Published June 2, 2026 03:24AM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
In 2021, I started my Isle Royale National Park backpacking trip with a four-mile detour night at Lane Cove. It\u2019s one of the few campgrounds with unobstructed north-facing views, which is a must-have for aurora hunting in the contiguous U.S. I set all night alarms to peek out the tent flap and scan for northern lights. After several groggy rounds, I noticed a green flicker. I ran to the lake to witness what would become one of the best aurora shows of my life.<\/p>\n
I tried to recreate this magic in May 2026. I was on a road trip in New England and my aurora forecasts told me lights could be on the horizon. This time, I had a new trick to level up my lights-watching: a Sky View Tent<\/a>, one of the first tents built specifically for watching the night sky\u2014without leaving your sleeping bag.<\/p>\n These A-frame-style tents feature all-mesh walls that turn nearly transparent under the cover of darkness. That meant I wouldn\u2019t be fumbling with zippers every half hour for aurora monitoring. Unfortunately, I faced three nights of incessant clouds and zero northern lights, but I did pick up a new favorite tent along the way. Here\u2019s what it was like to stargaze from the Sky View Tent.<\/p>\n Sky View Tents founder and nightscape enthusiast Joe Bissonnette, who\u2019s based in Buena Vista, Colorado, came up with the idea for a stargazing-first tent out of necessity. \u201cEvery time I\u2019d go camping, I would bring a hammock or just lie outside for as long as I could,\u201d he says, noting that, like most campers, he\u2019d eventually get cold then crawl inside beneath his rain fly. \u201cPeople romanticize sleeping under the stars, but it\u2019s actually in a tent with a rain fly.\u201d<\/p>\n In early 2023, he developed an alternative. It\u2019s pretty simple: The tent walls are made from a mesh that\u2019s \u201cclearer than the clearest plastic,\u201d he says, noting the other distinguishing feature is an internal rain fly. That means you don\u2019t have to leave your tent, or even your sleeping bag, for weather-sealing or privacy.<\/p>\n I was drawn to this portable abode for its easy access to stargazing. As Outside\u2019s<\/em> astrotourism columnist, I plan most of my trips around the night sky. In the plotting stage, I think first and foremost about how I\u2019ll actually admire the heavens. Sometimes, I hike or drive hours to photograph remote scenery. But my favorite way to observe a starscape is to find an overnight perch beneath it. That\u2019s when the magic really unfolds.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s why: It takes our eyes up to 30 minutes to adjust to the dark after exposure to bright light. And even after that, it\u2019s not like visible shooting stars occur every minute. You have to be watching, often for hours, to see the night\u2019s greatest spectacles. If you\u2019re only out there for half an hour before crawling beneath cover, you\u2019ll miss a lot.<\/p>\n As I know from experience, the more comfortable you are in your dark-sky location, the likelier you are to keep looking up. That\u2019s why I always recommend stargazing-centered accommodations, such as glass-walled igloos or domes, where you can comfortably gaze into space from bed. I figured a Sky View Tent would be kind of like a stargazing dome, except one where I could choose the location myself. I was right.<\/p>\n There are several sizing options for Sky View Tents. The XL Stargazing Tent<\/a> sleeps three people or more, and the Sky View Backpacker Stargazing Tent<\/a> sleeps two. Bissonnette says a lightweight, one-person version of the Backpacker Tent will be out in the coming months.<\/p>\n I tested the two-person Backpacker Stargazing Tent. It felt spacious enough for my friend and me to stargaze, with a 90-inch by 90-inch base and a peak height of 55 inches. It weighs around 5.6 pounds. Now, this is not the kind of roomy tent you\u2019d hang out in for hours, but it\u2019s adequate for comfortably lying back to look up after dark.<\/p>\n I first fell in love with stargazing on a tent-free camping trip in the Sahara Desert. With the Sky View Tent\u2019s nearly transparent mesh, it felt pretty close to that first experience\u2014minus the Sahara beetles that found their way into my sleeping bag. Of course, this May\u2019s weather kept me from seeing stars like I did in the desert, but I could watch the quick-moving clouds through the mesh without getting out to check the sky every few minutes. It\u2019s easy to forget the walls are even there.<\/p>\n Before writing this review, I wanted the experience of actually stargazing<\/i> from the tent, so I set it up in my backyard on a clear night and can confirm its transparency is impressive. While I was stuck in light-polluted Cleveland, Ohio\u2014not starlit rural New England\u2014I could still easily spot constellations like Gemini and Ursa Major, and Venus and Jupiter, through the near-clear lining.<\/p>\n I usually dread tent set-up time; I have a horrible memory and always forget which part goes where. Pitching this tent was much easier than I expected, though, even when configuring it after dark. That has a lot to do with the frame, which is one connected unit of poles. All the rods slip into place with minimal effort. A separate bag for the stakes keeps them readily accessible, too.<\/p>\n In total, it took me fewer than ten minutes to assemble the tent, and even less time to break it down\u2014and I did both entirely by myself.<\/p>\n Most tents, like the North Face Stormbreak I typically use, rely on rain flies as the tent\u2019s outer layer. This makes sense for weather protection, but it does limit how long you\u2019ll stargaze. That\u2019s why Bissonnette introduced an interior rainfly. You can stargaze as long as you like, or until bad weather hits, then quickly install the cover without leaving your sleeping bag.<\/p>\n The actual process of activating the rainfly takes fewer than five minutes; you slide it across the tent top, then button and tether it into place with internal clips. It\u2019s designed to overlap with the sides of the tent and underlap with the front of the tent to avoid letting in water, according to Bissonnette. While I experienced clouds, I didn\u2019t face rain while camping in this tent, so I can\u2019t speak to the effectiveness. Bissonnette did test it during an \u201cabsolute dump\u201d of rain in Oregon, he says, and you can watch his experience in this video<\/a>.<\/p>\n One note about using the rainfly: the tent gets stuffy pretty soon after the rainfly is deployed. I noticed this camping in mid-fifties weather in New England, and even more so on the muggy 70-degree night in my backyard, so keep this in mind with your sleepwear. I\u2019d recommend lighter sleeping bags, or choosing a remote and private campsite where you can comfortably sleep without the rainfly (weather-permitting).<\/p>\n While the company is making strides with new lightweight options, like the one-person Backpacker Tent, I wouldn\u2019t recommend these for long, strenuous trips in the backcountry, where weight can really add up. Instead, I\u2019d use the 5.6-pound Backpacker Tent I tested for dark-sky backpacking trips with a short, one- to two-mile hike to camp or less. It would also work well for car camping in places with ample privacy.<\/p>\n Or, as I found, it\u2019s also a great way to immerse yourself in the nocturnal happenings of your own backyard, whether you\u2019re lucky enough to enjoy true darkness or, like me, you want to listen to crickets while navigating constellations\u2014an activity that\u2019s especially fun for summer stargazers.<\/p>\n <\/div>\nA Tent Designed for Stargazing<\/h2>\n
Skyview Tents\u2019 Key Features<\/h2>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Sky-View-Tents-Mesh.jpg?width=3840&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\"\/)
Stargazing-Friendly Mesh<\/i><\/h3>\n
Quick Setup<\/i><\/h3>\n
Interior Rainfly<\/i><\/h3>\n
Who Are Sky View Tents for?<\/h2>\n