Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Raleigh, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Raleigh and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Raleigh
- 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 Raleigh:
- 35.780526, -78.641635
- 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 Raleigh
- 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 Wake County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Wake County
- Since Raleigh is near Chatham County and also Durham County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Chatham County
- eBird sighting report for Durham 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 Raleigh ...
We found fifteen communities that share the name Raleigh.
Within North Carolina, the name Raleigh is unique.
Beyond North Carolina, we know of another fifteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these fifteen communities, thirteen are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Mississippi
- New Jersey
- Newfoundland and Labrador
- This Raleigh lies 1,567 miles [2,521.8 km]<2> to the northeast of the Raleigh that is located in Wake County.
- North Dakota
- Ontario
- This Raleigh lies 1,158 miles [1,863.6 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Raleigh that is located in Wake County.
- Tennessee
- Texas
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Raleigh ...
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.
- Cedar Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
- Cedar Hill is located in Wake County
- Chestnut Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- 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 Wake County
- Cloverdale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cloverdale have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Cloverdale is located in Wake County
- Georgetown
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Georgetown have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Georgetown is located in Wake County
- Glen Eden
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Green Acres
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Green Acres is located in Wake County
- Heatherbrook
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heatherbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heatherbrook
- Heatherbrook is located in Wake County
- Hickory Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hills
- Hickory Hills is located in Wake County
- Hickory Hollow
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Hollow have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Hollow
- Hickory Hollow is located in Wake County
- Indian Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
- Indian Hills is located in Wake County
- Isle Forest
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Isle Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isle Forest
- Isle Forest is located in Wake County
- Kent Garden
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kent Garden have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent Garden
- Kent Garden is located in Wake County
- Continue List (12 more) ...
- Little Lake Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Lake Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Lake Hill
- Little Lake Hill is located in Wake County
- Longview
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east) - Maplewood Forest
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maplewood Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maplewood Forest
- Maplewood Forest is located in Wake County
- Markwood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Method
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Method
- Method is located in Wake County
- Orchards
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west) - Quail Hollow
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quail Hollow have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Hollow
- Quail Hollow is located in Wake County
- Rollingwood
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rollingwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollingwood
- Rollingwood is located in Wake County
- Royal Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Royal Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal Hills
- Royal Hills is located in Wake County
- Skycrest Village
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skycrest Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skycrest Village
- Skycrest Village is located in Wake County
- Timberlake
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Timberlake have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timberlake
- Timberlake is located in Wake County
- Waco Heights
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Waco Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Waco Heights
- Waco Heights is located in Wake County
- Little Lake Hill
How Far From Raleigh 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 city such as Raleigh to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Raleigh and extending to:
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 232 miles [373.4 km]<2> to the north northeast (NNE). If you could drive a straight line from Raleigh to White House, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take nearly four hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 14 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 9 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,100 miles [9,817 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,795 miles [10,935.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,676 miles [7,525.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Raleigh: www.raleigh-nc.org/
The official website for Wake County: www.wakegov.com/
The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Raleigh 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. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Raleigh) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Raleigh. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.7805, Longitude: -78.6416 |
| <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 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. |
| <5> | 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 Raleigh to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.953 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.181 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.474 degrees. |