Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Sylvan Springs

• 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 Sylvan Springs:
  • 33.528628, -87.031205
  • 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 Sylvan Springs

• 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 Jefferson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
  • Since Sylvan Springs is near Walker County and also Tuscaloosa County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Walker County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Tuscaloosa 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 Sylvan Springs

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sylvan Springs ...

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.

• Alliance
  (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Alliance is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alliance
• Booker Heights
  (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
  • Booker Heights is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Booker Heights
• Cottage Hill
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Cottage Hill is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Hill
• Edgewater
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Edgewater is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater
• Grays Gardens
  (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Grays Gardens is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grays Gardens
• Maytown
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Maytown is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maytown
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
• Minor
  (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Minor is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minor
• Pleasant Grove
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Pleasant Grove is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Grove
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,578 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pleasant Grove <1>
• Rock Creek
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Rock Creek is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
• Shady Grove
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
  • Shady Grove is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
• Short Creek
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Short Creek is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Short Creek
• Union Grove
  (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Union Grove is located in Jefferson County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Grove

How Far From Sylvan Springs 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 town such as Sylvan Springs to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Sylvan Springs and extending to:

• Birmingham, which is the Seat of Jefferson County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<2> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Sylvan Springs to Birmingham, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
• Montgomery, which is the State Capital of Alabama, lies 90 miles [144.8 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 6 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 668 miles [1,075 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 38 days.
• The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,560 miles [10,557.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,270 miles [11,699.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,146 miles [8,281.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'