The trail gates at the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve close at 6 p.m. In mid-November that's roughly when the sky over Clinton Keith Road turns dark. The oak woodland and the vernal pool mesa then belong to the coyotes until 7 the next morning. The best hours of the year for looking up start after the reserve has emptied.
That timing shapes the whole season for La Cresta households. Fallbrook Land Conservancy and Riverside County Parks both put their guided stargazing on the same November Saturday. The year's strongest meteor display arrives a month later, with no event attached and almost no moon. For anyone with a few acres and a dark patio on the plateau, the guided nights work as a warm-up and the main event happens at home.
Two guided nights share Nov. 14
Two stargazing programs near La Cresta land on Saturday, Nov. 14, and they suit different crowds.
Stargazing Among the Vines, Fallbrook. Fallbrook Land Conservancy holds its second annual evening in the vineyard at Adobe Hill Winery, 40740 Via Ranchitos, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. General admission is $40. It includes one glass of wine made from organically and regeneratively farmed grapes, telescope viewing led by Temecula Valley Astronomers, a Dark Sky presentation from FLC staff member Donna Leon, and a booth on bats led by Cindy Myers. Food from local vendors is for sale on site. The event is 21 and over, the winery is closed to the public that night, and tickets go through the conservancy. Proceeds support the land trust and its Dark Sky Committee.
Skinner's Night Skies, Winchester. Riverside County Parks lists its night-sky program at Lake Skinner Recreation Area, 37701 Warren Road, at 6 p.m. the same evening. Park staff provide the telescopes and point them at the moon, stars and other objects, and the program is billed as family friendly. The district's 2026 fall activities schedule ran the series monthly, on Sept. 19, Oct. 17 and Nov. 14, and lists no December session. The Lake Skinner page posts a standard day-use fee of $6 per adult and $3 per child.
The moon cooperates on that Saturday too. In timeanddate's Los Angeles phase table, the new moon falls on Nov. 8 at 11:02 p.m. and first quarter on Nov. 17. On the 14th the moon is a waxing crescent, bright enough to fill a telescope eyepiece with craters but too thin to wash out the stars.
November's sky after the events end
Most of what follows happens late at night or before dawn, after any public program would have closed.
- Nov. 16–18, the Leonids. The American Meteor Society lists the peak night as Nov. 16–17, under a 41% illuminated moon that can hide fainter meteors. Timeanddate's November sky guide points to the following night, Nov. 17–18. It notes that the moon sets around midnight in many locations and estimates up to 15 meteors an hour under ideal conditions before dawn on Nov. 18. Either way, the hours after moonset are the ones that count.
- Nov. 16, Mars and Jupiter. The two planets make a close approach on the same night the Leonid window opens.
- Nov. 20, Mercury. The planet reaches greatest western elongation. Timeanddate places it low in the eastern pre-dawn sky from around mid-month.
- Nov. 25, Uranus at opposition.
- Nov. 27, Venus at peak brightness. It's a morning object for much of the month.
- Nov. 30, the Moon with Jupiter and Mars. The three close out the month in a close grouping.
The full moon falls on Nov. 24 at 6:53 a.m. The nights around Thanksgiving week are bright ones, so faint-sky viewing waits until December.
Dec. 13–14 is the night the season builds toward
The Geminids peak on the night of Dec. 13–14. The American Meteor Society gives the moon at 17% illumination, a waxing crescent, and rates the lunar conditions generally favorable. The new moon arrives Dec. 8 at 4:51 p.m. and first quarter not until Dec. 16 at 9:42 p.m. The thin crescent sets early, leaving the peak night with darker skies than any other shower this fall.
Neither guided program covers that date. The county's fall schedule lists no December Skinner session, and the reserve's 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. trail hours rule out a midnight walk to the mesa. On the plateau, the observing site is whatever stretch of pasture, arena rail or pool deck a household can darken. Here's how the December sky stacks up for that backyard:
| Night | What's up | Moon |
|---|---|---|
| Dec. 13–14 | Geminid peak | 17% waxing crescent |
| Dec. 21 | Winter solstice at 12:50 p.m. PST, the longest night of the year | Waxing gibbous |
| Dec. 21–22 | Ursid peak | 91% waxing gibbous |
| Dec. 23 | Full moon at 5:28 p.m. | Full |
The Ursids peak just after the solstice, but the American Meteor Society expects significant moonlight interference from a moon at 91%. The longest night of the year sits under a nearly full moon. That leaves Dec. 13–14 as the one December night with both a major shower and a dark sky.
The county rule written for Palomar's telescopes
Whether that backyard sky stays dark depends partly on the neighbors' fixtures. Riverside County has a rule aimed at exactly that. Ordinance No. 655 restricts outdoor lighting that sends harmful light into the night sky and interferes with astronomical observation, with Palomar Observatory as the reference point. Zone A is the circle within 15 miles of the observatory. Zone B is the ring from there out to 45 miles.
In both zones the ordinance sets shielding standards by lighting class and asks for permitted fixtures to be aimed so they limit spill into the sky and onto neighboring property. Class I lighting generally goes off from 11 p.m. to sunrise, and so does Class III decorative lighting. Class II lighting may stay on all night, and advertising searchlights are prohibited. Fixtures legally installed before the ordinance took effect are exempt until they're replaced or reconstructed, though the hours-of-operation rules still apply. Gas lamps and kerosene lanterns are exempt entirely.
Next door, the City of Murrieta writes its own version into the municipal code. It defines a Palomar "Dark Sky Zone" with a 30-mile radius, with fixture, shielding, plan-submission and operating-hour rules for permitted lighting inside it. Murrieta's general exterior lighting code also calls for downward-directed, shielded fixtures, glare kept within the parcel, and a 0.3-footcandle ceiling at residential property lines. That's general information about what these rules say, not legal advice. Anyone planning new outdoor lighting should confirm with the county or city which standards apply to their parcel.
The observatory at the center of all this is a day trip as well as a reference point. Palomar's visitor page lists hours of 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Pacific. It notes that guided tours aren't offered every day the grounds are open and that the regular public closure runs Dec. 24 through Jan. 3, with winter weather able to close the road at other times. Early December fits both a daytime visit to the 200-inch dome and the Geminids the following week.
Holiday lights get a pass, and La Cresta has a contest for them
Ordinance 655 makes one seasonal exception. Lights used for holiday decorations are exempt from its requirements. The plateau puts that exemption to use. Last year the La Cresta Property Owners Association's Beautification Committee ran a Christmas Light Contest, with judging on Dec. 17, 18 and 19. Homes entered by registering a name, address and phone number on the Powerstone website and kept their lights on from 5 to 9:30 p.m. on judging nights.
If the contest follows last year's calendar, judging comes a few days after the Geminid peak. Households can keep the dark sky for Dec. 13–14 and turn the decorations on for the judges the following week. A few hours of strung lights on the plateau's long driveways don't change the count of meteors on the darkest night of the season.
For more on the reserve's own calendar this month, the Santa Rosa Plateau's November programs cover the daylight side of the season. The La Cresta neighborhood page explains how the plateau's six communities fit together.
If you're weighing how outdoor lighting, a new arena light or a patio redesign fits the county's Palomar rule on a plateau parcel, Andrea Lynn Duncan is glad to talk through what she's seen on La Cresta properties. Call me for a private consultation.
