Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Switch Back, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Switch Back and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Switch Back
- 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 Switch Back:
- 38.012903, -79.842831
- 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 Switch Back
- 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 Bath County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Bath County
- Since Switch Back is near Alleghany County and also Pocahontas County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Alleghany County
- eBird sighting report for Pocahontas 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 Switch Back ...
We found one communities that share the name Switch Back.
Within Virginia, the name Switch Back is unique.
Beyond Virginia, there is another community also named Switch Back in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- West Virginia
- Mineral 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 West Virginia community of Switch Back [Mineral County].
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Switch Back ...
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.
- Chimney Run
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chimney Run have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chimney Run
- Chimney Run is located in Bath County
- Dunns ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the east) - Greenwood ‑ Historic
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Healing Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Healing Springs
- Healing Springs is located in Bath County
- Hot Springs
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hot Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hot Springs
- Hot Springs is located in Bath County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hot Springs <3>
- Jenkins Ford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jenkins Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jenkins Ford
- Jenkins Ford is located in Alleghany County
- Mitchelltown
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchelltown
- Mitchelltown is located in Bath County
- Mooretown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Mountain Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Grove
- Mountain Grove is located in Bath County
- Tinkertown
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tinkertown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tinkertown
- Tinkertown is located in Bath County
- Warm Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warm Springs
- Warm Springs is located in Bath County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Warm Springs <3>
How Far From Switch Back 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 community such as Switch Back to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Switch Back and extending to:
- Warm Springs, which is the Seat of Bath County, lies just to the Northeast.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 135 miles [217.3 km]<4> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could drive a straight line from Switch Back to Richmond, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 163 miles [262.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,054 miles [9,743 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,762 miles [10,882.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,638 miles [7,464.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Switch Back. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Bath County: www.bathcountyva.org/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Switch Back 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> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Switch Back) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Switch Back. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.0129, Longitude: -79.8428 In this case, the coordinates for Switch Back have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Switch Back to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.593 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.245 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.213 degrees. |