Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Mankato, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mankato and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Mankato
- 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 Mankato:
- 44.170373, -93.979693
- 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 Mankato
- 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 Blue Earth County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Blue Earth County
- Since Mankato is near Nicollet County and also Le Sueur County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Nicollet 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 Mankato ...
We found two communities that share the name Mankato.
Within Minnesota, the name Mankato is unique.
Beyond Minnesota, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Kansas
- Nebraska
Curious and Interesting Names Near Mankato ...
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.
- Eagle Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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 <4>
- Garden City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Garden City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> 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.<3> 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 <4>
- Greenland
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the east) - Janesville
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Janesville have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janesville
- Janesville is located in Waseca County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,247 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Janesville <4>
- Lake Crystal
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- 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 <4>
- Lake Elysian
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Elysian have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Elysian
- Lake Elysian is located in Waseca County
- Marysburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Skyline
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest) - Traverse
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
How Far From Mankato 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 Mankato to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Mankato and extending to:
- Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 69 miles [111 km]<1> to the northeast (NE). If you could walk a straight line from Mankato to Saint Paul, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 946 miles [1,522.4 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 37 days and walking would take 54 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,287 miles [10,117.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,042 miles [11,333 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,949 miles [7,964.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Mankato: www.ci.mankato.mn.us/
The official website for Blue Earth County: www.co.blue-earth.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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Mankato) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mankato. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.1704, Longitude: -93.9797 In this case, the coordinates for Mankato have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Mankato, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Mankato to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.796 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.622 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.236 degrees. |