Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Montreat, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Montreat and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Montreat
- 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 Montreat:
- 35.647818, -82.299914
- 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 Montreat
- 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 Buncombe County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Buncombe County
- Since Montreat is near McDowell County and also Yancey County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for McDowell County
- eBird sighting report for Yancey 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 Montreat ...
We found one communities that share the name Montreat.
Within North Carolina, the name Montreat is unique.
Beyond North Carolina, there is another community also named Montreat in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Montreat ...
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.
- Beech
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest) - Blackberry Inn
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blackberry Inn have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackberry Inn
- Blackberry Inn is located in Buncombe County
- Flat Top
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Graphite
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Grovestone
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grovestone have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grovestone
- Grovestone is located in Buncombe County
- Rattlesnake Lodge
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rattlesnake Lodge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rattlesnake Lodge
- Rattlesnake Lodge is located in Buncombe County
- Riceville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west) - Summerhaven
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Summerhaven have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerhaven
- Summerhaven is located in Buncombe County
- Walkertown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Walkertown have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walkertown
- Walkertown is located in Buncombe County
How Far From Montreat 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 town such as Montreat to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Montreat and extending to:
- Asheville, which is the Seat of Buncombe County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Montreat to Asheville, with an average speed<3> 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.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 205 miles [329.9 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 12 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 365 miles [587.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take 6 hours, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 21 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,263 miles [10,079.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,968 miles [11,213.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,845 miles [7,797.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Montreat: www.townofmontreat.org/
The official website for Buncombe County: www.buncombecounty.org/
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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Montreat) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Montreat. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.6478, Longitude: -82.2999 In this case, the coordinates for Montreat have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 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 Montreat to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.074 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.592 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.96 degrees. |