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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Sylvan Park, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sylvan Park 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 Sylvan Park:
    • 39.621213, -76.917202
    • 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 Sylvan Park
  • 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 Sylvan Park is near Baltimore County and also York County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Baltimore County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for York 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 Sylvan Park

Communities Also Named Sylvan Park ...

We found two communities that are also named Sylvan Park.

Within Maryland, the name Sylvan Park is unique.

Beyond Maryland, we know of two communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • California
      • Santa Clara County
      • This Sylvan Park is located in Santa Clara County and lies 2,418 miles [3,891.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Sylvan Park that is located in Carroll County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Santa Clara County community of Sylvan Park.
    • Kansas
      • Morris 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 Kansas community of Sylvan Park [Morris County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sylvan Park ...

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.

  • Adams Chance
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Adams Chance is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Adams Chance
  • Advocates Choice
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Advocates Choice is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Advocates Choice
  • Ben-Har Heights
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Ben-Har Heights is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ben-Har Heights
  • Cranberry
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Cranberry is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranberry
  • Eden Farms
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Eden Farms is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden Farms
  • Finlandia
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Finlandia is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finlandia
  • Green Acres
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Green Acres is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
  • Greenmount
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Greenmount is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenmount
  • Hillside
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Hillside is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillside
  • Holland Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Holland Hills is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland Hills
  • Hunt Ridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Hunt Ridge is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt Ridge
  • Lees Corner
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Lees Corner is located in Carroll County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Corner
  • Continue List   (18 more) ...
    • Maple Grove
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Maple Grove is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
    • Mexico
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Mexico is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mexico
    • Mountain Lake View
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Mountain Lake View is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Lake View
    • New Mexico
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • New Mexico is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Mexico
    • Park Ridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Park Ridge is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Ridge
    • Random Heights
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • Random Heights is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Random Heights
    • Raven Run
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Raven Run is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raven Run
    • Reeds Village
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Reeds Village is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reeds Village
    • Roseville Heights
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Roseville Heights is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roseville Heights
    • Royal Heights
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Royal Heights is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Heights
    • Singer Heights
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Singer Heights is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Singer Heights
    • Small Crossings
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
      • Small Crossings is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Small Crossings
    • Spring Meadow
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Spring Meadow is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Meadow
    • Summer Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Summer Hills is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summer Hills
    • Tannery
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Tannery is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tannery
    • Velvet Run
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
      • Velvet Run is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Velvet Run
    • Whispering Valley
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
      • Whispering Valley is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whispering Valley
    • Winterberry
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
      • Winterberry is located in Carroll County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winterberry

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

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

  • Westminster, which is the Seat of Carroll County, lies just to the West Southwest.
  • Annapolis, which is the State Capital of Maryland, lies 49 miles [78.9 km]<1> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could walk a straight line from Sylvan Park to Annapolis, 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 50 miles [80.5 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take most of three days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,862 miles [9,434 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,570 miles [10,573.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,446 miles [7,155.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>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- Sylvan Park) 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 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 Sylvan Park 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 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 Sylvan Park 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 Sylvan Park. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.6212, Longitude: -76.9172       In this case, the coordinates for Sylvan Park have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.77 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.415 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.381 degrees.