RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Florida >> Hillsborough County >> Colonial Hills >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Colonial Hills, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Colonial 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 Colonial Hills:
    • 27.819100, -82.267700
    • 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 Colonial 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 Hillsborough County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hillsborough County
    • Since Colonial Hills is near Manatee County and also Polk County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Manatee County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Polk 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 Colonial Hills

Communities Also Named Colonial Hills ...

We found sixteen communities that are also named Colonial Hills.

Within Florida, the name Colonial Hills is unique.

Beyond Florida, we know of sixteen communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Madison County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Madison County and lies 542 miles [872.3 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Colonial Hills that is located in Hillsborough County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Madison County community of Colonial Hills.
      • Tuscaloosa County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Tuscaloosa County and lies 485 miles [780.5 km] to the northwest of the Colonial Hills that is located in Hillsborough County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuscaloosa County community of Colonial Hills.
    • Georgia
      • Paulding County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Paulding County and lies 441 miles [709.7 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Colonial Hills that is located in Hillsborough County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Paulding County community of Colonial Hills.
    • Indiana
      • Warrick 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 Indiana community of Colonial Hills [Warrick County].
    • Maryland
      • Carroll County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Carroll County and lies 870 miles [1,400.1 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Colonial Hills that is located in Hillsborough County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Carroll County community of Colonial Hills.
    • Mississippi
      • Oktibbeha County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Oktibbeha County and lies 548 miles [881.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Colonial Hills that is located in Hillsborough County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oktibbeha County community of Colonial Hills.
    • North Carolina
      • Onslow County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Onslow County and lies 560 miles [901.2 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Colonial Hills that is located in Hillsborough County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Onslow County community of Colonial Hills.
      • Orange County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Orange County and lies 598 miles [962.4 km] to the north northeast of the Colonial Hills that is located in Hillsborough County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Orange County community of Colonial Hills.
    • Ohio
      • Franklin 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 Ohio community of Colonial Hills [Franklin County].
      • Richland County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Richland County and lies 895 miles [1,440.4 km]<1> to the north of the Colonial Hills that is located in Hillsborough County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Richland County community of Colonial Hills.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Berks County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Berks County and lies 931 miles [1,498.3 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Colonial Hills that is located in Hillsborough County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Berks County community of Colonial Hills.
      • Dauphin County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Dauphin County and lies 917 miles [1,475.8 km] to the north northeast of the Colonial Hills that is located in Hillsborough County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dauphin County community of Colonial Hills.
      • Mifflin County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Mifflin County and lies 919 miles [1,479 km] to the north northeast of the Colonial Hills that is located in Hillsborough County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mifflin County community of Colonial Hills.
    • South Carolina
      • Anderson County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Anderson County and lies 463 miles [745.1 km]<1> to the north of the Colonial Hills that is located in Hillsborough County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anderson County community of Colonial Hills.
      • Greenville County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Greenville County and lies 489 miles [787 km] to the north of the Colonial Hills that is located in Hillsborough County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greenville County community of Colonial Hills.
    • Utah
      • Weber County
      • This Colonial Hills is located in Weber County and lies 1,912 miles [3,077.1 km]<1> to the northwest of the Colonial Hills that is located in Hillsborough County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Weber County community of Colonial Hills.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Colonial 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.

  • Cedar Grove
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Cedar Grove is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Grove
  • Creek View
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Creek View is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creek View
  • Creekside
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Creekside is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Creekside
  • Emerald Creek
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Emerald Creek is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Creek
  • Fishhawk Ranch
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Fishhawk Ranch is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fishhawk Ranch
  • Hickory Creek
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Hickory Creek is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Creek
  • Hickory Ridge
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Hickory Ridge is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Ridge
  • Indian Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Indian Hills is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
  • Leonard Woods
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Leonard Woods is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leonard Woods
  • Paddock Oaks
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Paddock Oaks is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Paddock Oaks
  • Panther Trace
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Panther Trace is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panther Trace
  • Pine Trace
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Pine Trace is located in Hillsborough County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Trace
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • River Rapids
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • River Rapids is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Rapids
    • Riverwoods Hammock
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Riverwoods Hammock is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverwoods Hammock
    • Shadow Ridge
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Shadow Ridge is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadow Ridge
    • Shadow Run
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Shadow Run is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadow Run
    • Shady Cove
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Shady Cove is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Cove
    • Shady Oaks
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Shady Oaks is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Oaks
    • Shoals
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Shoals is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shoals
    • Summer Springs
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Summer Springs is located in Hillsborough County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summer Springs

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

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

  • Tampa, which is the Seat of Hillsborough County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Colonial Hills to Tampa, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Tallahassee, which is the State Capital of Florida, lies 217 miles [349.2 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 13 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 821 miles [1,321.3 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 32 days and walking would take 47 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,616 miles [10,647.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,283 miles [11,720.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,184 miles [8,342.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 from Point A (ie- Colonial 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Colonial 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 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.
<4>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 Colonial 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 Colonial Hills. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 27.8191, Longitude: -82.2677       In this case, the coordinates for Colonial Hills have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.718 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.08 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.857 degrees.