7 best tents for stargazing: tents with best views in 2023
Our roundup of the best tents with mesh roofs for stargazing
Certain memories and experiences can only be created through camping. One of those is the ability to fall asleep watching the stars glisten and the night sky change color.
The best tents for stargazing are ones with a large, unobstructed mesh roof. And while many tents come with a mesh roof, some take stargazing to the next level.
Let’s check out the 7 best tents for stargazing.
In a hurry? Here’s our top 3 picks for the best stargazing tents.
Best stargazing tent for backpacking and couples
Offers superior space and headroom when compared to any other backpacking tent for stargazing. Available in various sizes, the Meteor uses premium components to ensure endless nights of falling asleep under the stars.
Best stargazing tent for families
REI’s Co-op Kingdom is the perfect stargazing tent for families and couples. It provides loads of space to move around and chill out, high enough to easily stand up in, and provides ample mesh in both the ceiling and walls for stunning views.
Best stargazing tent for solo campers
The Teton Sports is the most epic 1-person tent for stargazing. It features a fully see through mesh roof and side walls, allowing you to stargaze from a spot that is comfiest for you.
7 best tents for stargazing
Sierra Designs Meteor
Little but large
Sierra Designs are one of the only other manufacturers besides Kelty to offer convenient stargazing rainfly setups. The Sierra Designs Meteor is designed specifically for stargazing with its see through roof and quick roll open/close rainfly.
With a large mesh celing and sides, the stargazing opportunities are endless. You can sit and watch the galaxy through the mesh side panels, or you can lay down and fall asleep whilst watching the stars through the mesh ceiling.
The 4-person version has a length of 91.5” and width of 86”, with a peak height of 46”.
This tent is made for luxury backpacking stargazing.
It’s the perfect tent to sit atop a mountain and view the sky and your surroundings from every angle.
On top of its stargazing features, all of the Meteor tents feature two doors and two vestibules, providing maximum comfort and convenience when getting in and out of your tent and storing belongings.
Kelty Night Owl
A more budget friendly option to the Kelty Dirt Motel
The Kelty Night Owl is an extremely well thought out stargazer tent. Not only is the tent’s fabric made primarily of No-see-um mesh for clear views, but the rainfly incorporates a stargazing system.
What makes the stargazing rainfly system so fantastic is that you can apply the rainfly to ensure weather protection, while easily being able to roll the rainfly back over the tent and clip it out of the way.
This means you can sit under the comfort of the rainfly for wind protection while still having amazing views of the stars and the clear night sky.
The Kelty Night Owl 2-person tent offers fantastic space. Measuring 90” x 54” with a peak height of 43” it’s one of the roomiest tents available. In fact, in terms of headspace, it’s only beaten by the Sierra Designs Meteor.
CORE 9-person instant cabin tent
The LARGEST family camping tent to feature stargazing capabilities
The CORE 9-person instant cabin tent is one of the largest tents to offer stargazing capabilities.
While the rainfly is not the fastest to take on and off, it’s perfect if you are camping in dry weather where you know you can keep the fly off.
With the rainfly off, most of the tent besides the floor is made up of no-see-um mesh, allowing a full 360 degree view of the night sky and an amazing stargazing experience to remember forever.
Besides it’s vast mesh interior, another neat feature of the CORE instant tent is just how much it opens out. There are two large D-shaped doors on either side of the tent, one large T-shaped door on the front of the tent and plenty of windows that all completely open out.
It measures 14ft x 9ft with a peak height of 6.5ft, so there is plenty of space to stand up comfortably.
With its instant setup, it can take anywhere from 60 seconds to 5 minutes max to pitch.
Kelty Dirt Motel
A high-quality backpacking tent with stargazing rainfly system
The Kelty Dirt Motel is one of the best backpacking tents for watching stars. It features the same rainfly stargazing system as the Kelty Night Owl does.
The stargazing system allows you to be able to have a large section of your mesh tent out in the open to be able to stargaze, whilst still having the rainfly attached.
It allows for you to quickly roll and unroll the rainfly via a clip system. Perfect if your stargazing experience suddenly turns to a thunderstorm and you need to quickly shut down the tent.
The Kelty Dirt Motel 2-person is slightly smaller than the Night Owl measuring 84” x 50” with a peak height of 42.5”. Whilst a couple of inches may not seem like a big deal, if you are taller than average, it is certainly something to consider before purchase.
So if it’s smaller than the Night Owl why should you even consider the Dirt Motel?
Because the Dirt Motel has some superior components.
If you’re looking for a tent for stargazing that can also withstand extreme weather, a couple drunken falls and maybe some manhandling, the Dirt Motel is your best choice.
It features the legendary DAC press fit poles. If you’re not sure what DAC poles are, they are basically lightweight aluminum poles manufactured by DAC. DAC poles are considered the best on the market for quality, weight and durability. If you look at any high end tent you will see that they include DAC poles.
REI Co-op Kingdom
A super tall and spacious offering from REI
Rei are the only other manufacturer of tents besides Kelty to offer convenient stargazing rainfly setups. The Co-op Kingdom tent is THE kingdom and YOU are the king. At least that’s how you’ll feel watching the milky way from this tent.
Similar to the Kelty stargazing system, the Rei Co-op Kingdom allows you to roll the rainfly back and forward easily for convenient stargazing.
With a large mesh front and ceiling, the stargazing opportunities are endless. You can sit and watch the galaxy through the mesh front panels, or you can lay down and fall asleep whilst watching the stars through the mesh ceiling.
At 100” x 100” of floor space and a peak height of 75”, this tent is made for luxury stargazing. It’s the perfect tent to sit atop a mountain and view the sky and your surroundings from every angle.
Buy 4-person at REI
Buy 6-person at REI
Buy 8-person at REI
Kelty Sequoia 6P Tent
An almost completely mesh based family camping tent
Yep, another Kelty tent on the list. This time though, it’s a stargazing tent suitable for small families or couples who want more space.
Kelty has hit the ball out of the park with this one.
The Kelty Sequoia is one of the only tents suitable for 6 people that’s specifically designed for stargazing.
While the rainfly doesn’t feature Kelty’s newer stargazing system, the views it does offer when the rainfly is off are second to none.
Not only does it provide stunning views for night time star gazing, but the views it can offer during the day are also phenomenal.
Besides its stargazing features the tent also includes two oversized doors and two vestibules when the rainfly is attached. There are also multiple storage pockets and a gear loft to hang a lantern or light.
With a floor space of 112” x 112” and a peak height of 82”, moving around and standing up won’t be an issue in this tent. You can comfortably and spaciously sit, stand or lay down whilst stargazing.
Teton Sports Vista
A small tent with a large viewing area
A great little option for solo campers and backpackers looking for something light and airy with exceptional views of the sky.
While many other 1-person tents such as the Alps Mountaineering Lynx have a small mesh section for stargazing, the Teton Sports 1-person tent offers a full mesh roof for the clearest stargazing experience.
The Teton Sports tent is an instant pop-up tent, the perfect option for going stress free and solo.
You won’t have to struggle to put your tent up, only to realize the stars have gone and the suns come up by the time you’ve finished fighting to put it up.
At 80” x 37”, for a 1-person tent, the space is reasonably comfy for an average person. However, at only 32” heigh at the peak, it’s not a tent you’ll be able to sit up in comfortably unless you’re very short.
Alps Mountaineering Lynx
A budget stargazing tent option with high-quality features
A legend in its own right, the Alps Mountaineering Lynx 1-person tent offers a fine compromise between space and viewing. Whilst it doesn’t offer a large mesh ceiling area like with the Teton Sports tent, it does offer much more living space.
So if you’re looking for something with more space or higher ceilings and happy to forego the full mesh roof, the Alps Mountaineering Lynx 1-person tent offers the most space and height for a 1-person stargazing tent.
At 90” x 32” it offers much more legroom than the Teton Sports but not as much width. However, the big difference in space comes from the height, and at 36” at the peak, the Alps Mountaineering Lynx 1-person is noticeably comfier for a taller person.
