Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Worcester, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Worcester and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Worcester
- 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 Worcester:
- 42.264482, -71.799688
- 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 Worcester
- 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:
- eBird sighting report for Worcester County
- Since Worcester is near Middlesex County and also Windham County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Middlesex County
- eBird sighting report for Windham 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 Worcester ...
We found eight communities that share the name Worcester.
Within Massachusetts, the name Worcester is unique.
Beyond Massachusetts, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eight communities, seven are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Indiana
- Michigan
- Missouri
- New York
- Pennsylvania
- Saskatchewan
- This Worcester lies 1,603 miles [2,579.8 km]<3> to the west northwest of the Worcester that is located in Worcester County.
- Vermont
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Worcester ...
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
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Cherry Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Valley
- Cherry Valley is located in Worcester County
- Dorothy Pond
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dorothy Pond have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dorothy Pond
- Dorothy Pond is located in Worcester County
- Fairlawn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Heard Street
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heard Street have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heard Street
- Heard Street is located in Worcester County
- Island
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Jamesville ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jamesville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jamesville
- Jamesville is located in Worcester County
- June Street
(Less than 2 miles to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for June Street have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for June Street
- June Street is located in Worcester County
- Lakeview
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
- Lakeview is located in Worcester County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Lakeview
- From Worcester to Lakeview
- Maplewood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Pinecrest
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Pondville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Continue List (5 more) ...
- Rice Square
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rice Square have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rice Square
- Rice Square is located in Worcester County
- Salisbury Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salisbury Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury Heights
- Salisbury Heights is located in Worcester County
- Union Hill
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
- Union Hill is located in Worcester County
- University Park
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for University Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Park
- University Park is located in Worcester County
- Woodland Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodland Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Park
- Woodland Park is located in Worcester County
- Rice Square
How Far From Worcester to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Worcester to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Worcester and extending to:
- Boston, which is the State Capital of Massachusetts, lies 38 miles [61.2 km]<3> to the east (E). If you could walk a straight line from Worcester to Boston, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take over two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 359 miles [577.8 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<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,539 miles [8,914.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,247 miles [10,053.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,123 miles [6,635.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Worcester: www.ci.worcester.ma.us/
The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/
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 Worcester 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> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Worcester, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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- Worcester) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Worcester. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2645, Longitude: -71.7997 |
| <4> | 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. |
| <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 Worcester 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 304.433 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 300.07 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 300.952 degrees. |