Michigan's largest amateur star party.

Welcome, Stargazers! We apologize for the short notice, but we have some big changes for this year's star party.

We are changing the weekend of the star party to September 19th - 21st. This brings it back to new moon weekend and keeps us from competing with Astronomy at the Beach in Kensington. River Valley is booked with an event that weekend, so this also requires us to move the star party to a new venue. We are partnering with and being sponsored by the Friends of Ocqueoc Outdoor Event Center. They are just getting started with star parties and we wanted to help them out.

The event center is located at 7142 Ocqueoc Lake Rd, Millersburg, MI 49759. The reason this location was chosen, is because they have Bortle 2 skies, bunk houses, bathroom facilities and access to power. The men's and women's bath houses have showers and running water sinks and toilets. These will be located near the observing field. Being that this is new and a big change we are only running Friday - Sunday this year. Due to permits we were not able to get tent camping for Friday night, but it is available on the observing field for Saturday night. The bunk houses have bunk beds, you would still need to bring bedding.

Spaces are limited so we are only doing pre-registration this year and if spots fill up, we will start a waiting list. You will receive an email confirmation from us letting you know if you are all set or potentially on a waiting list. There will be a men's and a women's sections in the bunkhouses. We do have a few locations to house families together. The cost has gone up a little this year but that small increase will include dinner Saturday night; hot dogs, sides, and drinks, and breakfast Sunday morning; pancakes, side, and drinks. We know change is tough, and it was not easy making this decision. With the beautiful dark skies and facilities, we think the change will be worth it.

The facility does not allow generators or any RV/Camper set up. There are cabins and hotels/motels within 20 minutes around Black Lake and in Rogers City. There is also Ocqueoc Cabins and Campsites within 10 minutes on 23, but they have very limited availability. The raffle prize for the 2025 star party will again be the ZWO Seestar S50 All-in-One Smart Telescope.

Thank you for over twenty years of planets, galaxies, mud, prizes, fun, and dark skies! We've enjoyed so many moments with you and are excited for the 2025 star party. Check out our Facebook page for recent updates and pictures. If you have pictures to share, please message us on Facebook.

Mail in registration is currently OPEN. Please visit the registration section.

Note the the 2025 star party is at the Ocqueoc Outdoor Center in Millersburg, MI (not in Gladiwn). Location and dark skies are the main attraction of this star party. Gladwin, MI is a central location that provides excellent observing without traveling hours into Northern Michigan. Limiting magnitudes are estimated to be around 6.5 at zenith with some minor light domes from the cities of Mt. Pleasant and Midland, some 30 miles away. This is a star party for the astronomer who loves to observe and mingle with other astronomers. Some practical and interesting talks are scheduled to enhance your weekend experience.

The GLSG star party will be held at the River Valley RV Park in Gladwin, MI. Directions and more information about the star party can be found in the registration form.