Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Oak Island, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Oak Island and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Oak Island
- 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 Oak Island:
- 33.918886, -78.128482
- 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 Oak Island
- 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 Brunswick County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Brunswick County
- Since Oak Island is near New Hanover County and also Columbus County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for New Hanover County
- eBird sighting report for Columbus 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 Oak Island ...
We found five communities that share the name Oak Island.
Within North Carolina, the name Oak Island is unique.
Beyond North Carolina, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Massachusetts
- Suffolk County
- This Oak Island is located in Suffolk County and lies 703 miles [1,131.4 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Oak Island that is located in Brunswick County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Suffolk County community of Oak Island.
- Michigan
- Oakland 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 Michigan community of Oak Island [Oakland County].
- Minnesota
- Lake of the Woods 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 Minnesota community of Oak Island [Lake of the Woods County].
- Texas
- Bexar County
- This Oak Island is located in Bexar County and lies 1,242 miles [1,998.8 km]<1> to the west of the Oak Island that is located in Brunswick County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bexar County community of Oak Island.
- Chambers County
- This Oak Island is located in Chambers County and lies 1,014 miles [1,631.9 km] to the west southwest of the Oak Island that is located in Brunswick County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chambers County community of Oak Island.
- Massachusetts
Curious and Interesting Names Near Oak Island ...
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.
- Bald Head Island
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bald Head Island have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bald Head Island
- Bald Head Island is located in Brunswick County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 186 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bald Head Island <4>
- Boiling Spring Lakes
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boiling Spring Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boiling Spring Lakes
- Boiling Spring Lakes is located in Brunswick County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,430 people
- Bolivia
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bolivia have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bolivia
- Bolivia is located in Brunswick County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 154 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bolivia <4>
- Coolvale
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast) - Half Hell
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Long Beach
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Beach
- Long Beach is located in Brunswick County
- Piney Grove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Piney Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Piney Grove
- Piney Grove is located in Brunswick County
- Sandy Hill
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandy Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Hill
- Sandy Hill is located in Brunswick County
- Suburb
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Supply
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Supply have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Supply
- Supply is located in Brunswick County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Supply <4>
How Far From Oak Island to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers & Almanacs that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a town such as Oak Island to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Oak Island and extending to:
- Bolivia, which is the Seat of Brunswick County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Oak Island to Bolivia, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 131 miles [210.8 km] to the north northwest (NNW). 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 349 miles [561.7 km] to the north (N). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 20 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,158 miles [9,910.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,843 miles [11,012.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,730 miles [7,612.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Oak Island: www.oakislandnc.com/
The official website for Brunswick County: www.brunsco.net/
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- Oak Island) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Oak Island. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 33.9189, Longitude: -78.1285 In this case, the coordinates for Oak Island 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 Oak Island 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 Oak Island 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 308.696 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.613 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.882 degrees. |