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Everyone has seen rainbows — and maybe even double rainbows. But have you seen a moonbow?
It’s a fairly rare phenomenon that requires a number of weather and astronomical conditions to align perfectly. When those conditions are just right, you’ll see a white moonbow arcing across the night sky.
Things To Know Before Visiting Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, Kentucky In the Quest for a Moonbow
There are only a handful of places around the world where moonbows, sometimes called lunar rainbows, occur regularly. Cumberland Falls State Resort Park in Kentucky is not only one of those places, it’s one of only two places in the U.S. where you can see a moonbow.
How Moonbows Are Formed
A moonbow is formed the same way rainbows are formed. When light shines on water droplets hanging in the air, light passes through the droplet. The light then bends, or “refracts,” reflects off the back of the droplet, and exits the water droplet after refracting again, a Farmer’s Almanac article explains.
In the case of a moonbow, the moon’s light is refracted by water droplets hanging in the air. Moonbows are rare because they require those hanging water droplets, a full or nearly full moon low on the horizon, a clear night with few clouds, and very dark skies.
Moonbows aren’t colorful like rainbows because light from the moon is nowhere as bright as light from the sun. Consequently, the colors of a moonbow are too weak “to be picked up by the color-detecting cells in our eyes,” the Farmer’s Almanac article notes. That means we see a white moonbow because when all the visible colors combine, it creates what we see as white light.
Cumberland Falls
Cumberland Falls State Resort Park, near Corbin, Kentucky, sits just outside the Daniel Boone National Forest. Although the park is known for its bird-watching and memorable hiking trails, near the park’s waterfalls is one of the two places in the U.S. where you can see a moonbow.
Since it’s just outside a national forest, the park is dark at night. Plus, the mist caused by water plunging over the Cumberland Falls hangs in the air. In the days before, during, and after a full moon — if the sky is clear — you’ll see the moonbow.
To help plan your visit, the park even publishes a calendar of when the moonbow will occur. You can find that calendar here.
By the way, if you’re wondering where else moonbows regularly occur, it’s a short list of locations. They are Yosemite Falls at Yosemite National Park in California, Victoria Falls in Africa, and in the cloud forests of Costa Rica.
Know Before You Go
Cumberland Falls State Park Activities
There is plenty of outdoor adventure in the park besides waiting for the moonbow at the second-largest waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains. The park is home to 17 miles of hiking trails through the scenic areas. The most famous Moonbow Trail is open twenty-four hours to allow hikers to experience the moonbow, a lunar rainbow, during nighttime.
You can also have a memorable birding experience as pileated woodpeckers, wood thrush, and wood warblers pass through the area as they fly from South America to the Northern States and Canada. The Cumberland River is known for bass and trout fishing.
Stay at the Cumberland Falls
For the best experience of Cumberland Falls book a couple of nights at DuPont Lodge, one of the state park’s most beautiful lodges. The historic lodge is great if you appreciate grand stone fireplaces, sturdy hemlock beams, and knotty pine paneling. The Riverview Restaurant and back patio of the DuPont Lodge offer stunning views.
Fifty-one rooms that have that cozy rustic feel offer a full range of amenities and free on-site parking. They also have a large observation deck that offers a scenic view of the river. Cumberland Falls State Resort Park also includes two campgrounds with a total of 50 campsites.
FAQs
What Does Cumberland Falls Moonbow Look Like?
It’s white. The Cumberland Falls moonbow, also called a white rainbow or lunar rainbow, is formed just like a rainbow when light is refracted in tiny water drops. It appears for two or so days on either end of the full moon.
When Can I See the Cumberland Falls Moonbow?
You can see it for two to three days before and after the full moon. After the sunset is your best chance at seeing the Cumberland Falls moonbow. Unlike many Kentucky State Parks, Cumberland Falls State Park is open 24 hours.
Why Is the Cumberland Falls Moonbow Special?
The Cumberland Falls moonbow is unique because it manifests on a fairly predictable schedule. Other moonbows in the Western Hemisphere cannot be calculated like the one at Cumberland Falls. The only other predictable moonbow occurs at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, Africa.
What Else Is There to Do at Cumberland Falls?
You can follow the five-mile-long Cumberland River Trail or the longer and more strenuous Moonbow Trail. The river makes for a fishing spot, and bird-watching is something the Cumberland Falls State Park is especially known for.
What Is the Difference Between a Moonbow and a Rainbow?
The source of light is the only difference between a rainbow and a moonbow or a lunar rainbow. Due to the lower intensity of moonlight compared to sunlight, moonbows are generally fainter than rainbows. This adds to their allure and makes them more challenging to spot.
