For the best Northern Lights viewing in Wisconsin, try these places

Editor's Note: Chances of seeing the northern lights in Wisconsin are now slim, according to forecasts

Northern lights could be visible to Wisconsinites on Thursday night, and you don't want to be close to a city for possible viewing of the Aurora Borealis.

If you're in the city, you'll want to head out, but being in a darker place doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able to view them.

Here's a list of places throughout the state that could offer some of the best viewing opportunities.

Designated Dark Skies in Wisconsin

Newport State Park (Ellison Bay) - At the northeast tip of Door County, Newport State Park is the only official designated dark sky in Wisconsin. This means that it is far enough from cities and other major sources of light pollution that your view of the night sky is near flawless.

Driftless Wisconsin - The Driftless Region is often an underappreciated natural area in the state. While not official dark skies, there is an effort to get three places in the Driftless region within about 15 mils of each other in Vernon County designated as dark sky areas. They are: the Kickapoo Valley Reserve, Wildcat Mountain State Park and Tunnelville Cliffs State Natural Area. You can learn more about them here.

More:Looking for more stars? Here are the five international dark sky places closest to Wisconsin

Places near Milwaukee where you can watch for the Aurora Borealis

Designated dark skies aren't the only places you might be able to see the Northern Lights. Hanson added that the lights may be better the darkest places, but you don't have travel too far or bring any special equipment for an event visible to the naked eye. Rural areas are best, but, as listed above, the best places are anywhere dark, north and with an unobstructed view to the northern horizon.

Places near Milwaukee that might be good include:

• Harrington Beach State Park: About 40 minutes north of Milwaukee, Northern Lights have been seen there.
• Kettle Moraine State Forest: You need the most unobstructed view to the north you can get, so deep in the woods is not the place you want to be. However, there are some places in both north and south Kettle Moraine that could be worth the trip.
• Kohler-Andrae State Park: Located about an hour north of Milwaukee is this beachfront state park. Looking out over Lake Michigan, you should have a good view of the Northern Lights.
• Parnell Tower: The highest point in the Kettle Moraine North Section. It's a potentially great view if you're up in the tower looking north.

Note: While these are good places to view the Northern Lights, please be sure to check hours ahead of time before you go.

There are a handful of observatories in Wisconsin

• The Milwaukee Astronomical Society observatory, 18850 Observatory Road, New Berlin. Visit milwaukeeastro.org for more information. 
• The Wehr Astronomical Society's observatory in Froemming Park, 8801 S. 51st St., Franklin.
• The Harken Observatory at the Pewaukee Public Library, 210 Main St., Pewaukee. Visit friendsofwehr.org for more information. 
• The Modine-Benstead Observatory, 112 63rd Drive, Union Grove. Visit rasastro.org for more information. 

Tips on how to view the Northern Lights

According to Gene Hanson, observatory director for the Milwaukee Astronomical Society, while there is a good chance for seeing the Northern Lights this week, it’s important to note that predicting them is very difficult and notoriously inaccurate. 

“That being said, it’s also one of those can’t miss things,” Hanson said. For those interested in attempting to view the Northern Lights, Hanson recommends three things:

• Head North: The Northern Lights get their name for a reason. Hanson says that the aurora is bigger and more vibrant the farther north you go. “Even 60 miles north can make a tremendous difference,” Hanson says.
• Look for the horizon: The northern horizon, that is. Hanson says that you want the most unobstructed view to the north that you can find. The more north you can see, the more of the lights you could see. 
• Move away from the light:  Light pollution is often the reason you can’t see stars when you’re in the city. So, get out and away from the city. Rural areas are best, and Hanson says that anywhere you can see the stars well will work, but the darker the better.

For more information on when the northern lights could be visible this Thursday, see here. For the most up-to-date predictions, Hanson recommended monitoring the NOAA aurora forecast tool, which has a 30-minute forecast.

Drew Dawson can be reached at ddawson@jrn.com or 262-289-1324.