Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Newtown, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Newtown and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Newtown
- 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 Newtown:
- 41.398429, -73.293172
- 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 Newtown
- 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 Fairfield County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Fairfield County
- Since Newtown is near New Haven County and also Litchfield County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for New Haven County
- eBird sighting report for Litchfield 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 Newtown ...
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.
- Dodgingtown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dodgingtown
- Dodgingtown is located in Fairfield County
- Hattertown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hattertown
- Hattertown is located in Fairfield County
- Hopewell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Huntingtown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huntingtown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntingtown
- Huntingtown is located in Fairfield County
- Palestine
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Pootatuck Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pootatuck Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pootatuck Park
- Pootatuck Park is located in Fairfield County
- Rocky Glen
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocky Glen have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Glen
- Rocky Glen is located in Fairfield County
- Russian Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Russian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Russian Village
- Russian Village is located in Litchfield County
- Sandy Hook
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Hook
- Sandy Hook is located in Fairfield County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sandy Hook <2>
- Shady Rest
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Rest have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Rest
- Shady Rest is located in Fairfield County
How Far From Newtown 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 community such as Newtown to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Newtown and extending to:
- Hartford, which is the State Capital of Connecticut, lies 40 miles [64.4 km]<3> to the northeast (NE). If you could walk a straight line from Newtown to Hartford, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take over two 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.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 262 miles [421.6 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 15 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,636 miles [9,070.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,343 miles [10,208.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,219 miles [6,789.8 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Newtown. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Connecticut: https://portal.ct.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' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Newtown) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Newtown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.3984, Longitude: -73.2932 In this case, the coordinates for Newtown 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 Newtown 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 305.441 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 301.062 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 302.038 degrees. |