Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Saco, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Saco and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Saco
- 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 Saco:
- 44.004407, -93.266322
- 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 Saco
- 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 Steele County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Steele County
- Since Saco is near Waseca County and also Freeborn County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Waseca County
- eBird sighting report for Freeborn 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 Saco ...
We found ten communities that share the name Saco.
Within Minnesota, the name Saco is unique.
Beyond Minnesota, we know of another ten communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- California
- Georgia
- Kansas
- Maine
- Missouri
- Montana
- Dawson County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Montana community of Saco [Dawson County].
- Phillips County
- This Saco is located in Phillips County and lies 737 miles [1,186.1 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Saco that is located in Steele County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Phillips County community of Saco.
- Pennsylvania
- Bradford County
- This Saco is located in Bradford County and lies 858 miles [1,380.8 km]<1> to the east of the Saco that is located in Steele County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bradford County community of Saco.
- Lackawanna County
- This Saco is located in Lackawanna County and lies 918 miles [1,477.4 km] to the east of the Saco that is located in Steele County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lackawanna County community of Saco.
Curious and Interesting Names Near Saco ...
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.
- Bath
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
- Bath is located in Freeborn County
- Bixby
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast) - Colony Court
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colony Court have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colony Court
- Colony Court is located in Waseca County
- Ellendale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ellendale have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ellendale
- Ellendale is located in Steele County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 669 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ellendale <5>
- Geneva
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geneva have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
- Geneva is located in Freeborn County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 537 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Geneva <5>
- Havana
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havana
- Havana is located in Steele County
- Hope
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope
- Hope is located in Steele County
- Rice Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast) - River Point
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for River Point have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Point
- River Point is located in Steele County
- Union
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union
- Union is located in Steele County
- Vista
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vista
- Vista is located in Waseca County
How Far From Saco to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Saco to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Saco and extending to:
- Owatonna, which is the Seat of Steele County, lies just to the North Northeast.
- Saint Paul, which is the State Capital of Minnesota, lies 66 miles [106.2 km]<1> to the north (N). If you could walk a straight line from Saco to Saint Paul, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 908 miles [1,461.3 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 36 days and walking would take 52 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,273 miles [10,095.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,026 miles [11,307.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,930 miles [7,934.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Saco. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Steele County: www.co.steele.mn.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 from Point A (ie- Saco) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Saco. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.0044, Longitude: -93.2663 In this case, the coordinates for Saco have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Saco, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Saco 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. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Saco to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.291 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.024 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.894 degrees. |