CNN —
We are less than two months away from a total solar eclipse that will pass across North America.
It may be too late to make a screaming deal on a trip to your top choice town on the path to totality, but it’s not too late to make plans to see the April 8 solar eclipse. Certainly not.
The total path, where the moon will completely block the sun, will be about 115 miles (185 kilometers) wide and move from west to east across northern Mexico, more than a dozen U.S. states and eastern Canada. The U.S. states included in this pathway are Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
Keep in mind that the kind of widespread clear skies that U.S. viewers enjoyed during the 2017 solar eclipse (August) is unlikely to occur in April. Many avid solar eclipse chasers head to Mexico and Texas, where the chances of clear skies in April are highest.
For most of its path through North America, the eclipse will occur in the early to mid-afternoon. If you are just outside the path of totality and are driving on the day of the eclipse, be aware that there will be heavy traffic in many locations. Let’s go early. Also note that totality lasts longer the closer you get to the centerline of the path.
Airbnb told CNN Travel that searches for dates around April 8 in Routes jumped nearly 300% compared to the same period in 2023. However, there are still rentals available throughout the route. Rooms or entire properties in Airbnb’s Guest Favorites have earned the status of highly rated and trusted, with most of the following destinations still available for reservations from April 7th to 9th as of Saturday. It was possible.
Lodging is limited, and some hotels in town with big eclipse plans can cost upwards of $500 a night, even if they have rooms available. But several large cities along this route still have vacancies at that price or lower as of this week. Please note that hotels in some areas require a minimum stay of three nights before and after the eclipse. Camping is also an option in highly booked locations.
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The August 2017 total solar eclipse can be seen from John Day Fossil Beds National Monument near Mitchell, Oregon. The path of the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024 does not include any U.S. states west of Texas.
Think about your priorities, advises Dave Clark, who runs the website NationalEclipse.com. Are you determined to go to the location with the best weather probabilities to view celestial events, or do you want to go to the closest decent vantage point to your home, inside the path of totality? Or maybe you want to visit a city on your travel bucket list and make sure there’s plenty to see and do even if it’s cloudy on your big day?
There is no “best” destination, Clark said. “There’s no one-size-fits-all sweet spot,” he says, adding that viewers need to consider their own priorities. Mr Clark is heading to the US state of Texas, where the weather is most favorable. He said the chances of good weather decrease the further north you go, but it remains to be seen what the weather will actually be on April 8.
No matter where you go, don’t watch it without solar eclipse glasses that meet ISO safety standards.
Here are some ideas on where to look on the total path from Mexico to Canada.
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The longest totality, lasting nearly four and a half minutes, occurs near the city of Torreon in Mexico’s Coahuila state.
That’s where Jay Anderson, creator of the website Eclipsophile.com and a former meteorologist with the Canadian Weather Service, plans to travel for the eclipse. “This is one of the nicer weather places,” he told CNN Travel. This is based on historical his April weather conditions. Eclipsophile provides a detailed analysis of weather patterns along the entire total orbit here.
“Climatology is useful for long-term planning, but when an eclipse is imminent, the actual forecast takes precedence,” Anderson says.
Although not usually on the tourist radar, Torreon’s “Guest Favorite” Airbnb listings are in a very affordable price range, and Torreon also has an international airport. Eclipsophile cites the Serra de las Noas public observatory, which houses an observatory owned by Planetarium Torreon, as one of the best viewing spots.
Mazatlan, on the Pacific coast of Mexico’s Sinaloa state, will be the first spot on mainland Mexico to experience totality, with a high chance of clear skies. According to Eclipsophile.com, Mazatlan’s clear weather rate in April is typically 67%.
The city dates back to 1531 and has a historic center and 10 kilometers (6 miles) of beaches.
David Esquivel, president of the Astronomical Society of Mazatlan, said the observation points will be located along the city’s 7-kilometer (4-mile) malecon, or promenade. Three public viewing spots have been identified so far, Esquivel said. El Faro (lighthouse). Olas Altas district. A symphonic orchestra will perform at Parque Ciudades Hermanas. Astronomers from Mexico and other parts of the world will be on hand at observation points to provide information about the eclipse.
The eclipse is expected to draw between 20,000 and 30,000 people in this small Texas Hill Country town, according to the Llano Visitor Center and Chamber of Commerce. A spokeswoman said hotels and B&Bs have been fully booked for some time, but there are some openings and camping and RV sites are still available.
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Day passes to Enchanted Rock State Natural Area in Texas will be available for reservation by phone starting March 11 at 8 a.m. Central Time.
Nearby Enchanted Rock State Natural Area is fully booked, but day pass reservations for April 8 can only be made by calling (512) 389-8900 on March 11 at 8 a.m. Central Time Accepted. (Other Texas state parks in the total path will begin accepting reservations for his day passes on March 8 at 8 a.m. Central Time).
Dallas is easily accessible by air and offers many lodging and event options. A solar eclipse watch party will be held at lunchtime in downtown Dallas on solar eclipse Monday, featuring live music and food trucks. While some events are already sold out, anyone can attend the events that take place in the sky. Note that Dallas is in a better position in the total flow than nearby Fort Worth near the western edge.
The city has plenty of attractions for a long weekend, including the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, Dallas World Aquarium, and the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.
The town of about 30,000 people has big eclipse plans, including a ticketed festival with an eclipse elopement. But you don’t have to be in a car to get a good viewing spot. A free Moon Over Maine Solar Eclipse Festival will be held, with all City of Russellville parks serving as free viewing areas. There is a campground and rental parking lot here.
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Indianapolis is located along the centerline of the path of the April 8 total solar eclipse.
Located in the heart of the Path of Totality, Indianapolis bills itself as the “eclipse capital of the Midwest.” Downtown rooms priced under $500 a night were still available on Saturday.
White River State Park hosts some crazy events. The festival features a brass quintet and food trucks. Visit Indy says a NASA expert will be speaking about the phenomenon at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This event is ticketed, and three-night camping packages are also available. And Airbnb has a “Guest Favorites” list.
cleveland ohio
Cleveland has vantage points along the shores of Lake Erie, including the 147-acre Edgewater Park just west of downtown and Euclid Beach Park to the east of the city. There’s also a free outdoor festival hosted by the Great Lakes Science Center and NASA’s Glenn Research Center. And in University Circle, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History is hosting a free viewing party at Wade Oval.
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A solar eclipse viewing event will be held at Wade Oval in Cleveland.
A Destination Cleveland spokesperson said there is a shortage of hotel rooms and rentals downtown, but there is plenty of availability at the airport and in the nearby suburbs of Independence, North Olmsted, Beachwood and Westlake. That’s what it means.
Rochester is close to Center Line and hosts many spectator events. The Rochester Museum & Science Center is hosting a ticketed solar eclipse festival. The last total solar eclipse in Rochester was almost 100 years ago on January 25, 1925, according to the Rochester Eclipse website.
Visit Rochester announced this week that there are still several room and hotel packages available in the city. Anderson said the city’s location on Lake Ontario can reduce cloud cover in certain weather conditions, but points in the north don’t have nearly the same chance of clear skies compared to southern Texas. .
According to the Niagara Falls Tourism Board, some solar eclipse plans are still being finalized in the area around Niagara Falls on the Ontario side, but Niagara Parks, a stretch of land along the falls, will hold festivals that are free and open to the public. It is said that it will be held. The City of Niagara Falls also plans to announce several public viewing areas soon, and demand from tourists is high.
“We still have some rooms left at our destination, but we are very close to capacity,” said Adam Stiles, a spokesperson for the Niagara Falls Tourism Authority. As of Saturday, Airbnb still had “Guest Favorites” listings in nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake and St. Catharines.
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A public viewing event will be held at a park near Niagara Falls in Ontario.
And if you’re hoping to see the eclipse, you might want to be prepared to change your plans, Anderson says.
“Whether you’re planning or not, keep an eye on the weather forecast a few days before the eclipse,” he says. “If possible, choose a site that looks more promising.”
Some avid solar eclipse chasers make multiple reservations along the route, planning to determine a location as close to the eclipse time as possible. But the pickings are clearly getting leaner and leaner, so waiting until the last moment can lead to a mad scramble.
