Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in La Crescent, we use the following websites to find information relevant to La Crescent and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for La Crescent
- 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 La Crescent:
- 43.829242, -91.301491
- 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 La Crescent
- 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 Houston County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Houston County
- Since La Crescent is near La Crosse County and also Winona County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for La Crosse County
- eBird sighting report for Winona 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 La Crescent ...
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.
- Cold Springs
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cold Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Springs
- Cold Springs is located in La Crosse County (WI)
- Dakota
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - French Island
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Island
- French Island is located in La Crosse County (WI)
- Grand Crossing
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Crossing
- Grand Crossing is located in La Crosse County (WI)
- Holiday Heights
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holiday Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Heights
- Holiday Heights is located in La Crosse County (WI)
- La Crosse
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Crosse
- La Crosse is located in La Crosse County (WI)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 51,163 people
- Lakeview ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Pine Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Creek
- Pine Creek is located in Houston County
- River Junction
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for River Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Junction
- River Junction is located in Houston County
- Sunset Point ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Point
- Sunset Point is located in La Crosse County (WI)
- Village Terrace
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Village Terrace have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Village Terrace
- Village Terrace is located in Houston County
How Far From La Crescent to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as La Crescent to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in La Crescent and extending to:
- Caledonia, which is the Seat of Houston County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<2> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from La Crescent to Caledonia, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
- Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 117 miles [188.3 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 812 miles [1,306.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 32 days and walking would take 47 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,216 miles [10,003.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,965 miles [11,209.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,863 miles [7,826.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for La Crescent: www.lacrescent.govoffice.com/
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- La Crescent) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in La Crescent. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.8292, Longitude: -91.3015 In this case, the coordinates for La Crescent have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 La Crescent to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 316.919 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.435 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.894 degrees. |