Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Needham Heights, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Needham Heights and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Needham Heights
- 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 Needham Heights:
- 42.294542, -71.232833
- 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 Needham Heights
- 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 Norfolk County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Norfolk County
- Since Needham Heights is near Middlesex County and also Suffolk County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Middlesex County
- eBird sighting report for Suffolk 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 Needham Heights ...
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.
- Camp Mary Day
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Camp Mary Day have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Camp Mary Day
- Camp Mary Day is located in Middlesex County
- Cedarwood
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Chestnut Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chestnut Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
- Chestnut Hill is located in Middlesex County
- Dover
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Grantville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grantville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grantville
- Grantville is located in Norfolk County
- Greenlodge
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenlodge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenlodge
- Greenlodge is located in Norfolk County
- Highland
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Mount Hope
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Hope have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Hope
- Mount Hope is located in Suffolk County
- Piety Corner
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Piety Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piety Corner
- Piety Corner is located in Middlesex County
- Readville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Reservoir
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Riverview
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)
How Far From Needham Heights 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 Needham Heights to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Needham Heights and extending to:
- Dedham, which is the Seat of Norfolk County, lies just to the Southeast.
- Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<2> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could walk a straight line from Needham Heights to Boston, with an average speed<3> 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.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 384 miles [618 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of a day, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 22 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,514 miles [8,873.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,220 miles [10,010.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,097 miles [6,593.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Needham Heights. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Norfolk County: www.norfolkcounty.org/
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Needham Heights) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Needham Heights. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2945, Longitude: -71.2328 In this case, the coordinates for Needham Heights have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Needham Heights to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 304.089 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 299.688 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.682 degrees. |