Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Watkins, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Watkins and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Watkins
- 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 Watkins:
- 45.315168, -94.411205
- 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 Watkins
- 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 Meeker County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Meeker County
- Since Watkins is near Stearns County and also Wright County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Stearns 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 Watkins ...
We found 26 communities that share the name Watkins.
Within Minnesota, the name Watkins is unique.
Beyond Minnesota, we know of another 26 communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Boone County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Watkins [Boone County].
- White 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 Arkansas community of Watkins [White County].
- Colorado
- Adams County
- This Watkins is located in Adams County and lies 644 miles [1,036.4 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Watkins that is located in Meeker County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Adams County community of Watkins.
- Arapahoe 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 Colorado community of Watkins [Arapahoe County].
- Florida
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Missouri
- Dade County
- This community is historic<2> and although located in Dade County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dade County community of Watkins.
- Miller County
- This Watkins is located in Miller County and lies 507 miles [815.9 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Watkins that is located in Meeker County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Miller County community of Watkins.
- Montana
- Madison County
- This Watkins is located in Madison County and lies 835 miles [1,343.8 km]<1> to the west of the Watkins that is located in Meeker County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Madison County community of Watkins.
- McCone County
- This Watkins is located in McCone County and lies 562 miles [904.5 km] to the west northwest of the Watkins that is located in Meeker County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the McCone County community of Watkins.
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Davidson County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Tennessee community of Watkins [Davidson County].
- DeKalb County
- This Watkins is located in DeKalb County and lies 787 miles [1,266.6 km]<1> to the southeast of the Watkins that is located in Meeker County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the DeKalb County community of Watkins.
- Texas
- Pecos 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 Texas community of Watkins [Pecos County].
- Terrell County
- This Watkins is located in Terrell County and lies 1,134 miles [1,825 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Watkins that is located in Meeker County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Terrell County community of Watkins.
- Van Zandt County
- This Watkins is located in Van Zandt County and lies 886 miles [1,425.9 km] to the south of the Watkins that is located in Meeker County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Van Zandt County community of Watkins.
- Virginia
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Watkins ...
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.
- Cold Spring
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cold Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Spring
- Cold Spring is located in Stearns County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,350 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cold Spring <5>
- Eden Valley
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eden Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden Valley
- Eden Valley is located in Meeker County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,038 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eden Valley <5>
- Fairhaven
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fairhaven
- Fairhaven is located in Stearns County
- Forest City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest City
- Forest City is located in Meeker County
- French Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for French Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Lake
- French Lake is located in Wright County
- Jacobs Prairie
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jacobs Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacobs Prairie
- Jacobs Prairie is located in Stearns County
- Knapp
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast) - Marty
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Pleasant Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Lake
- Pleasant Lake is located in Stearns County
- Rockville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockville
- Rockville is located in Stearns County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,599 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rockville <5>
How Far From Watkins 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 Watkins to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Watkins and extending to:
- Litchfield, which is the Seat of Meeker County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Watkins to Litchfield, with an average speed<6> 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 68 miles [109.4 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 991 miles [1,594.9 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 39 days and walking would take 57 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,242 miles [10,045.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,999 miles [11,263.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,913 miles [7,906.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Watkins. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Meeker County: www.co.meeker.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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Watkins) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Watkins. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.3152, Longitude: -94.4112 In this case, the coordinates for Watkins 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 Watkins, 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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Watkins 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 Watkins 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 319.112 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.134 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.182 degrees. |