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Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Maple Plain, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Maple Plain and the surrounding area.
- 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 Maple Plain:
- 45.009059, -93.661360
- 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.
- Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Maple Plain
- 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 Hennepin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Hennepin County
- Since Maple Plain is near Wright County and also Carver County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Wright County
- Open the 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:
- Open the Waymark.com report for Maple Plain
Curious and Interesting Names Near Maple Plain ...
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.
- Crescent Beach
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
- Crescent Beach is located in Hennepin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Beach
- Crystal Bay
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
- Crystal Bay is located in Hennepin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Bay
- Eureka
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Eureka is located in Hennepin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka
- Greenfield
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
- Greenfield is located in Hennepin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,058 people
- Independence
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
- Independence is located in Hennepin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Independence
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,786 people
- Island Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
- Island Park is located in Hennepin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Park
- Lake Sarah
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
- Lake Sarah is located in Hennepin County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Sarah
- Long Lake
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
- Mound
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
- Spring Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)
How Far From Maple Plain 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 city such as Maple Plain to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Maple Plain and extending to:
- Minneapolis, which is the Seat of Hennepin County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<2> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Maple Plain to Minneapolis, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 hours.
- Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 27 miles [43.5 km] to the east (E). The buggy would take just over a day and walking would take just about two full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 949 miles [1,527.3 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 37 days and walking would take 54 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,234 miles [10,032.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,989 miles [11,247.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,899 miles [7,884.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Maple Plain) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <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 Maple Plain to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Maple Plain. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.0091, Longitude: -93.6614 In this case, the coordinates for Maple Plain have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.577 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.483 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.849 degrees. |
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