Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Orono, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Orono and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Orono
- 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 Orono:
- 44.964712, -93.590423
- 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 Orono
- 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:
- eBird sighting report for Hennepin County
- Since Orono is near Carver County and also Wright County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Carver County
- eBird sighting report for Wright 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 Orono ...
We found four communities that share the name Orono.
Within Minnesota, the name Orono is unique.
Beyond Minnesota, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these four communities, three are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Maine
- Michigan
- Ontario
- This Orono lies 737 miles [1,186.1 km]<1> to the east of the Orono that is located in Hennepin County.
- South Dakota
Curious and Interesting Names Near Orono ...
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
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crescent Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Beach
- Crescent Beach is located in Hennepin County
- Crystal Bay
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal Bay have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Bay
- Crystal Bay is located in Hennepin County
- Deephaven
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Deephaven have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Deephaven
- Deephaven is located in Hennepin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,898 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Deephaven <4>
- Eureka
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Greenwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Groveland
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Island Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Island Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Park
- Island Park is located in Hennepin County
- Long Lake
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Lake
- Long Lake is located in Hennepin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,792 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Long Lake <4>
- Maple Plain
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Plain have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Plain
- Maple Plain is located in Hennepin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,102 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maple Plain <4>
- Mound
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mound have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mound
- Mound is located in Hennepin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,404 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mound <4>
- Spring Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Park
- Spring Park is located in Hennepin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,761 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spring Park <4>
How Far From Orono 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 Orono to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Orono and extending to:
- Minneapolis, which is the Seat of Hennepin County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Orono to Minneapolis, with an average speed<5> 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 four to five hours.
- Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 24 miles [38.6 km] to the east (E). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just about two full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 945 miles [1,520.8 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 6,234 miles [10,032.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- 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).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,899 miles [7,884.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Orono: www.ci.orono.mn.us/
The official website for Hennepin County: www.hennepin.us/
The official website for State of Minnesota: https://mn.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Orono) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Orono. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.9647, Longitude: -93.5904 In this case, the coordinates for Orono have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Orono could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <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 Orono 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 318.526 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.42 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.822 degrees. |