Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Sumner, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sumner and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Sumner
- 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 Sumner:
- 47.205313, -122.239988
- 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 Sumner
- 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 Pierce County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Pierce County
- Since Sumner is near King County and also Kitsap County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for King County
- eBird sighting report for Kitsap 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 Sumner ...
We found 23 communities that share the name Sumner.
Within Washington, the name Sumner is unique.
Beyond Washington, we know of another 23 communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Atchison County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Sumner [Atchison County].
- Sumner County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Sumner County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sumner County community of Sumner.
- Kentucky
- Maine
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- North Carolina
- Guilford County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the North Carolina community of Sumner [Guilford County].
- Rowan 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 North Carolina community of Sumner [Rowan County].
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Sumner ...
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.
- Cedarview
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Christopher
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Christopher have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christopher
- Christopher is located in King County
- Croker
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Federal Way
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Federal Way
- Federal Way is located in King County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 96,307 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Federal Way <5>
- Fern Hill
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west) - Firwood ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Gardenville ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gardenville
- Gardenville is located in Pierce County
- Green River
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green River have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green River
- Green River is located in King County
- Meeker
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Mirror Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mirror Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mirror Lake
- Mirror Lake is located in King County
- Prairie Ridge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Ridge
- Prairie Ridge is located in Pierce County
- Stuck
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
How Far From Sumner 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 Sumner to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Sumner and extending to:
- Tacoma, which is the Seat of Pierce County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Sumner to Tacoma, with an average speed<7> 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.
- Olympia, which is the State Capital of Washington, lies 33 miles [53.1 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just over a day and walking would take most of two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,317 miles [3,728.9 km] to the east (E). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 91 days and walking would take 132 days.
- The shortest distance<8> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,798 miles [10,940.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,560 miles [12,166.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<10>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,680 miles [9,141.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<11>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Sumner: www.ci.sumner.wa.us/
The official website for Pierce County: www.co.pierce.wa.us/
The official website for State of Washington: https://access.wa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Sumner) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sumner. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.2053, Longitude: -122.2400 |
| <2> | 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 Sumner 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. |
| <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 Sumner, 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> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <7> | 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. |
| <8> | 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 Sumner to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 340.778 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.298 degrees. |
| <11> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.728 degrees. |