Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in The Lakes, we use the following websites to find information relevant to The Lakes and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for The Lakes
- 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 The Lakes:
- 35.072663, -78.981140
- 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 The Lakes
- 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 Cumberland County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Cumberland County
- Since The Lakes is near Hoke County and also Harnett County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Hoke County
- eBird sighting report for Harnett 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 The Lakes ...
We found eleven communities that share the name The Lakes.
Within North Carolina, the name The Lakes is unique.
Beyond North Carolina, we know of another eleven communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alaska
- This The Lakes lies 3,484 miles [5,607 km]<1> to the northwest of the The Lakes that is located in Cumberland County.
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Minnesota
- Nevada
- Virginia
- Bedford County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Virginia community of The Lakes [Bedford County].
- Virginia Beach City
- This The Lakes is located in Virginia Beach City and lies 201 miles [323.5 km]<1> to the northeast of the The Lakes that is located in Cumberland County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Virginia Beach City community of The Lakes.
- Washington
- Alaska
Curious and Interesting Names Near The Lakes ...
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.
- Beaver Creek
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Creek
- Beaver Creek is located in Cumberland County
- Bonnie Doone
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bonnie Doone have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonnie Doone
- Bonnie Doone is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bonnie Doone <4>
- Bordeaux
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Chestnut Hills
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chestnut Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Hills
- Chestnut Hills is located in Cumberland County
- Emerald Gardens
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emerald Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Gardens
- Emerald Gardens is located in Cumberland County
- Foxfire
(Less than 2 miles to the north) - Glenhaven
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Hermitage
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast) - Hickory Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
- Hickory Grove is located in Cumberland County
- Lake Shores
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Shores have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Shores
- Lake Shores is located in Cumberland County
- Queensdale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Queensdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Queensdale
- Queensdale is located in Cumberland County
- Scotty Hills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Scotty Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Scotty Hills
- Scotty Hills is located in Cumberland County
- Continue List (6 more) ...
- Shadowlawn
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shadowlawn have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shadowlawn
- Shadowlawn is located in Cumberland County
- Summer
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest) - Summertime
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summertime have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summertime
- Summertime is located in Cumberland County
- Vanstory Hills
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vanstory Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vanstory Hills
- Vanstory Hills is located in Cumberland County
- Waters Edge
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waters Edge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waters Edge
- Waters Edge is located in Cumberland County
- Winter Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winter Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winter Park
- Winter Park is located in Cumberland County
- Shadowlawn
How Far From The Lakes 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 The Lakes to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in The Lakes and extending to:
- Fayetteville, which is the Seat of Cumberland County, lies just to the East Southeast.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 52 miles [83.7 km]<1> to the north northeast (NNE). If you could walk a straight line from The Lakes to Raleigh, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take over two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 285 miles [458.7 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,146 miles [9,891 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,839 miles [11,006.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,721 miles [7,597.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for The Lakes. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Cumberland County: www.co.cumberland.nc.us/
The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/
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- The Lakes) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in The Lakes. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.0727, Longitude: -78.9811 In this case, the coordinates for The Lakes have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 The Lakes 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. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 The Lakes to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 309.158 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.312 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.833 degrees. |