With the notable exception of the IDA-certified dark sky park at the PARI in Transylvania County — one of only two such facilities in the state — no sky in Western North Carolina is untouched by light pollution. Central Asheville can reach as high as a 6 on the Bortle Scale, in which 1 is complete darkness and 9 is the Las Vegas Strip.
![Lakeside Produce light pollution](https://mountainx.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/NEWS2_1_MillsRiver-330x149.jpg)