Shine | Top Minnesota Destination Marketing Photographer
Voyageurs National Park
Buffalo + Company Under the Stars: A Journey into Voyageurs’ Dark Skies
This week, during both International Dark Sky Week and National Park Week, we hit the road again and returned to a place that feels like home — Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota’s only National Park and one of the most peaceful, awe-inspiring places we’ve had the privilege to document.
Commissioned by the Crane Lake Business Bureau, Buffalo + Company was hired to create media for both their tourism bureau and Voyageurs National Park. With 2025 marking the 50th anniversary of Voyageurs, we couldn’t imagine a more meaningful project. This park is a true celebration of Minnesota’s wildest beauty — water, pine, wildlife, and pristine wilderness, still largely untouched.
A Place Where the Sky Still Speaks
Voyageurs is different. It's not just a park — it’s an ecosystem, an experience, and a place that reminds you how small we are in the best kind of way. Spread across a maze of lakes and boreal forest, Voyageurs is one of only a handful of official Dark Sky National Parks in the U.S. That means incredibly low light pollution, unmatched stargazing, and a front-row seat to the cosmos.
The Crane Lake area, a quiet northern gateway into the park, offers some of the darkest skies in Minnesota. It’s where stars shine freely and space feels infinite. From a storytelling standpoint, it’s magic.
Photo Shoot Highlights
Our time here was all about capturing the essence of this rare wilderness.
Our time in Voyageurs was all about capturing the feeling of the place — wild, still, and completely untamed. We explored quiet coves and sunlit rock points that glowed golden at day's end. We filmed slow, peaceful mornings along the lake and the lively energy of the nearby Vermilion Falls trail. As night fell, we set up for long-exposure photography to highlight the vast night sky.
While the aurora borealis didn’t make an appearance this time, and the Milky Way stayed tucked below the horizon line, the stillness of the moment was powerful. This is what keeps us coming back — chasing the beauty, knowing the next trip could bring something unforgettable.
Why Dark Skies Matter
There’s something sacred about a dark sky. Whether it’s watching satellites move across the horizon or spotting planets through a telescope, these experiences ground us. Voyageurs National Park offers ranger-led telescope nights, stargazing cruises, and even virtual night sky programming, giving thousands of people each year a chance to connect with the universe in a quiet, awe-filled way.
It’s a reminder of how much we miss when we don’t look up.
Thank You, Crane Lake
A huge thanks to the Crane Lake Business Bureau for inviting us into your backyard and trusting us to tell this story. Crane Lake is more than a launch point into Voyageurs — it’s a destination in its own right, filled with character, community, and connection to the wild.
We left inspired and can’t wait to return.
Let’s Travel Further Together
If you’re a destination, brand, or tourism bureau looking for compelling media that captures the soul of a place, we’d love to talk.
Whether you're building a campaign, showcasing an event, or refreshing your visual identity, we bring the storytelling, the cinematography, and the heart.
Get in touch with us:
buffalomediagroupmn.com
Email: info@buffalomediagroupmn.com
Travel Further.
Justin Graddy
