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

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Osseo, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Osseo 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 Osseo:
    • 45.117753, -93.399456
    • 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 Osseo
  • 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 Osseo is near Anoka County and also Ramsey County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Anoka County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Ramsey 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 Osseo

Communities Also Named Osseo ...

We found three communities that are also named Osseo.

Within Minnesota, the name Osseo is unique.

Beyond Minnesota, we know of three communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these three communities, .

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Michigan
      • Hillsdale County
      • This Osseo is located in Hillsdale County and lies 496 miles [798.2 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Osseo that is located in Hennepin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsdale County community of Osseo.
    • Ontario
      • This Osseo lies 656 miles [1,055.7 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Osseo that is located in Hennepin County.
    • Wisconsin
      • Trempealeau County
      • This Osseo is located in Trempealeau County and lies 113 miles [181.9 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Osseo that is located in Hennepin County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Trempealeau County community of Osseo.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Osseo ...

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.

  • Coon Creek
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Coon Creek is located in Anoka County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coon Creek
  • Coon Rapids
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Crystal
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Golden Valley
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Hilltop
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
    • Hilltop is located in Anoka County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hilltop
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 764 people
  • Johnsville
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Johnsville is located in Anoka County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnsville
  • Maple Grove
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Medicine Lake
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Mission Farms
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Mission Farms is located in Hennepin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Farms
  • Mounds View
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)
  • Plymouth
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Robbinsdale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Rogers
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)
    • Rogers is located in Hennepin County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rogers
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,623 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rogers <2>

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

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

  • Minneapolis, which is the Seat of Hennepin County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Osseo to Minneapolis, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
  • Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 18 miles [29 km] to the southeast (SE). The buggy would take five to six hours and walking would take just over a day.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 940 miles [1,512.8 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<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,219 miles [10,008.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,975 miles [11,225.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,885 miles [7,861.6 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- Osseo) 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 Osseo 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 Osseo. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.1178, Longitude: -93.3995       In this case, the coordinates for Osseo have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.391 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.286 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.677 degrees.