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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Ridgemar, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ridgemar 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 Ridgemar:
    • 39.376493, -76.911089
    • 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 Ridgemar
  • 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 Carroll County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Carroll County
    • Since Ridgemar is near Howard County and also Baltimore County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Howard County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Baltimore 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 Ridgemar

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ridgemar ...

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.

  • Alpha
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Alpha is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Alpha
  • Bonnie Brae
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Bonnie Brae is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonnie Brae
  • Driver
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Driver is located in Howard County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Driver
  • Eldersburg
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Fairhaven
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Fairhaven is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
  • Forest Oaks
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Forest Oaks is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Oaks
  • Freedom
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Freedom is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom
  • Freedom Forest
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Freedom Forest is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom Forest
  • Freedom Village
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Freedom Village is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freedom Village
  • Grand View
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Grand View is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand View
  • Granite
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Granite is located in Baltimore County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granite
  • Harvest Farms
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Harvest Farms is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvest Farms
  • Continue List   (17 more) ...
    • Hawk Ridge
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Hawk Ridge is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawk Ridge
    • Heritage Farms
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Heritage Farms is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Farms
    • Hilltop
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Hilltop is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltop
    • Indian Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Indian Hill is located in Howard County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hill
    • Johnsville
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Johnsville is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsville
    • Lakeview
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Lakeview is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
    • Liberty Lake Hills
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Liberty Lake Hills is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Lake Hills
    • Liberty Manor
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Liberty Manor is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Manor
    • Long Meadows
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Long Meadows is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Meadows
    • Longview Heights
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Longview Heights is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Longview Heights
    • Oklahoma
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
      • Oklahoma is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oklahoma
    • Patriots Choice
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Patriots Choice is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patriots Choice
    • Piney Ridge Village
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Piney Ridge Village is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Ridge Village
    • Reservoir Ridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Reservoir Ridge is located in Baltimore County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reservoir Ridge
    • Squires
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Squires is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squires
    • Sweet Air
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Sweet Air is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweet Air
    • Waters Edge
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Waters Edge is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waters Edge

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Ridgemar and extending to:

  • Westminster, which is the Seat of Carroll County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<2> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Ridgemar to Westminster, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 35 miles [56.3 km] to the southeast (SE). 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 most of two days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 33 miles [53.1 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just over a day and walking would take most of two days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,872 miles [9,450.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,579 miles [10,587.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,455 miles [7,169.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ridgemar) 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 Ridgemar 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 Ridgemar. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.3765, Longitude: -76.9111       In this case, the coordinates for Ridgemar have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.783 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.392 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.475 degrees.