Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Orlando, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Orlando and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Orlando
- 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 Orlando:
- 28.535666, -81.383369
- 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 Orlando
- 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 Orange County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Orange County
- Since Orlando is near Seminole County and also Osceola County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Seminole County
- eBird sighting report for Osceola 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
Communities Also Named Orlando ...
We found ten communities that share the name Orlando.
Within Florida, the name Orlando is unique.
Beyond Florida, we know of another ten communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Nebraska
- New York
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Virginia
- Prince William 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 Virginia community of Orlando [Prince William County].
- Suffolk City
- This Orlando is located in Suffolk City and lies 630 miles [1,013.9 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Orlando that is located in Orange County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Suffolk City community of Orlando.
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Orlando ...
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.
- Doctor Phillips
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Doctor Phillips have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Doctor Phillips
- Doctor Phillips is located in Orange County
- Fern Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fern Park
- Fern Park is located in Seminole County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fern Park <4>
- Forest City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
- Forest City is located in Seminole County
- Goldenrod
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldenrod
- Goldenrod is located in Orange County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Goldenrod <4>
- Lake Butter
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Butter have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Butter
- Lake Butter is located in Orange County
- Minorville ‑ Historic
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Minorville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Minorville
- Minorville is located in Orange County
- Pine Castle
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Castle
- Pine Castle is located in Orange County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pine Castle <4>
- Sand Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Lake
- Sand Lake is located in Orange County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sand Lake <4>
- Sky Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Tangelo Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tangelo Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tangelo Park
- Tangelo Park is located in Orange County
- Union Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Park
- Union Park is located in Orange County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Union Park <4>
- Winter Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winter Park
- Winter Park is located in Orange County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 30,667 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Winter Park <4>
How Far From Orlando 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 city such as Orlando to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Orlando and extending to:
- Tallahassee, which is the State Capital of Florida, lies 218 miles [350.8 km]<1> to the northwest (NW). If you could drive a straight line from Orlando to Tallahassee, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take nearly four hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 13 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 757 miles [1,218.3 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 43 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,543 miles [10,529.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,211 miles [11,605 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,111 miles [8,225.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Orlando: www.cityoforlando.net/
The official website for Orange County: www.orangecountyfl.net/
The official website for State of Florida: www.myflorida.com/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Orlando) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Orlando. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 28.5357, Longitude: -81.3834 |
| <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 Orlando 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> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Orlando to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.304 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.70 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.424 degrees. |