Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Spruce Pine, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Spruce Pine and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Spruce Pine
- 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 Spruce Pine:
- 35.914892, -82.066912
- 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 Spruce Pine
- 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 Mitchell County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Mitchell County
- Since Spruce Pine is near Avery County and also McDowell County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Avery County
- eBird sighting report for McDowell 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 Spruce Pine ...
We found four communities that share the name Spruce Pine.
Within North Carolina, the name Spruce Pine is unique.
Beyond North Carolina, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Franklin County
- This Spruce Pine is located in Franklin County and lies 336 miles [540.7 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Spruce Pine that is located in Mitchell County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Spruce Pine.
- Kentucky
- Leslie County
- This Spruce Pine is located in Leslie County and lies 103 miles [165.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Spruce Pine that is located in Mitchell County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Leslie County community of Spruce Pine.
- Magoffin County
- Although located in Magoffin County, we don't know the location within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Magoffin County community of Spruce Pine.
- Tennessee
- Hawkins County
- This Spruce Pine is located in Hawkins County and lies 71 miles [114.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Spruce Pine that is located in Mitchell County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hawkins County community of Spruce Pine.
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near Spruce Pine ...
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.
- Blue Rock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west) - Grassy Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grassy Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grassy Creek
- Grassy Creek is located in Mitchell County
- Greene Cove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greene Cove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greene Cove
- Greene Cove is located in Mitchell County
- Hawk
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Ledger
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Little Switzerland
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Switzerland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Switzerland
- Little Switzerland is located in McDowell County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Little Switzerland <3>
- Normanville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Normanville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normanville
- Normanville is located in Mitchell County
- Spear
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north) - Strawberry Ridge
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Strawberry Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strawberry Ridge
- Strawberry Ridge is located in Mitchell County
- Three Mile
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Three Mile have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Three Mile
- Three Mile is located in Avery County
- Wing
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Spruce Pine 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 town such as Spruce Pine to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Spruce Pine and extending to:
- Bakersville, which is the Seat of Mitchell County, lies just to the Northwest.
- Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 191 miles [307.4 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Spruce Pine to Raleigh, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 11 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 344 miles [553.6 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 20 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,241 miles [10,043.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,946 miles [11,178.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,824 miles [7,763.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Spruce Pine: www.sprucepine.org/
The official website for Mitchell County: www.mitchellcounty.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 from Point A (ie- Spruce Pine) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Spruce Pine. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.9149, Longitude: -82.0669 |
| <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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Spruce Pine 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 310.939 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.475 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.789 degrees. |