Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Orange Beach, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Orange Beach and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Orange Beach
- 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 Orange Beach:
- 30.293250, -87.583596
- 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 Orange Beach
- 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 Orange Beach is near Escambia County and also Santa Rosa County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Escambia County
- eBird sighting report for Santa Rosa 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Orange Beach ...
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.
- Gulf Beach ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Beach
- Gulf Beach is located in Escambia County (FL)
- Gulf Shores
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gulf Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Shores
- Gulf Shores is located in Baldwin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,166 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gulf Shores <2>
- Joseph Cruzat Grant
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Joseph Cruzat Grant have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Joseph Cruzat Grant
- Joseph Cruzat Grant is located in Escambia County (FL)
- Josephine
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast) - Magnolia Springs
(13 miles [20.9 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 <2>
- Oyster Bay
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oyster Bay
- Oyster Bay is located in Baldwin County
- Paradise Beach
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Paradise Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paradise Beach
- Paradise Beach is located in Escambia County (FL)
- Seaglades
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east) - Swift
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Orange Beach 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 Orange Beach to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Orange Beach and extending to:
- Bay Minette, which is the Seat of Baldwin County, lies 42 miles [67.6 km]<3> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Orange Beach to Bay Minette, with an average speed<4> 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 162 miles [260.7 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 842 miles [1,355.1 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 33 days and walking would take 48 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,738 miles [10,843.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,436 miles [11,967.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,317 miles [8,556.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Orange Beach: www.orangebch.com/
The official website for Baldwin County: www.co.baldwin.al.us/
The official website for State of Alabama: https://www.alabama.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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- Orange Beach) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Orange Beach. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.2933, Longitude: -87.5836 In this case, the coordinates for Orange Beach have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Orange Beach to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.885 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.087 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.222 degrees. |