Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Lakes, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Lakes and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Lakes
- 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 Lakes:
- 37.504167, -83.937222
- 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 Lakes
- 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 Jackson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Jackson County
- Since Lakes is near Lee County and also Estill County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lee County
- eBird sighting report for Estill 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 Lakes ...
We found eleven communities that share the name Lakes.
Within Kentucky, the name Lakes is unique.
Beyond Kentucky, we know of another eleven communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alaska
- This Lakes lies 3,186 miles [5,127.4 km]<1> to the northwest of the Lakes that is located in Jackson County.
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Maryland
- Minnesota
- Nevada
- North Carolina
- Virginia
- Bedford 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 Lakes [Bedford County].
- Virginia Beach City
- This Lakes is located in Virginia Beach City and lies 434 miles [698.5 km]<1> to the east of the Lakes that is located in Jackson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Virginia Beach City community of Lakes.
- Washington
- Alaska
Curious and Interesting Names Near Lakes ...
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.
- Brazil
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Chestnut Flat
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chestnut Flat have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Flat
- Chestnut Flat is located in Jackson County
- Drip Rock
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Foxtown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Huff
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Lynch Town
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lynch Town have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lynch Town
- Lynch Town is located in Estill County
- Salt Rock
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Sand Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sand Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Springs
- Sand Springs is located in Jackson County
- Sparks
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Turkey Foot
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Turkey Foot have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turkey Foot
- Turkey Foot is located in Jackson County
- Wind Cave
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
How Far From Lakes 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 Lakes to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Lakes and extending to:
- McKee, which is the Seat of Jackson County, lies just to the Southwest.
- Frankfort, which is the State Capital of Kentucky, lies 70 miles [112.7 km]<1> to the northwest (NW). If you could drive a straight line from Lakes to Frankfort, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take three full days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 386 miles [621.2 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 22 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,246 miles [10,052 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,962 miles [11,204.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,838 miles [7,786 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Lakes. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Kentucky: https://kentucky.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 from Point A (ie- Lakes) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Lakes. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5042, Longitude: -83.9372 In this case, the coordinates for Lakes have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Lakes 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 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 Lakes 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 312.073 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.004 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.114 degrees. |