RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Maryland >> Baltimore County >> Brightside >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Brightside, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Brightside 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 Brightside:
    • 39.385384, -76.642747
    • 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 Brightside
  • 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 Baltimore County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Baltimore County
    • Since Brightside is near Baltimore City and also Anne Arundel County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Baltimore City
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Anne Arundel 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 Brightside

Communities Also Named Brightside ...

We found five communities that are also named Brightside.

Within Maryland, the name Brightside is unique.

Beyond Maryland, we know of five communities that are located 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 ...
    • California
      • Alameda County
      • This Brightside is located in Alameda County and lies 2,424 miles [3,901 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Brightside that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Alameda County community of Brightside.
    • Massachusetts
      • Hampden County
      • This Brightside is located in Hampden County and lies 284 miles [457.1 km]<1> to the northeast of the Brightside that is located in Baltimore County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hampden County community of Brightside.
    • New York
      • Hamilton 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 New York community of Brightside [Hamilton County].
    • Ontario
      • This Brightside lies 396 miles [637.3 km]<1> to the north of the Brightside that is located in Baltimore County.
    • Pennsylvania
      • Bucks 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 Pennsylvania community of Brightside [Bucks County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Brightside ...

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.

  • Bare Hills
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Bare Hills is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bare Hills
  • Bonnie Ridge
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Bonnie Ridge is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonnie Ridge
  • Boxwood
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Boxwood is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boxwood
  • Chestnut Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Chestnut Hill is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hill
  • Cold Spring
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Cold Spring is located in Baltimore City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Spring
  • Donnybrook
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Donnybrook is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Donnybrook
  • Evergreen
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Evergreen is located in Baltimore City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
  • Falls Gable
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Falls Gable is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falls Gable
  • Four Winds
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Four Winds is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Four Winds
  • Gallagher Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Gallagher Park is located in Baltimore City
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallagher Park
  • Green Ridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Green Ridge is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Ridge
  • Greengate
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Greengate is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greengate
  • Continue List   (21 more) ...
    • Homeland
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Homeland is located in Baltimore City
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homeland
    • Jones Valley
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Jones Valley is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones Valley
    • Lake
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Lake is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake
    • Lutherville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Martins Choice
      (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
      • Martins Choice is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martins Choice
    • Meadowland
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Meadowland is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowland
    • Orchard Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Orchard Hills is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Hills
    • Pickwick
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Pickwick is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pickwick
    • Ridervale
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Ridervale is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridervale
    • Riderwood
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Riderwood is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riderwood
    • Riderwood Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Riderwood Hills is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riderwood Hills
    • Rockland
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Rockland is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland
    • Rockland Run
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Rockland Run is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockland Run
    • Rodgers Forge
      (Less than 2 miles to the east)
      • Rodgers Forge is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rodgers Forge
    • Seminary Overlook
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Seminary Overlook is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminary Overlook
    • Seminary Springs
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Seminary Springs is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminary Springs
    • Summit Chase
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Summit Chase is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Chase
    • Summit Park
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Summit Park is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summit Park
    • Sunset Knoll
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Sunset Knoll is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Knoll
    • Twinridge
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Twinridge is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twinridge
    • Valley Stream
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Valley Stream is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Stream

How Far From Brightside 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 community such as Brightside to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic<4> community of Brightside once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Brightside and extending to:

  • Towson, which is the Seat of Baltimore County, lies just to the East Northeast.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 29 miles [46.7 km]<1> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could walk a straight line from Brightside to Annapolis, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 39 miles [62.8 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just about two full days and walking would take over two days.
  • The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,860 miles [9,430.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,566 miles [10,567 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,443 miles [7,150.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Brightside) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Brightside 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>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>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 Brightside, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<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 Brightside 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 Brightside. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.3854, Longitude: -76.6427       In this case, the coordinates for Brightside have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.624 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.212 degrees.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.357 degrees.