Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Destin, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Destin and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Destin
- 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 Destin:
- 30.397115, -86.483688
- 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 Destin
- 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 Okaloosa County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Okaloosa County
- Since Destin is near Walton County and also Santa Rosa County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Walton 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 Destin ...
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.
- Big Hammock
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Hammock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Hammock
- Big Hammock is located in Walton County
- Choctaw Beach
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Choctaw Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Choctaw Beach
- Choctaw Beach is located in Walton County
- Dana Point
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dana Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana Point
- Dana Point is located in Okaloosa County
- Dana Pointe
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dana Pointe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dana Pointe
- Dana Pointe is located in Okaloosa County
- Four Mile Village
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Four Mile Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Mile Village
- Four Mile Village is located in Walton County
- Gulf Pines
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gulf Pines have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gulf Pines
- Gulf Pines is located in Walton County
- Longwood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Mary Esther
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mary Esther
- Mary Esther is located in Okaloosa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,462 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mary Esther <2>
- Niceville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Niceville
- Niceville is located in Okaloosa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,217 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Niceville <2>
- Seascape
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
How Far From Destin 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 Destin to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Destin and extending to:
- Crestview, which is the Seat of Okaloosa County, lies 25 miles [40.2 km]<3> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Destin to Crestview, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Tallahassee, which is the State Capital of Florida, lies 131 miles [210.8 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 794 miles [1,277.8 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 31 days and walking would take 46 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,686 miles [10,760.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,381 miles [11,878.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,262 miles [8,468.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Destin: www.cityofdestin.com/
The official website for Okaloosa County: www.co.okaloosa.fl.us/
The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/
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 '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- Destin) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Destin. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 30.3971, Longitude: -86.4837 |
| <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 Destin 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 313.256 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.372 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.796 degrees. |