Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Gulf Shores, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Gulf Shores and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Gulf Shores
- 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 Gulf Shores:
- 30.270268, -87.698582
- 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 Gulf Shores
- 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 Baldwin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Baldwin County
- Since Gulf Shores is near Escambia County and also Mobile County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Escambia County
- eBird sighting report for Mobile 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 Gulf Shores ...
We found one communities that share the name Gulf Shores.
Within Alabama, the name Gulf Shores is unique.
Beyond Alabama, there is another community also named Gulf Shores in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- Sarasota 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 Florida community of Gulf Shores [Sarasota County].
- Florida
Curious and Interesting Names Near Gulf Shores ...
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 Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
- Cedar Grove is located in Baldwin County
- Fobbs Ferry
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fobbs Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fobbs Ferry
- Fobbs Ferry is located in Baldwin County
- Gulf Highlands
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gulf Highlands have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Highlands
- Gulf Highlands is located in Baldwin County
- Josephine
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east) - Magnolia Springs
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnolia Springs
- Magnolia Springs is located in Baldwin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 831 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Magnolia Springs <3>
- Orange Beach
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Orange Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange Beach
- Orange Beach is located in Baldwin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,343 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orange Beach <3>
- Oyster Bay
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oyster Bay
- Oyster Bay is located in Baldwin County
- Swift
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Turkey Branch
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Turkey Branch have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Branch
- Turkey Branch is located in Baldwin County
How Far From Gulf Shores to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Gulf Shores to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Gulf Shores and extending to:
- Bay Minette, which is the Seat of Baldwin County, lies 42 miles [67.6 km]<4> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Gulf Shores to Bay Minette, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
- Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 167 miles [268.8 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 848 miles [1,364.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 34 days and walking would take 49 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,745 miles [10,855 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,443 miles [11,978.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,323 miles [8,566.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Gulf Shores: www.ci.gulf-shores.al.us/
The official website for Baldwin County: www.co.baldwin.al.us/
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.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 Gulf Shores 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Gulf Shores) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Gulf Shores. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.2703, Longitude: -87.6986 In this case, the coordinates for Gulf Shores 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 Gulf Shores 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 313.95 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.159 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.269 degrees. |