Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Holyoke, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Holyoke and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Holyoke
- 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 Holyoke:
- 42.204457, -72.618406
- 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 Holyoke
- 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 Hampden County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Hampden County
- Since Holyoke is near Hampshire County and also Franklin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Hampshire County
- eBird sighting report for Franklin 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 Holyoke ...
We found five communities that share the name Holyoke.
Within Massachusetts, the name Holyoke is unique.
Beyond Massachusetts, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these five communities, four are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alberta
- This Holyoke lies 1,902 miles [3,061 km]<1> to the northwest of the Holyoke that is located in Hampden County.
- Colorado
- Kansas
- Ellsworth 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 Kansas community of Holyoke [Ellsworth County].
- Franklin County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Holyoke [Franklin County].
- Minnesota
- Alberta
Curious and Interesting Names Near Holyoke ...
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.
- Cayenne
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Chicopee
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chicopee
- Chicopee is located in Hampden County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54,825 people
- Freeman Knoll
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeman Knoll have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman Knoll
- Freeman Knoll is located in Hampden County
- Great Swamp
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Great Swamp have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Great Swamp
- Great Swamp is located in Hampshire County
- Hockanum
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Indian Orchard
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Orchard have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Orchard
- Indian Orchard is located in Hampden County
- Liberty Heights
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Liberty Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Heights
- Liberty Heights is located in Hampden County
- Moody Corner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moody Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moody Corner
- Moody Corner is located in Hampshire County
- Mount Tom
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Mountain Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Park
- Mountain Park is located in Hampden County
- Plainville ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainville
- Plainville is located in Hampden County
- Rock Valley
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Valley
- Rock Valley is located in Hampden County
- Sandy Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandy Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Hill
- Sandy Hill is located in Hampden County
How Far From Holyoke 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 Holyoke to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Holyoke and extending to:
- Springfield, which is the Seat of Hampden County, lies just to the South Southeast.
- Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 80 miles [128.7 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Holyoke to Boston, 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 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 325 miles [523 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,575 miles [8,972.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,285 miles [10,114.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,161 miles [6,696.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Holyoke: www.holyoke.org/
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/
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 drawn from Point A (ie- Holyoke) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Holyoke. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2045, Longitude: -72.6184 |
| <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 Holyoke 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 Holyoke 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 304.934 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 300.624 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 301.351 degrees. |