RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Massachusetts >> Worcester County >> Sandy Beach >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Sandy Beach, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sandy Beach and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Sandy Beach:
    • 42.338980, -71.943963
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Sandy Beach
  • 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 Worcester County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Worcester County
    • Since Sandy Beach is near Hampshire County and also Middlesex County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hampshire County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Middlesex 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Sandy Beach

Communities Also Named Sandy Beach ...

We found fourteen communities that are also named Sandy Beach.

There is one other community in Massachusetts that is also named Sandy Beach.

Beyond Massachusetts, we know of thirteen communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these thirteen communities, nine are located in the United States and seven are in Canada.

  • Communities Located In Massachusetts ...
    • Norfolk County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Massachusetts community of Sandy Beach [Norfolk County].
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alberta
      • We haven't found the location of this community yet.
    • Connecticut
      • Litchfield County
      • This Sandy Beach is located in Litchfield County and lies 79 miles [127.1 km]<2> to the west southwest of the Sandy Beach that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Litchfield County community of Sandy Beach.
    • Delaware
      • Sussex County
      • This Sandy Beach is located in Sussex County and lies 312 miles [502.1 km]<2> to the southwest of the Sandy Beach that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sussex County community of Sandy Beach.
    • Indiana
      • Carroll County
      • This Sandy Beach is located in Carroll County and lies 773 miles [1,244 km]<2> to the west of the Sandy Beach that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Carroll County community of Sandy Beach.
    • Maine
      • Penobscot County
      • This Sandy Beach is located in Penobscot County and lies 237 miles [381.4 km]<2> to the northeast of the Sandy Beach that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Penobscot County community of Sandy Beach.
    • Michigan
      • Cass County
      • This Sandy Beach is located in Cass County and lies 728 miles [1,171.6 km]<2> to the west of the Sandy Beach that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cass County community of Sandy Beach.
      • Saint Joseph County
      • This Sandy Beach is located in Saint Joseph County and lies 696 miles [1,120.1 km] to the west of the Sandy Beach that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Joseph County community of Sandy Beach.
    • New York
      • Erie County
      • This Sandy Beach is located in Erie County and lies 359 miles [577.8 km]<2> to the west of the Sandy Beach that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Erie County community of Sandy Beach.
    • Newfoundland and Labrador
      • This Sandy Beach lies 979 miles [1,575.5 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Sandy Beach that is located in Worcester County.
    • Ohio
      • Auglaize County
      • This Sandy Beach is located in Auglaize County and lies 658 miles [1,058.9 km]<2> to the west of the Sandy Beach that is located in Worcester County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Auglaize County community of Sandy Beach.
    • Ontario
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Ontario community of Sandy Beach.
    • Quebec
      • This Sandy Beach lies 575 miles [925.4 km]<2> to the northeast of the Sandy Beach that is located in Worcester County.
    • Saskatchewan
      • This Sandy Beach lies 1,598 miles [2,571.7 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Sandy Beach that is located in Worcester County.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sandy Beach ...

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.

  • Burncoat
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
    • Burncoat is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burncoat
  • Cherry Valley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Cherry Valley is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Valley
  • Hillsville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Hillsville is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsville
  • Jamesville ‑ Historic
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Jamesville is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamesville
  • June Street
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • June Street is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for June Street
  • Lambs Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Lambs Grove is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lambs Grove
  • Lower Wire Village
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Lower Wire Village is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lower Wire Village
  • Ruralville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Ruralville is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ruralville
  • Rutland
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Rutland is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rutland
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 9,024 people
  • Salisbury Heights
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Salisbury Heights is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury Heights
  • Unionville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Unionville is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
  • University Park
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • University Park is located in Worcester County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Park

How Far From Sandy Beach 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 Sandy Beach to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Sandy Beach and extending to:

  • Worcester, which is the Seat of Worcester County, lies just to the Southeast.
  • Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 45 miles [72.4 km]<2> to the east (E). If you could walk a straight line from Sandy Beach to Boston, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 357 miles [574.5 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 21 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,542 miles [8,919 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,250 miles [10,058.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,126 miles [6,640.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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 Sandy Beach 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.
<2>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- Sandy Beach) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Sandy Beach to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sandy Beach. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3390, Longitude: -71.9440       In this case, the coordinates for Sandy Beach have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 304.509 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 300.168 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.98 degrees.