RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Minnesota >> Aitkin County >> McGrath >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in McGrath, we use the following websites to find information relevant to McGrath 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 McGrath:
    • 46.242126, -93.274833
    • 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 McGrath
  • 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 Aitkin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Aitkin County
    • Since McGrath is near Kanabec County and also Mille Lacs County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Kanabec County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Mille Lacs 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 McGrath

Communities Also Named McGrath ...

We found five communities that are also named McGrath.

Within Minnesota, the name McGrath is unique.

Beyond Minnesota, we know of five communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these five communities, four are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alaska
      • This McGrath lies 2,615 miles [4,208.4 km]<1> to the northwest of the McGrath that is located in Aitkin County.
    • Florida
      • Hillsborough County
      • This McGrath is located in Hillsborough County and lies 1,396 miles [2,246.6 km]<1> to the south southeast of the McGrath that is located in Aitkin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of McGrath.
    • Mississippi
      • Washington County
      • This McGrath is located in Washington County and lies 903 miles [1,453.2 km]<1> to the south of the McGrath that is located in Aitkin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of McGrath.
    • Missouri
      • Laclede County
      • Although located in Laclede County, we don't know the location within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Laclede County community of McGrath.
    • Ontario
      • This McGrath lies 778 miles [1,252.1 km]<1> to the east of the McGrath that is located in Aitkin County.

Curious and Interesting Names Near McGrath ...

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.

  • Cove
    (18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)
    • Cove is located in Mille Lacs County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove
  • Dads Corner
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Dads Corner is located in Aitkin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dads Corner
  • Friesland
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
    • Friesland is located in Pine County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friesland
  • Glen
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Glen is located in Aitkin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glen
  • Glory
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest)
    • Glory is located in Aitkin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glory
  • Isle
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Isle is located in Mille Lacs County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isle
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 790 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Isle <2>
  • Redtop
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
    • Redtop is located in Aitkin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redtop
  • Ronald
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Ronald is located in Aitkin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ronald
  • Thor
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Thor is located in Aitkin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thor

How Far From McGrath 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 McGrath to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in McGrath and extending to:

  • Aitkin, which is the Seat of Aitkin County, lies 28 miles [45.1 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from McGrath to Aitkin, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
  • Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 89 miles [143.2 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 966 miles [1,554.6 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<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,157 miles [9,908.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,914 miles [11,127 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,830 miles [7,773.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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- McGrath) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 McGrath 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 McGrath. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 46.2421, Longitude: -93.2748       In this case, the coordinates for McGrath have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.297 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.33 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.303 degrees.