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Twentynine Palms
Things to Do in Twentynine Palms
Sky's The Limit Observatory and Nature Center

Sky's The Limit Observatory and Nature Center, Twentynine Palms: Tickets, Tours, Hours, Address, Sky's The Limit Observatory and Nature Center Reviews: 4.5/5

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Sky's The Limit Observatory and Nature Center

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Sky's The Limit Observatory and Nature Center
4.5
from $6.40
60
#2 of 25 things to do in Twentynine Palms
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Closed until further notice
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About
Sky's The Limit Observatory & Nature Center campus is open on a limited basis until further notice. The campus is always open but none of the buildings - including restrooms and the dome - are open; there are no programs being offered and no docents on campus. Individuals and families are welcome to explore the Orrery, Nature and Wilderness Trails, and the Meditation Garden. Sky's the Limit Observatory and Nature Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing hands-on learning opportunities for the people of and visitors to the Joshua Tree Gateway Communities. We provide a place where the honest pursuit of knowledge enriches the lives of all willing to participate, whether to view the smallest objects on the Earth, or observe the colossal displays in the sky. Visit our website for photos and information. Please: no pets, no alcohol, no smoking, no camping or overnight stays.
Suggested duration
1-2 hours
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1 within 3 miles
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Night Sky Festival
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4.5
60 reviews
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waynefromcali
Yucaipa, CA2,961 contributions
The beauty of the stars awaits you!
Dec 2020 • Friends
Skys The Limit Observatory near beautiful JoshuaTree National Park is surrounded by some of the most scenic desert landscapes in the US! A great experience for the entire family,couples,seniors or teens. Lots to see and do here and explore! Lots to photograph here including the night time "dark sky" star sky full of millions of stars! You'll love The Skys The Limit Observatory and the entire Joshua Tree National Park experience! . . . . #skysthelimitobservatory #unitedstatesnps #usnps #waynesalvatti #photografxworldwide
Written December 21, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Robby G C
Toronto, Canada76,715 contributions
Learning the planets
Feb 2020
This is the Observatory and Nature Center. The Observatory was closed. The mountains were beautiful. There was a Iron attraction. We learned about the planets how far every planets were far for each planets That was cool! Sadly the Observatory was closed. It was fin though!
Written December 4, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Robby G C
Toronto, Canada76,715 contributions
Fun with the planets
Jan 2020
The observatory was closed. However, they left the large containers with names of planets. We learned a lot about planets like that. We had fun! Moving the planets would move other olanets. Wortwhile to see!
Written April 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Doug B
Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States535 contributions
The sky is great out there--not so much the observatory
Feb 2020
We waited 2 hours to get into the observatory and spent about 2 minutes each looking through the huge telescope. Unless you are a veteran astrologer, I doubt you will have any better of an experience than we did. Just seeing lots of stars in the "nebula" didn't mean much more to us than looking at all the stars outside of the observatory. The night sky out there is beautiful--just not the long wait to see not much else.
Written February 16, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Sky's The Limit Observatory
Hi Doug, We're sorry to hear your experience was disappointing. If you were here over the Presidents' Day weekend, you happened to be one of several hundred -- a very unusual crowd for one of our Star Parties. We are all volunteers and enjoy giving our free public star parties. People come from across the country and around the world to visit, and most are thrilled to actually see stars and get a chance to look at some deep sky objects through our various telescopes. It's certainly true that the night you were here the volunteers were overwhelmed by the number of people and the lines were long. Amazingly, many people that night said they had a great time anyway! We hope you'll come back on a non-holiday weekend and spend some time talking with our volunteer astronomers (we are not doing astrology) and get a chance to see some other deep sky objects.
Written February 19, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
elzand5
Fremont, CA67 contributions
Free and interesting!
Dec 2019
WE were lucky to be able to join one of their free "Star Party" ! The sky was clear , and the crowd was big . I wonder if this is normal or not... Just being able to learn a bit more about our neighbor planets through a volunteer docent was already very nice .
Written December 30, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Sky's The Limit Observatory
Thank you for visiting Sky's The Limit! The crowd for the free public Star Party on Saturday, December 28 was exceptionally large. Because of the snow, JTNP's evening program was cancelled, so we had many new visitors and because of the holidays, fewer astronomer docents than usual. Please visit again when it's a bit warmer! The 6th Annual Night Sky Festival is scheduled for September 12, 2020 -- 20 astronomers, constellation tours, sky stories, live music and more!
Written January 1, 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
JJ4444
encino , ca24 contributions
great place to visit , real experience, gain knowledge
Oct 2019
If you love adventure , be sure to go, for a wonderful experience, Meteor showers going on in Oct. Science ,if you interested is always enlighten, learn about our planet Earth, and the skies, solar systems.. Great place to interact with friends and kids. Gives you lot to talk about about and interact. Time well spent , worth it
Written November 3, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Kenneth L
Los Angeles, CA421 contributions
More Stars than in Hollywood
Mar 2019 • Couples
The entrance is just before the north entrance to Joshua Tree National Park and I had driven past several times but never stopped before. In the dark, the entrance is hard to see and I drove past it again, this time, by accident. The reason why is that it is kept dark so everyone's eyes can adjust for better night seeing. As a result, there is a point where headlights are off and you drive with only parking lights, which was hard. There are red reflectors to help, but it was still hard. No flash lights or cell phone displays. Since it is also a nature center, I would suggest coming early and familiarizing yourself with the layout while you can still see. There is a small building that served coffee and hot coco for a donation with a few things for sale. There is a utility building, restrooms, and one observatory. This night, two large scopes were set up for a closeup look at two sections of space. As someone who lives in the city, I don’t usually get to this many stars and it was all worth the effort.
Written April 10, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Sky's The Limit Observatory
Hi Kenneth! Thank you for the detailed description. We realize it's a bit difficult to find in the dark, and encourage people to come around sunset to get oriented. I'm really glad you thought it was worth the effort, and hope you'll come back in the summer when the Milky Way is spectacular!
Written April 12, 2019
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Jerome W
4 contributions
Very Family Friendly!!
May 2018 • Couples
We have visited several times over the last 5 years. Great for children or science oriented adults. You can bring your own telescope and setup when you want.
Written March 19, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Ladyhawk21
Greensboro, NC28 contributions
Stars are Limitless
May 2018 • Family
this observatory are ran by volunteers- we were visiting our marine at 29 Palms and found this site on a google search of things to do- we had a blast checking out all of the stars- and plants, meet some great people- even our marine was impressed- something we will not forget- keep up the great work- Ann is was nice meeting you.
Written January 2, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
MissMason999
Atlanta, GA21 contributions
Night Sky Party was great!
Nov 2018 • Solo
I attended the Sky Party (annual fundraiser for the non-profit group that runs the joint) and it was fantastic. There were 20 astronomers out there, with their telescopes set up and pointing to various stars, constellations, and galaxies. VERY cool stuff you don't get to see often! Heads up: this thing is in November and at night - dress for it! They have a similar gathering every Saturday night, so check out their site for details. I am going to cruise back over there to check out the campus during daylight hours, as there is much I didn't get to see on account of the dark. But yeah... stargazers? astronomers-in-training? science lovers? THIS is your spot!
Written November 12, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
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