Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Bigfork, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bigfork and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Bigfork
- 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 Bigfork:
- 48.064734, -114.073278
- 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 Bigfork
- 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 Flathead County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Flathead County
- Since Bigfork is near Lake County and also Sanders County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lake County
- eBird sighting report for Sanders 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 Bigfork ...
We found one communities that share the name Bigfork.
Within Montana, the name Bigfork is unique.
Beyond Montana, there is another community also named Bigfork in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Bigfork ...
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.
- Bear Dance
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Dance
- Bear Dance is located in Lake County
- Evergreen
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evergreen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen
- Evergreen is located in Flathead County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Evergreen <3>
- Ferndale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Idlewise Court
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Idlewise Court have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idlewise Court
- Idlewise Court is located in Lake County
- Jessup
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north) - Mud Lake ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast) - Swan Lake
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan Lake
- Swan Lake is located in Lake County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Swan Lake <3>
- Swan River ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Swan River have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swan River
- Swan River is located in Flathead County
- Woods Bay
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
How Far From Bigfork to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Bigfork to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Bigfork and extending to:
- Kalispell, which is the Seat of Flathead County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Bigfork to Kalispell, with an average speed<4> 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.
- Helena, which is the State Capital of Montana, lies 139 miles [223.7 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,938 miles [3,118.9 km] to the east (E). Driving would take three full days, a buggy would take 76 days and walking would take 111 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,597 miles [10,616.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,366 miles [11,854.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,414 miles [8,713 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bigfork. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Flathead County: www.co.flathead.mt.us/
The official website for State of Montana: https://mt.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 drawn from Point A (ie- Bigfork) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bigfork. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 48.0647, Longitude: -114.0733 |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Bigfork 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 334.155 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 334.689 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 322.373 degrees. |