RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Alabama >> Tuscaloosa County >> Forest Lake >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Forest Lake:
    • 33.196230, -87.529728
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Forest 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 Tuscaloosa County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Tuscaloosa County
    • Since Forest Lake is near Hale County and also Bibb County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hale County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Bibb 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Forest Lake

Communities Also Named Forest Lake ...

We found seventeen communities that are also named Forest Lake.

Within Alabama, the name Forest Lake is unique.

Beyond Alabama, we know of seventeen communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Lake County
      • This Forest Lake is located in Lake County and lies 1,990 miles [3,202.6 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Forest Lake that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lake County community of Forest Lake.
      • San Joaquin 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 California community of Forest Lake [San Joaquin County].
    • Georgia
      • Bibb County
      • This Forest Lake is located in Bibb County and lies 222 miles [357.3 km]<1> to the east of the Forest Lake that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bibb County community of Forest Lake.
    • Illinois
      • Lake County
      • This Forest Lake is located in Lake County and lies 622 miles [1,001 km]<1> to the north of the Forest Lake that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lake County community of Forest Lake.
    • Indiana
      • Hendricks 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 Indiana community of Forest Lake [Hendricks County].
    • Kansas
      • Wyandotte 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 Forest Lake [Wyandotte County].
    • Maryland
      • Harford County
      • This Forest Lake is located in Harford County and lies 758 miles [1,219.9 km]<1> to the northeast of the Forest Lake that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Harford County community of Forest Lake.
    • Massachusetts
      • Hampden 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 Massachusetts community of Forest Lake [Hampden County].
    • Michigan
      • Alger County
      • This Forest Lake is located in Alger County and lies 907 miles [1,459.7 km]<1> to the north of the Forest Lake that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Alger County community of Forest Lake.
    • Minnesota
      • Washington County
      • This Forest Lake is located in Washington County and lies 881 miles [1,417.8 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Forest Lake that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Forest Lake.
    • New Hampshire
      • Cheshire 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 New Hampshire community of Forest Lake [Cheshire County].
    • Pennsylvania
      • Susquehanna County
      • This Forest Lake is located in Susquehanna County and lies 870 miles [1,400.1 km]<1> to the northeast of the Forest Lake that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Susquehanna County community of Forest Lake.
    • South Carolina
      • Greenwood County
      • This Forest Lake is located in Greenwood County and lies 314 miles [505.3 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Forest Lake that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greenwood County community of Forest Lake.
      • Horry County
      • This Forest Lake is located in Horry County and lies 510 miles [820.8 km] to the east of the Forest Lake that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Horry County community of Forest Lake.
      • Richland 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 South Carolina community of Forest Lake [Richland County].
      • York County
      • This Forest Lake is located in York County and lies 398 miles [640.5 km] to the east northeast of the Forest Lake that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the York County community of Forest Lake.
    • Texas
      • Brazos County
      • Although located in Brazos County, we don't know the location within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brazos County community of Forest Lake.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Forest 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.

  • Cedar Crest
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Cedar Crest is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Crest
  • Cedar Knoll
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Cedar Knoll is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Knoll
  • Cherokee Hills
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Cherokee Hills is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Hills
  • Cherry Dale
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Cherry Dale is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Dale
  • Cloverdale
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Cloverdale is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
  • Coventry
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Coventry is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry
  • Dearing Place
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Dearing Place is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dearing Place
  • Echo Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Echo Hill is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Hill
  • Fairway Drive
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Fairway Drive is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairway Drive
  • Guilds Woods
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Guilds Woods is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Guilds Woods
  • Hickory Forest
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Hickory Forest is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Forest
  • Hillcrest
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Hillcrest is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
  • Continue List   (14 more) ...
    • Kennedy Park
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Kennedy Park is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennedy Park
    • Lake Shore
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Lake Shore is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Shore
    • Meadow Lawn
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Meadow Lawn is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadow Lawn
    • Meadowbrook
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Meadowbrook is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
    • Riverview
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Riverview is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
    • Rosedale
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Rosedale is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale
    • Rosedale Courts
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Rosedale Courts is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosedale Courts
    • Rosewood
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Rosewood is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosewood
    • South Park
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • South Park is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Park
    • Springbrook
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Springbrook is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springbrook
    • University
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • University is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University
    • University Lane
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • University Lane is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Lane
    • University Place
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • University Place is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Place
    • Warrior Heights
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Warrior Heights is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrior Heights

How Far From Forest 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 community such as Forest Lake to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Forest Lake and extending to:

  • Tuscaloosa, which is the Seat of Tuscaloosa County, lies just to the West.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 91 miles [146.5 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Forest Lake to Montgomery, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 705 miles [1,134.6 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 28 days and walking would take 40 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,597 miles [10,616.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,307 miles [11,759.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,183 miles [8,341.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 from Point A (ie- Forest Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Forest Lake 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>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.
<4>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 Forest Lake to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Forest Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.1962, Longitude: -87.5297       In this case, the coordinates for Forest Lake have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.094 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.726 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.656 degrees.