RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Missouri >> Clay County >> Excelsior Springs >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Excelsior Springs, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Excelsior Springs and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Excelsior Springs:
    • 39.339201, -94.227198
    • 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 Excelsior Springs
  • 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 Clay County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Clay County
    • Since Excelsior Springs is near Ray County and also Clinton County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Ray County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Clinton 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 Excelsior Springs

Communities Also Named Excelsior Springs ...

We found one communities that are also named Excelsior Springs.

Within Missouri, the name Excelsior Springs is unique.

Beyond Missouri, there is another community also named Excelsior Springs in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • New York
      • Livingston County
      • This Excelsior Springs is located in Livingston County and lies 890 miles [1,432.3 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Excelsior Springs that is located in Clay County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Livingston County community of Excelsior Springs.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Excelsior Springs ...

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.

  • Chick ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Chick is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chick
  • Claysville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Claysville is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claysville
  • Coopers
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Coopers is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coopers
  • Crescent Lake
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Crescent Lake is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Lake
  • Crystal Lakes
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Crystal Lakes is located in Ray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lakes
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 352 people
  • Golf Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Golf Hill is located in Ray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Golf Hill
  • Greenville
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Greenville is located in Clay County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
  • Homestead
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Homestead is located in Ray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homestead
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 184 people
  • New Garden
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • New Garden is located in Ray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Garden
  • Wood Heights
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Wood Heights is located in Ray County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wood Heights
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 700 people
  • Woods Heights
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)

How Far From Excelsior Springs 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 city such as Excelsior Springs to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Liberty, which is the Seat of Clay County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Excelsior Springs to Liberty, with an average speed<2> 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.
  • Jefferson City, which is the State Capital of Missouri, lies 122 miles [196.3 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 920 miles [1,480.6 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 36 days and walking would take 53 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,547 miles [10,536.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,292 miles [11,735.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,181 miles [8,338 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Excelsior Springs) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>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.
<3>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 Excelsior Springs 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 Excelsior Springs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.3392, Longitude: -94.2272    
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 318.804 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.00 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.441 degrees.