Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Afton, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Afton and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Afton
- 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 Afton:
- 44.904160, -92.817355
- 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 Afton
- 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 Washington County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Washington County
- Since Afton is near Saint Croix County and also Ramsey County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Saint Croix County
- eBird sighting report for Ramsey 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 Afton ...
We found 33 communities that share the name Afton.
Within Minnesota, the name Afton is unique.
Beyond Minnesota, we know of another 33 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 33 communities, 32 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- California
- Glenn County
- This Afton is located in Glenn County and lies 1,530 miles [2,462.3 km]<2> to the west of the Afton that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Glenn County community of Afton.
- San Bernardino County
- This Afton is located in San Bernardino County and lies 1,413 miles [2,274 km] to the west southwest of the Afton that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the San Bernardino County community of Afton.
- Delaware
- Georgia
- Berrien County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Afton [Berrien County].
- Dawson County
- This Afton is located in Dawson County and lies 849 miles [1,366.3 km]<2> to the southeast of the Afton that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dawson County community of Afton.
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Marshall County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Afton [Marshall County].
- Sedgwick County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Afton [Sedgwick County].
- Sumner County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Afton [Sumner County].
- Louisiana
- Madison Parish
- This Afton is located in Madison Parish and lies 878 miles [1,413 km]<2> to the south of the Afton that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Madison Parish community of Afton.
- Tensas Parish
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Louisiana community of Afton [Tensas Parish].
- Michigan
- Charlevoix County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Afton [Charlevoix County].
- Cheboygan County
- This Afton is located in Cheboygan County and lies 406 miles [653.4 km]<2> to the east of the Afton that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cheboygan County community of Afton.
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- Nova Scotia
- This Afton lies 1,503 miles [2,418.8 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Afton that is located in Washington County.
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Greene County
- This Afton is located in Greene County and lies 799 miles [1,285.9 km]<2> to the southeast of the Afton that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greene County community of Afton.
- Sullivan County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Tennessee community of Afton [Sullivan County].
- Texas
- Virginia
- Chesterfield County
- This Afton is located in Chesterfield County and lies 948 miles [1,525.7 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Afton that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chesterfield County community of Afton.
- Nelson County
- This Afton is located in Nelson County and lies 863 miles [1,388.9 km] to the east southeast of the Afton that is located in Washington County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Nelson County community of Afton.
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Curious and Interesting Names Near Afton ...
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.
- Birchwood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest) - Cottage Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Grove
- Cottage Grove is located in Washington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 38,170 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cottage Grove <5>
- Glover
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Grant
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north) - Highwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west) - Lake Elmo
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Elmo
- Lake Elmo is located in Washington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,280 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Elmo <5>
- Landfall
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Maplewood
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood
- Maplewood is located in Ramsey County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 40,653 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maplewood <5>
- Pine Bend
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest) - Pine Springs
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Springs
- Pine Springs is located in Washington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 390 people
- Roseport
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest) - Stillwater
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stillwater have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stillwater
- Stillwater is located in Washington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 19,694 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stillwater <5>
- Sunfish Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunfish Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunfish Lake
- Sunfish Lake is located in Dakota County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 551 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sunfish Lake <5>
How Far From Afton to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Afton to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Afton and extending to:
- Stillwater, which is the Seat of Washington County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<2> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Afton to Stillwater, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 13 miles [20.9 km] to the west northwest (WNW). The buggy would take four to five hours and walking would take 6 hours.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 908 miles [1,461.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of two days, a buggy would take 36 days and walking would take 52 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,212 miles [9,997.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,966 miles [11,210.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,873 miles [7,842.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Afton: www.cityofafton.net/
The official website for Washington County: www.co.washington.mn.us/
The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Afton 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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Afton) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Afton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.9042, Longitude: -92.8174 In this case, the coordinates for Afton have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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 Afton, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Afton to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.979 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.789 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.416 degrees. |