance and backs night sky education.
For the darkest nights, plan around the calendar: the National Park Service says the darkest skies come during a new moon or when the moon is below the horizon (opens in new tab). On clear, moonless summer nights the Milky Way looks densest, while winter brings Orion and the Pleiades, according to Great Basin National Park (opens in new tab).
Every listing links to its own page with coordinates, certification details and visiting notes, so you can compare places and plan a route across several nights.
Meteor showers give more reasons to go: Great Basin National Park lists (opens in new tab) the Perseids in August, Orionids in October, Leonids in November and Geminids in December as good chances for shooting stars.
Before you go, see the Indiana dark sky laws for how local lighting rules protect these skies.
Beverly Shores, a small Lake Michigan town in northwest Indiana, was named an International Dark Sky Community in 2014. Lighting rules there date to 1983, and Indiana Dunes National Park surrounds the town on three sides. Nearby Kemil Beach has the only parking lot at the park that stays open 24 hours, so it is the easiest late-night viewing spot; bring a red light.
See also the dark sky lighting law for Indiana.