The Perseid shower peaked Thursday morning, but post-peak rates still hit ~30 meteors per hour tonight under a moonless sky. Here's where to go, and why you shouldn't drive to Mount Diablo after dark.

The Perseid meteor shower hit its 2026 maximum Thursday morning over a moonless Bay Area, but rates don't fall off a cliff after peak — the American Meteor Society puts post-peak activity at around 30 meteors per hour tonight under genuine dark-sky conditions, dropping to roughly 20 on Saturday and 15 on Sunday. The shower stays active through August 29. The new moon that made Wednesday ideal is still working: zero lunar interference through the weekend.

The one organized option is tonight. Chabot Space & Science Center in Oakland is running "Spray Paint & Sip: Perseids Meteor Graffiti" — an outdoor, arts-focused event timed to the shower — Thursday August 13, 6:30–8:30 p.m. Tickets are $45 for adults 21 and older; members save $10. Chabot is at 10000 Skyline Blvd., Oakland, up in the East Bay hills.

Do not drive to Mount Diablo after dark. The park — reflexively cited as an East Bay dark-sky spot — closes its gates at sunset, per California State Parks (checked this morning). Plan a midnight session there and you'll find a locked gate. Better east-of-the-Bay options: the open foothills past Livermore toward Altamont Pass, where the valley opens up and Oakland's glow drops behind you. North Bay: Mount Tamalpais works, though check road conditions before committing late at night.

Standard practice wherever you land: give your eyes 20 minutes to adjust; put the Perseid radiant at the edge of your field of view to catch full trails. Best hours are midnight to 4 a.m., when Perseus sits roughly two-thirds up the eastern sky.

One context note on expectations: meteor modeler Mikhail Maslov pegged this year's peak ZHR at ≤43, per the International Meteor Organization — in line with the weak 2013 and 2014 returns, and well below the 100-per-hour years people remember. Post-peak at 30 per hour under real dark is roughly one streak every two minutes. Not a storm, but worth the drive on a moonless Friday night.