RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of North Carolina >> Caldwell County >> Beacon Hills >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Beacon Hills, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Beacon Hills 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 Beacon Hills:
    • 36.001519, -81.537875
    • 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 Beacon Hills
  • 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 Caldwell County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Caldwell County
    • Since Beacon Hills is near Wilkes County and also Watauga County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wilkes County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Watauga 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 Beacon Hills

Communities Also Named Beacon Hills ...

We found six communities that are also named Beacon Hills.

Within North Carolina, the name Beacon Hills is unique.

Beyond North Carolina, we know of six communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Jefferson County
      • This Beacon Hills is located in Jefferson County and lies 346 miles [556.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Beacon Hills that is located in Caldwell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Jefferson County community of Beacon Hills.
    • Florida
      • Duval County
      • This Beacon Hills is located in Duval County and lies 387 miles [622.8 km]<1> to the south of the Beacon Hills that is located in Caldwell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Duval County community of Beacon Hills.
    • New York
      • Dutchess County
      • This Beacon Hills is located in Dutchess County and lies 558 miles [898 km]<1> to the northeast of the Beacon Hills that is located in Caldwell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dutchess County community of Beacon Hills.
    • Tennessee
      • Hamblen County
      • This Beacon Hills is located in Hamblen County and lies 105 miles [169 km]<1> to the west of the Beacon Hills that is located in Caldwell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hamblen County community of Beacon Hills.
      • Montgomery County
      • This Beacon Hills is located in Montgomery County and lies 322 miles [518.2 km] to the west of the Beacon Hills that is located in Caldwell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Beacon Hills.
    • Virginia
      • Roanoke County
      • This Beacon Hills is located in Roanoke County and lies 124 miles [199.6 km]<1> to the northeast of the Beacon Hills that is located in Caldwell County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Roanoke County community of Beacon Hills.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Beacon Hills ...

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.

  • Buffalo Cove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Buffalo Cove is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buffalo Cove
  • Cedar Rock
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Cedar Rock is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Rock
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 299 people
    • Cedar Rock has also been known as:
    • Cedar Rock village
  • Fort Defiance
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Fort Defiance is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fort Defiance
  • Happy Valley
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Happy Valley is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Valley
  • Heritage Hills
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Heritage Hills is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Hills
  • Honey Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Honey Hill is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honey Hill
  • Indian Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Indian Hills is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
  • Jones ‑ Historic
    (Less than 2 miles to the northeast)
    • Jones is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jones
  • Mulberry
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Mulberry is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mulberry
  • Rufus
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Rufus is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rufus
  • Tranquil Hill
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Tranquil Hill is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tranquil Hill
  • Warrior
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Warrior is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Warrior

How Far From Beacon Hills 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 community such as Beacon Hills to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Lenoir, which is the Seat of Caldwell County, lies just to the South.
  • Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 162 miles [260.7 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Beacon Hills to Raleigh, with an average speed<2>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 317 miles [510.2 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 18 days.
  • The shortest distance<3> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,215 miles [10,002.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<4>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,919 miles [11,135.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,797 miles [7,720 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>'

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- Beacon Hills) 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 Beacon Hills 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 Beacon Hills. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.0015, Longitude: -81.5379       In this case, the coordinates for Beacon Hills have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<4>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.627 degrees.
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.13 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.55 degrees.