Visitors to Grand Teton National Park Prefer Red LED Lights at Night

Survey respondents felt safer and more comfortable under the red lights.

By the editors of Park Science magazine

About this article

This article was originally published in the "Research Roundup" section of Park Science magazine, Volume 39, Number 1, Winter 2024-25 (January 15, 2025).

A legacy streetlight on the left, a red LED light in the middle, and a cool white LED light towards the back right. From Fristrup and others, Scientific Reports, 2024. CC BY 4.0 Attribution 4.0 International license.

Fristrup and others, 2024

Do you use blackout shades in your bedroom or sleep with an eye mask? If so, you’re aware of how nighttime lighting can affect sleep. Our cities and towns are awash with traffic lights, street lights and other outdoor lighting at night. Much of this is to help us navigate, avoid obstacles, or keep us safe. But some of it can go beyond what’s necessary. In fact, outdoor lighting can increase ambient nighttime light levels far away from where people live. In U.S. national parks, outdoor lighting can have an impact on adjacent natural areas. This can harm ecosystems and wildlife.

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Newer lighting technology offers features that can help improve the park visitor dark-sky experience and reduce harmful impacts on ecosystems. Much LED lighting is blue, but a September 2024 study published in Scientific Reports argues that red lamps may be preferable. The authors asked visitors to Grand Teton National Park to share their thoughts on two types of experimental LED lighting: white and a mixture of red and white. Survey respondents felt safer and more comfortable under the red lights and thought they were better for the environment.

Fristrup and others. 2024. National Park Visitors Perceive Benefits for Themselves and Wildlife under Blended Red-White Outdoor Lighting. Scientific Reports 14: 21791.