Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Howard Lake, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Howard Lake and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Howard Lake
- 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 Howard Lake:
- 45.060762, -94.073749
- 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 Howard Lake
- 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 Wright County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Wright County
- Since Howard Lake is near McLeod County and also Carver County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for McLeod County
- eBird sighting report for Carver 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Howard Lake ...
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.
- Buffalo
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Buffalo have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo
- Buffalo is located in Wright County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 16,853 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Buffalo <2>
- French Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for French Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Lake
- French Lake is located in Wright County
- Highland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Jennie
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the west) - Knapp
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest) - Lester Prairie
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lester Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lester Prairie
- Lester Prairie is located in McLeod County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,724 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lester Prairie <2>
- Maple Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Lake
- Maple Lake is located in Wright County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,149 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maple Lake <2>
- New Germany
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Germany have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Germany
- New Germany is located in Carver County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 422 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Germany <2>
- Rice Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Silver Lake
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
- Silver Lake is located in McLeod County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 806 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Silver Lake <2>
How Far From Howard Lake 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 Howard Lake to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Howard Lake and extending to:
- Buffalo, which is the Seat of Wright County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<3> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Howard Lake to Buffalo, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 48 miles [77.2 km] to the east (E). 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 about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 969 miles [1,559.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 38 days and walking would take 55 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,244 miles [10,048.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,000 miles [11,265.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,912 miles [7,905.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Howard Lake: www.howard-lake.mn.us/
The official website for Wright County: www.co.wright.mn.us/
The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Howard Lake) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Howard Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.0608, Longitude: -94.0737 |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Howard Lake to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.87 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.824 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.062 degrees. |