Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Topeka, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Topeka and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Topeka
- 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 Topeka:
- 41.539418, -85.539389
- 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 Topeka
- 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 LaGrange County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for LaGrange County
- Since Topeka is near Noble County and also Elkhart County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Noble County
- eBird sighting report for Elkhart 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 Topeka ...
We found six communities that share the name Topeka.
Within Indiana, the name Topeka is unique.
Beyond Indiana, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Oklahoma
Curious and Interesting Names Near Topeka ...
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.
- Buttermilk Point
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buttermilk Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buttermilk Point
- Buttermilk Point is located in Kosciusko County
- Cedar Point
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Point
- Cedar Point is located in Kosciusko County
- Emma
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Enchanted Hills
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Enchanted Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Enchanted Hills
- Enchanted Hills is located in Kosciusko County
- Honeyville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Honeyville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honeyville
- Honeyville is located in LaGrange County
- Indian Village
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Indian Village is located in Noble County
- Marineland Gardens
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marineland Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marineland Gardens
- Marineland Gardens is located in Kosciusko County
- Pickwick Park
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pickwick Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickwick Park
- Pickwick Park is located in Kosciusko County
- Plato
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plato
- Plato is located in LaGrange County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Plato
- From Topeka to Plato
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Rome City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rome City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rome City
- Rome City is located in Noble County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,400 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rome City <4>
- South Park
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Park
- South Park is located in Kosciusko County
- Stony Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stony Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Creek
- Stony Creek is located in LaGrange County
- Sunrise Beach
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunrise Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise Beach
- Sunrise Beach is located in Kosciusko County
- Twin Lakes
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Twin Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lakes
- Twin Lakes is located in LaGrange County
- Valentine
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valentine
- Valentine is located in LaGrange County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Valentine
- From Topeka to Valentine
- Rome City
How Far From Topeka 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 town such as Topeka to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Topeka and extending to:
- LaGrange, which is the Seat of LaGrange County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Topeka to LaGrange, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Indianapolis, which is the State Capital of Indiana, lies 126 miles [202.8 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 483 miles [777.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 19 days and walking would take 28 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,120 miles [9,849.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,854 miles [11,030.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,734 miles [7,618.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Topeka. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for LaGrange County: www.lagrangecounty.org/
The official website for State of Indiana: https://www.in.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Topeka) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Topeka. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.5394, Longitude: -85.5394 |
| <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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek 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 Topeka 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 Topeka 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 313.064 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.72 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.645 degrees. |