Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Osakis, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Osakis and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Osakis
- 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 Osakis:
- 45.866957, -95.152167
- 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 Osakis
- 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 Douglas County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Douglas County
- Since Osakis is near Todd County and also Pope County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Todd County
- eBird sighting report for Pope 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 Osakis ...
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.
- Grove Lake
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grove Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grove Lake
- Grove Lake is located in Pope County
- Little Sauk
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Sauk have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Sauk
- Little Sauk is located in Todd County
- Long Prairie
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Prairie
- Long Prairie is located in Todd County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,297 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Long Prairie <2>
- Miltona
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Miltona have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Miltona
- Miltona is located in Douglas County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 425 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Miltona <2>
- Nelson
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Rose City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north) - Round Prairie
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Round Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Round Prairie
- Round Prairie is located in Todd County
- Spruce Center
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spruce Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spruce Center
- Spruce Center is located in Douglas County
How Far From Osakis 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 community such as Osakis to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Osakis and extending to:
- Alexandria, which is the Seat of Douglas County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<3> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Osakis to Alexandria, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 118 miles [189.9 km] to the east southeast (ESE). 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 1,038 miles [1,670.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 41 days and walking would take 59 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,236 miles [10,035.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,995 miles [11,257.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,915 miles [7,909.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Osakis. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Douglas County: www.co.douglas.mn.us/
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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Osakis) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Osakis. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.8670, Longitude: -95.1522 |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Osakis to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 319.646 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.814 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.454 degrees. |