Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Okoboji, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Okoboji and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Okoboji
- 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 Okoboji:
- 43.386945, -95.148085
- 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 Okoboji
- 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 Dickinson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Dickinson County
- Since Okoboji is near Clay County and also Jackson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Clay County
- eBird sighting report for Jackson 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 Okoboji ...
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.
- Alpha
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the northeast) - Dickens
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickens
- Dickens is located in Clay County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 168 people
- Fallow
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast) - Harris
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris
- Harris is located in Osceola County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 158 people
- May City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for May City
- May City is located in Osceola County
- Orleans
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Round Lake
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Round Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Lake
- Round Lake is located in Nobles County (MN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 364 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Round Lake <2>
- Spirit Lake
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spirit Lake
- Spirit Lake is located in Dickinson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,251 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spirit Lake <2>
- Superior
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Superior have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Superior
- Superior is located in Dickinson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 124 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Superior <2>
How Far From Okoboji 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 Okoboji to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Okoboji and extending to:
- Spirit Lake, which is the Seat of Dickinson County, lies just to the Northeast.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 146 miles [235 km]<3> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Okoboji to Des Moines, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 989 miles [1,591.6 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 39 days and walking would take 57 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,366 miles [10,245.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,121 miles [11,460.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,028 miles [8,091.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Okoboji. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Dickinson County: www.co.dickinson.ia.us/
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Okoboji) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Okoboji. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.3869, Longitude: -95.1481 |
| <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 Okoboji 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 319.608 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.449 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.053 degrees. |