Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Shoals, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Shoals and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Shoals
- 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 Shoals:
- 36.27482, -80.511848
- 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 Shoals
- 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 Surry County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Surry County
- Since Shoals is near Yadkin County and also Forsyth County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Yadkin County
- eBird sighting report for Forsyth 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 Shoals ...
We found seven communities that share the name Shoals.
Within North Carolina, the name Shoals is unique.
Beyond North Carolina, we know of another seven communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Shoals ...
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
(6 miles [9.7 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 Surry County
- Five Forks
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Forks have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
- Five Forks is located in Yadkin County
- Friendship
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Friendship have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Friendship
- Friendship is located in Yadkin County
- Halls Ferry
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Halls Ferry have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Halls Ferry
- Halls Ferry is located in Surry County
- Heritage Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heritage Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Village
- Heritage Village is located in Forsyth County
- Holly Spring
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holly Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Spring
- Holly Spring is located in Yadkin County
- Lime Rock ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Pinnacle
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pinnacle
- Pinnacle is located in Stokes County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pinnacle <4>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Pinnacle
- From Shoals to Pinnacle
- Poindexter
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poindexter have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poindexter
- Poindexter is located in Yadkin County
- Shady Grove
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Grove
- Shady Grove is located in Yadkin County
- Union Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Union Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
- Union Hill is located in Yadkin County
How Far From Shoals 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 community such as Shoals to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Shoals and extending to:
- Dobson, which is the Seat of Surry County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Shoals to Dobson, with an average speed<5> 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 109 miles [175.4 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 262 miles [421.6 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 15 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,159 miles [9,911.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,862 miles [11,043.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,740 miles [7,628.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Shoals. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Surry County: www.co.surry.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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Shoals) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Shoals. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.2748, Longitude: -80.5118 |
| <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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Shoals 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 Shoals 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 310.024 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.48 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.054 degrees. |