Double check if the bathrooms are still open, bring a red flashlight, be kind to your neighbors who may have been up until 3AM taking photos

Take a 4wheel drive car - it's already snowing up here and the roads around are dark and hilly.

Print directions or download them to your phone, you will lose service and even GPS.

Bundle up and take extra blankets if you are going to the viewing area. We went in the summer and were frozen by 11pm! And hot beverages!

Definitely take a red flashlight

There are several decent airbnbs in the area right by the park that offer equally dark skies and decent bathrooms. Enjoy it though. It's an awesome place.

It is in a fairly remote area (dark sky). We visited while wandering US RT6 . There are lots of hiking and other outdoor activities in state parks and forests nearby. We wound up having a free beer at Strawbs one afternoon in St. Marys. The PA Grand Canyon and the village of Wellsboro are about an hour east.

It is all the way cold up here at night right now so plan accordingly.

Depending on when you go up next week it could be (arguably) one of the busiest hunting days of the year. So increased traffic and the potential for animals to be running about.

Take printed directions/ a map , be prepared for cold and drive some type of vehicle with a some ground clearance.

If you may need something specific or hard to find in smaller stores plan to take it ahead of time, and double check your list. The closest Walmart is about an hour, you have a Dollar General, Sheetz, and IGA Supermarket in Coudersport (about 20 mins) and a small General Store for most of your needs. Also mind the deer and wildlife population, good odds of something running out in front of you at some point.

I go up there a few times a year. A few things I've noticed. Since you are going this time of year these tips are for the Astronomy field and not the campground since it's closed.

When you park your car, turn off ALL lights. Headlights, cab lights, and cover your dashboard. Devise a cover for your head/tail lights if they flash when you lock/unlock the car. You'll want to do this if you have to get in your car for any reason after dark, the lights aren't visible and annoying the others that are observing or taking astro photos. It is by far the most common thing that happens, and there's always someone that yells "Turn off those damn lights!"

Better to just avoid being the one yelled at!

Red lights only, keep them pointed down and as dim as possible. If you are taking a camper to be a little warmer in, cover all of the windows and don't open the door with white lights on. If you are tenting, stick to red lights in the tent, white will light up the field like a bright lamp.

Hand/toe warmers are your friend, sometimes even in warmer months, it gets chilly up there in the summer.

Be ready for cold hands after using the bathroom and washing your hands, the water isn't heated. But, they have air dryers that don't take too long to warm up.

Whether you are taking pictures or just looking with binoculars, bring some way to deal with dew/frost. It dews up very quickly there. There are cheap dew heaters for camera lenses that use a USB power bank that you can grab on Amazon (look for the SVBony one, it's adjustable so it doesn't melt your camera lens).

Some people with visual telescope setups (no cameras) may let you look through their telescope. Walk around a bit during the day and ask questions, people are generally friendly, at least in my experiences up there. Although with it being chilly and a holiday week, I don't suspect the astronomy field will be very populated.

On the field, there are no campfires for cooking. You can take a small propane grill but try not to cook anything greasy or with a lot of smoke, it can coat the optics of peoples setups and is a pain to clean.

Enjoy what you see!

Be prepared for little to no cell reception. I would make sure to download or screen shot anything you might find useful later, such as maps, movies, addresses, ect. Thankfully we had a map with us because the GPS and cell phones were useless, that was years ago, so it could be better now. In our experience 4 wheel drive was a lifesaver due to most of roads (if you are there for hiking and views) are not paved, narrow, can’t be driven more than 25MPH. All that said, it is an amazing place to visit with an view if you are lucky enough to get a nice clear sky. Safe a d happy travels.

Check their website for latest news and events before you go

Cell service is spotty in that area. It can get quite cold so you’ll want extra layers and some hand warmers. Please be considerate of people on the astronomy field and watch for stray light, or walking in front of telescopes, you may ruin someone’s images. If you’re planning on taking any pictures please familiarize yourself with your equipment and figure out how to take a photo without flash before hand. You won’t make any friends if you’re they person setting off a flash in the middle of the night.

Check the cloud reports. I drove 6 hours to find a cloudy sky... It's really boring without stars!

Check out Kinzua Bridge State Park, not too far from there

Dress warm! Super warm. Seriously.