SOUTH:

10. Richmond, VA:
Shenendoah National Park

For about a hundred miles — from Front Royal to Rockfish Gap, Virginia — a road called Skyline Drive skirts the edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It has a series of well developed overlooks with picnic areas and smart hiking maps. You can bring your hiking shoes, or Chinese take-out and telescope (though your eyes may stay on the horizon; in autumn the mountains are an amazing spectral red, green, yellow and orange, and deep blue in the spring).

Directions: About an hour and a half west on US 64 will get you there.

11. Raleigh-Durham, NC:
B. Everett Jordan Reservoir & Falls Reservoir

Either will do, really. These two big lakes are pristine satellites of the Raleigh-Durham area. Falls has an eponymously named state park attached, and Jordan has a couple marinas you can rent boats from.

Directions: (Falls) Flanked by highway 1 from Raleigh, and US 85 from Durham - both, straight on in; (Jordan) SH 1 to SR 64 west from Raleigh & SH 501 south to SR 64 east from Durham.

12. Atlanta, GA:
Chattahootchee National Forest

The huge Chattahoochee National Forest contains about 750,000 acres in North Georgia. The Russell/Brasstown Scenic By-way is the best plan for stargazing. This 38-mile loop provides several scenic overlooks (not to mention spectacular views of the mountains).

Directions: SH 19 north out of the city about an hour and a half.

13. Miami, FL:
Bahia Honda State Park

Twelve miles south of Marathon at Mile Marker 37 is Bahia Honda. It’s unique among the other islands in the Keys because it has a lot of undeveloped sandy beach (on both the ocean side and the bay side) and deep waters close enough offshore to offer great swimming and snorkeling (in the Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary).

Directions: Highway 1 straight down out of Miami over sixty miles of ocean.

14. Nashville, TN:
Land Between the Lakes

Nestled away among the densely timbered rolling hills of western Kentucky is an inland peninsula surrounded by Lake Barkley on the northeast and the Tennessee River on the southwest. The Land Between the Lakes is probably best known nationally (to anglers, at least) for its ‘spring crappie run’ (I kid you not). Once the 19th century center of iron manufacturing for the South (you can study ruins from the Center Furnace and the Great Western Furnace, both of which were used during this period), it’s now a great National Recreation area. Check out Paris Landing State Park for Hale-Bopp spotting.

Directions: US 24 Northwest to SH 79 west.

15. Memphis, TN:
Wapanocca National Wildlife Refuge

Yeah it’s in another state (Arkansas), but it’s only across the Mississippi and north of town about thirty miles. What the Wapanocca offers the astronomer is an opportunity to appreciate its wildlife before sunset, and enjoy its isolation at night. Check out the county courthouse in Marion on your way up to the Refuge (likely the oldest in Arkansas).

Directions: US 55 north. Right into Refuge off RRT 42.

16. Little Rock, AK:
Hot Springs

The money shot: Outdoor hot springs under the stars. The historic spa city and boyhood home of President Clinton, Hot Springs encompasses a National Park as well and features three lakes (with every type of water sport you can imagine), hiking through the Ouachita National Forest, and two state parks.

Directions: US 30 south to State Hwy. 270 west.

17. Dallas, TX:
Possum Kingdom State Park

The best named state park in Texas is at the foot of the Palo Pinto Mountains (What? Mountains in Texas? Yeah!) on a lake of the same name.

Directions: escape the Ft. Worth loop of highways, travel US Hwy. 180 to Caddo, then 17 miles north on Park Road 33.

18. Houston, TX:
Sam Houston National Forest

Classified as an Urban Forest, Sam Houston National Forest is still home to several endangered wildlife species, including the red-cockaded woodpecker. The Lone Star Hiking Trail offers 140 miles of forest trails, transecting the entire Sam Houston (from near Richards in the west to near Cleveland in the east). The Little Lake Creek Wilderness, a 3,810-acre wilderness area provides the most primitive type of recreational camping only 40 minutes north of Houston.

Directions: US 45 straight north.

19. Austin, TX:
Hippie Hollow

Ah, blessed Hippie Hollow (on Lake Travis in the heart of the Texas hill country), where you can observe the crab nebulae nude and just might spy cyberpunks William Gibson or Bruce Sterling buck-necked too (they live in the neighborhood).

Directions: Mopoc (loop 1) north to the exit for FM 2222. Take 2222 west and turn onto Oasis Bluff.