Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Ham Lake, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ham Lake and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Ham Lake

• Astronomy & Satellites ...
  • Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
  • To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Ham Lake:
  • 45.254445, -93.203908
  • Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
  • The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Ham Lake

• Bird Watching ...
  • We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
  • The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Anoka County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • eBird sighting report for Anoka County
  • Since Ham Lake is near Hennepin County and also Ramsey County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • eBird sighting report for Hennepin County
  • eBird sighting report for Ramsey County

• Waymarking ...
  • Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
  • Waymark.com

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ham Lake ...

As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.

• Blaine
  (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blaine have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blaine
  • Blaine is located in Anoka County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 66,697 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blaine <2>
• Cedar
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar
  • Cedar is located in Anoka County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedar <2>
• Centerville
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Centerville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
  • Centerville is located in Anoka County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,034 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Centerville <2>
• Circle Pines
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Circle Pines have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Circle Pines
  • Circle Pines is located in Anoka County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,928 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Circle Pines <2>
• City of Columbus
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for City of Columbus have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for City of Columbus
  • City of Columbus is located in Anoka County
  • Estimated population in 2015: 4,007 people
• Constance
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Constance have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Constance
  • Constance is located in Anoka County
• Coon Creek
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Creek
  • Coon Creek is located in Anoka County
• Coon Rapids
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Rapids
  • Coon Rapids is located in Anoka County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 62,935 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coon Rapids <2>
• Johnsville
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnsville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsville
  • Johnsville is located in Anoka County
• Oak Grove
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
  • Oak Grove is located in Anoka County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,027 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Oak Grove <2>

How Far From Ham Lake to ...

We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Ham Lake to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Ham Lake and extending to:

• Anoka, which is the Seat of Anoka County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Ham Lake to Anoka, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
• Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 21 miles [33.8 km] to the south southeast (SSE). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just over a day.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 935 miles [1,504.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of two days, a buggy would take 37 days and walking would take 54 days.
• The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,206 miles [9,987.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,961 miles [11,202.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,871 miles [7,839.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

Off-the-Road Links ...

The official website for Ham Lake: www.ci.ham-lake.mn.us/

The official website for Anoka County: www.co.anoka.mn.us/

The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/