RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of North Carolina >> Watauga County >> Hemlock Ridge >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Hemlock Ridge, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Hemlock Ridge 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 Hemlock Ridge:
    • 36.118184, -81.767609
    • 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 Hemlock Ridge
  • 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 Watauga County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Watauga County
    • Since Hemlock Ridge is near Caldwell County and also Avery County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Caldwell County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Avery 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 Hemlock Ridge

Communities Also Named Hemlock Ridge ...

We found one communities that are also named Hemlock Ridge.

Within North Carolina, the name Hemlock Ridge is unique.

Beyond North Carolina, there is another community also named Hemlock Ridge in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Maryland
      • Harford County
      • This Hemlock Ridge is located in Harford County and lies 381 miles [613.2 km]<1> to the northeast of the Hemlock Ridge that is located in Watauga County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Harford County community of Hemlock Ridge.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Hemlock Ridge ...

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.

  • Apple Ridge
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Apple Ridge is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Apple Ridge
  • Cherokee Woods
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Cherokee Woods is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee Woods
  • Echo Park
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
    • Echo Park is located in Watauga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Park
  • Globe
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Globe is located in Caldwell County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Globe
  • Grandfather
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Grandfather is located in Avery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grandfather
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 24 people
  • Green Hill
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Green Hill is located in Watauga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
  • Hounds Ear
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Hounds Ear is located in Watauga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hounds Ear
  • Laurel Park
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Laurel Park is located in Watauga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laurel Park
  • Poplar Grove
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Poplar Grove is located in Watauga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
  • Seven Devils
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Ski Mountain
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Ski Mountain is located in Watauga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ski Mountain
  • Sugar Mountain
    (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
    • Sugar Mountain is located in Avery County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Mountain
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 197 people
  • Valley Creek
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Valley Creek is located in Watauga County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Creek

How Far From Hemlock Ridge 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 Hemlock Ridge to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Boone, which is the Seat of Watauga County, lies just to the Northeast.
  • Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 176 miles [283.2 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Hemlock Ridge to Raleigh, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about 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 322 miles [518.2 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,219 miles [10,008.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,925 miles [11,144.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,802 miles [7,728.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Hemlock Ridge) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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 Hemlock Ridge 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 Hemlock Ridge. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.1182, Longitude: -81.7676       In this case, the coordinates for Hemlock Ridge have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.763 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.302 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.608 degrees.