Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for West Forks

• 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 West Forks:
  • 45.396995, -70.036175
  • 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 West Forks

• 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 Somerset County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Somerset County
  • Since West Forks is near Piscataquis County and also Franklin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Piscataquis County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Franklin 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 West Forks

Curious and Interesting Names Near West Forks ...

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.

• Blair
  (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Blair is located in Somerset County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blair
• Greenville Junction
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
  • Greenville Junction is located in Piscataquis County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville Junction
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenville Junction <1>
• Jackman
  (18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)
  • Jackman is located in Somerset County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackman
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 813 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jackman <1>
• Jackman Mill ‑ Historic
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
  • Jackman Mill is located in Somerset County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jackman Mill
• Long Pond
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Long Pond is located in Somerset County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Pond
• Moose Brook
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Moose Brook is located in Piscataquis County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moose Brook
• Moose River
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Moose River is located in Somerset County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moose River
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 207 people
• Moosehead
  (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
  • Moosehead is located in Piscataquis County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moosehead
• Pleasant Pond
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Pleasant Pond is located in Somerset County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Pond
• Three Streams
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Three Streams is located in Somerset County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Streams
• Troutdale
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Troutdale is located in Somerset County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Troutdale

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

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

• Skowhegan, which is the Seat of Somerset County, lies 46 miles [74 km]<2> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from West Forks to Skowhegan, 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.
• Augusta, which is the State Capital of Maine, lies 76 miles [122.3 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 573 miles [922.2 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 33 days.
• The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,346 miles [8,603.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<5>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,064 miles [9,759.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 3,939 miles [6,339.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>'