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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Laurel Hills, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Laurel Hills 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 Laurel Hills:
    • 33.184286, -87.479449
    • 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 Laurel Hills
  • 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 Laurel Hills is near Bibb County and also Hale County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Bibb County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hale 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 Laurel Hills

Communities Also Named Laurel Hills ...

We found eight communities that are also named Laurel Hills.

Within Alabama, the name Laurel Hills is unique.

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

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Georgia
      • Cobb County
      • This Laurel Hills is located in Cobb County and lies 171 miles [275.2 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Laurel Hills that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cobb County community of Laurel Hills.
      • Hall County
      • This Laurel Hills is located in Hall County and lies 226 miles [363.7 km] to the east northeast of the Laurel Hills that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hall County community of Laurel Hills.
      • Muscogee County
      • This Laurel Hills is located in Muscogee County and lies 151 miles [243 km] to the east southeast of the Laurel Hills that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Muscogee County community of Laurel Hills.
    • North Carolina
      • Wake 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 Laurel Hills [Wake County].
    • South Carolina
      • Greenville County
      • This Laurel Hills is located in Greenville County and lies 321 miles [516.6 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Laurel Hills that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greenville County community of Laurel Hills.
    • Virginia
      • Albemarle County
      • This Laurel Hills is located in Albemarle County and lies 596 miles [959.2 km]<1> to the northeast of the Laurel Hills that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Albemarle County community of Laurel Hills.
      • Prince William County
      • This Laurel Hills is located in Prince William County and lies 681 miles [1,096 km] to the northeast of the Laurel Hills that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Prince William County community of Laurel Hills.
      • Roanoke County
      • This Laurel Hills is located in Roanoke County and lies 504 miles [811.1 km] to the northeast of the Laurel Hills that is located in Tuscaloosa County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Roanoke County community of Laurel Hills.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Laurel Hills ...

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.

  • Box Springs
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Box Springs is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Box Springs
  • Cedar Knoll
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Cedar Knoll is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Knoll
  • Cherokee Hills
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Cherokee Hills is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Hills
  • Cherrywood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Cherrywood is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherrywood
  • Cottondale
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
  • Cottonwood Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Cottonwood Park is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood Park
  • Coventry
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Coventry is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry
  • Deep Wood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Deep Wood is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deep Wood
  • Echo Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Echo Hill is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Hill
  • Elm Ridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Elm Ridge is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Ridge
  • Fairway Drive
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Fairway Drive is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairway Drive
  • Green Grove
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Green Grove is located in Tuscaloosa County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Grove
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • High Point
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • High Point is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Point
    • Hillswood
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Hillswood is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillswood
    • Hurricane Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Hurricane Hills is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hurricane Hills
    • Jerusalem Heights
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Jerusalem Heights is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jerusalem Heights
    • Kennedy Park
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Kennedy Park is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kennedy Park
    • Lake Shore
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Lake Shore is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Shore
    • Lynn Haven
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Lynn Haven is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynn Haven
    • Old Mill Trace
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Old Mill Trace is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Mill Trace
    • Peach Grove
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Peach Grove is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peach Grove
    • Rosewood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Rosewood is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rosewood
    • Running Brook
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Running Brook is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Running Brook
    • Sky Ranch
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Sky Ranch is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sky Ranch
    • Springbrook
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Springbrook is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springbrook
    • University
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • University is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University
    • Whispering Hills
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Whispering Hills is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Hills
    • Woodland Park
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Woodland Park is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Park
    • Woodland Pines
      (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
      • Woodland Pines is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Pines
    • Woodland Terrace
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Woodland Terrace is located in Tuscaloosa County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Terrace

How Far From Laurel Hills 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 Laurel Hills to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Tuscaloosa, which is the Seat of Tuscaloosa County, lies just to the West Northwest.
  • Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 88 miles [141.6 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Laurel Hills to Montgomery, with an average speed<4>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 5 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 703 miles [1,131.4 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,595 miles [10,613.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,305 miles [11,756.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,181 miles [8,338 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Laurel Hills) 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 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 Laurel Hills 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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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.
<5>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 Laurel Hills 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 Laurel Hills. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.1843, Longitude: -87.4794       In this case, the coordinates for Laurel Hills have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.062 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.688 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.638 degrees.