Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Austin, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Austin and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Austin
- 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 Austin:
- 30.267173, -97.743132
- 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 Austin
- 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 Travis County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Travis County
- Since Austin is near Hays County and also Williamson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Hays County
- eBird sighting report for Williamson 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
Communities Also Named Austin ...
We found 42 communities that share the name Austin.
Within Texas, the name Austin is unique.
Beyond Texas, we know of another 42 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 42 communities, 39 are located in the United States and three are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Conway County
- This Austin is located in Conway County and lies 468 miles [753.2 km]<2> to the northeast of the Austin that is located in Travis County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Conway County community of Austin.
- Lonoke County
- This Austin is located in Lonoke County and lies 467 miles [751.6 km] to the northeast of the Austin that is located in Travis County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lonoke County community of Austin.
- Van Buren County
- This Austin is located in Van Buren County and lies 463 miles [745.1 km] to the northeast of the Austin that is located in Travis County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Van Buren County community of Austin.
- California
- Colorado
- Delta County
- This Austin is located in Delta County and lies 825 miles [1,327.7 km]<2> to the northwest of the Austin that is located in Travis County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Delta County community of Austin.
- Garfield County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Colorado community of Austin [Garfield County].
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Neosho County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Neosho County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Neosho County community of Austin.
- Sumner County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Austin [Sumner County].
- Kentucky
- Manitoba
- This Austin lies 1,360 miles [2,188.7 km]<2> to the north of the Austin that is located in Travis County.
- Michigan
- Hillsdale County
- This Austin is located in Hillsdale County and lies 1,073 miles [1,726.8 km]<2> to the northeast of the Austin that is located in Travis County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsdale County community of Austin.
- Kalamazoo County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Austin [Kalamazoo County].
- Marquette County
- This Austin is located in Marquette County and lies 1,236 miles [1,989.1 km] to the north northeast of the Austin that is located in Travis County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marquette County community of Austin.
- Oakland County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Austin [Oakland County].
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Cass County
- This Austin is located in Cass County and lies 601 miles [967.2 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Austin that is located in Travis County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cass County community of Austin.
- Dunklin County
- This Austin is located in Dunklin County and lies 597 miles [960.8 km] to the northeast of the Austin that is located in Travis County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dunklin County community of Austin.
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New York
- Cattaraugus County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New York community of Austin [Cattaraugus County].
- Cayuga County
- This Austin is located in Cayuga County and lies 1,456 miles [2,343.2 km]<2> to the northeast of the Austin that is located in Travis County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cayuga County community of Austin.
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Ontario
- This Austin lies 1,440 miles [2,317.5 km]<2> to the north northeast of the Austin that is located in Travis County.
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Quebec
- This Austin lies 1,720 miles [2,768.1 km]<2> to the northeast of the Austin that is located in Travis County.
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Hardin County
- This Austin is located in Hardin County and lies 648 miles [1,042.9 km]<2> to the northeast of the Austin that is located in Travis County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hardin County community of Austin.
- Wilson County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Tennessee community of Austin [Wilson County].
- Utah
- Washington
- Island County
- This Austin is located in Island County and lies 1,791 miles [2,882.3 km]<2> to the northwest of the Austin that is located in Travis County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Island County community of Austin.
- Spokane County
- This Austin is located in Spokane County and lies 1,582 miles [2,546 km] to the northwest of the Austin that is located in Travis County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Spokane County community of Austin.
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Austin ...
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.
- Decker
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Ford Oaks
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Greenshores
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenshores have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenshores
- Greenshores is located in Travis County
- Lost Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lost Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lost Creek
- Lost Creek is located in Travis County
- Onion Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Onion Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Onion Creek
- Onion Creek is located in Travis County
- Pilot Knob
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Knob
- Pilot Knob is located in Travis County
- Pleasant Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Pleasant Hill is located in Travis County
- Rollingwood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rollingwood have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollingwood
- Rollingwood is located in Travis County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,571 people
- Sunset Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Valley
- Sunset Valley is located in Travis County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 662 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sunset Valley <5>
- Walnut Forest
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walnut Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Forest
- Walnut Forest is located in Travis County
How Far From Austin to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Austin to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Austin and extending to:
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,315 miles [2,116.3 km]<2> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Austin to White House, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 75 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 52 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,153 miles [11,511.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,882 miles [12,684.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,759 miles [9,268.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Austin: www.ci.austin.tx.us/
The official website for Travis County: www.co.travis.tx.us/
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Austin could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Austin) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Austin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.2672, Longitude: -97.7431 |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Austin, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day. |
| <7> | The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Austin to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 320.218 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.496 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 315.319 degrees. |