Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Avalon, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Avalon and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Avalon
- 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 Avalon:
- 44.188889, -94.051389
- 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 Avalon
- 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 Nicollet County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Nicollet County
- Since Avalon is near Blue Earth County and also Le Sueur County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Blue Earth County
- eBird sighting report for Le Sueur 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 Avalon ...
We found 25 communities that share the name Avalon.
Within Minnesota, the name Avalon is unique.
Beyond Minnesota, we know of another 25 communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- California
- Delaware
- Georgia
- Chatham 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 Georgia community of Avalon [Chatham County].
- Clayton County
- This Avalon is located in Clayton County and lies 899 miles [1,446.8 km]<1> to the southeast of the Avalon that is located in Nicollet County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clayton County community of Avalon.
- Dougherty County
- This Avalon is located in Dougherty County and lies 1,022 miles [1,644.7 km] to the southeast of the Avalon that is located in Nicollet County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dougherty County community of Avalon.
- Franklin 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 Georgia community of Avalon [Franklin County].
- Newton County
- This Avalon is located in Newton County and lies 919 miles [1,479 km] to the southeast of the Avalon that is located in Nicollet County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Newton County community of Avalon.
- Stephens County
- This Avalon is located in Stephens County and lies 883 miles [1,421.1 km] to the southeast of the Avalon that is located in Nicollet County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Stephens County community of Avalon.
- Indiana
- Louisiana
- East Baton Rouge Parish
- This Avalon is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and lies 963 miles [1,549.8 km]<1> to the south of the Avalon that is located in Nicollet County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the East Baton Rouge Parish community of Avalon.
- Saint Mary Parish
- This Avalon is located in Saint Mary Parish and lies 1,010 miles [1,625.4 km] to the south of the Avalon that is located in Nicollet County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Saint Mary Parish community of Avalon.
- Maryland
- Baltimore County
- This Avalon is located in Baltimore County and lies 954 miles [1,535.3 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Avalon that is located in Nicollet County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Baltimore County community of Avalon.
- Talbot County
- This Avalon is located in Talbot County and lies 989 miles [1,591.6 km] to the east southeast of the Avalon that is located in Nicollet County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Talbot County community of Avalon.
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- Ohio
- Butler County
- This Avalon is located in Butler County and lies 591 miles [951.1 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Avalon that is located in Nicollet County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Butler County community of Avalon.
- Perry County
- This Avalon is located in Perry County and lies 672 miles [1,081.5 km] to the east southeast of the Avalon that is located in Nicollet County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Perry County community of Avalon.
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
- Virginia
- Chesapeake City
- This Avalon is located in Chesapeake City and lies 1,060 miles [1,705.9 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Avalon that is located in Nicollet County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chesapeake City community of Avalon.
- Northumberland County
- This Avalon is located in Northumberland County and lies 1,012 miles [1,628.7 km] to the east southeast of the Avalon that is located in Nicollet County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Northumberland County community of Avalon.
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Avalon ...
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.
- Butternut
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west) - Eagle Lake
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Lake
- Eagle Lake is located in Blue Earth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,123 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eagle Lake <5>
- Garden City
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden City have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Garden City
- Garden City is located in Blue Earth County
- Good Thunder
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Good Thunder have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Good Thunder
- Good Thunder is located in Blue Earth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 566 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Good Thunder <5>
- Lake Crystal
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Crystal
- Lake Crystal is located in Blue Earth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,512 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Crystal <5>
- Marysburg
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east) - Poor Farm Landing
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poor Farm Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poor Farm Landing
- Poor Farm Landing is located in Nicollet County
- Skyline
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Traverse
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
How Far From Avalon 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 Avalon to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Avalon and extending to:
- Saint Peter, which is the Seat of Nicollet County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Avalon to Saint Peter, 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 70 miles [112.7 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 949 miles [1,527.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 37 days and walking would take 54 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,289 miles [10,121.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,043 miles [11,334.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,951 miles [7,967.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Avalon. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Nicollet County: www.co.nicollet.mn.us/
The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Avalon) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Avalon. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.1889, Longitude: -94.0514 In this case, the coordinates for Avalon have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 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 Avalon 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> | 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 Avalon, 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 Avalon 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 318.846 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.683 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.27 degrees. |