Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Valle Crucis, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Valle Crucis and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Valle Crucis

• 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 Valle Crucis:
  • 36.209277, -81.778551
  • 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.
  • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Valle Crucis

• 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 Watauga County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Watauga County
  • Since Valle Crucis is near Avery County and also Caldwell County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Avery County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Caldwell 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:
  • Open the Waymark.com report for Valle Crucis

Curious and Interesting Names Near Valle Crucis ...

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.

• Forest Grove
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Forest Grove is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove
• Grave Yard ‑ Historic
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Grave Yard is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grave Yard
• Hemlock Ridge
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Hemlock Ridge is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemlock Ridge
• Hillcrest
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Hillcrest is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
• Hounds Ear
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Hounds Ear is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hounds Ear
• Oak Grove
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Oak Grove is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
• Poplar Grove
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Poplar Grove is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
• Seven Devils
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Seven Devils is located in Avery County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Devils
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 203 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Seven Devils <1>
• Silverstone
  (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Silverstone is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverstone
• Sugar Grove
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Sugar Grove is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sugar Grove <1>
  • Google driving directions:
  • From your current location to Sugar Grove
  • From Valle Crucis to Sugar Grove
• Sweetwater
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Sweetwater is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetwater
• Valley Creek
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Valley Creek is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Creek

How Far From Valle Crucis 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 community such as Valle Crucis to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Valle Crucis and extending to:

• Boone, which is the Seat of Watauga County, lies just to the East.
• Raleigh, which is the State Capital of North Carolina, lies 177 miles [284.9 km]<2> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Valle Crucis to Raleigh, with an average speed<3>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 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 319 miles [513.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 13 days and walking would take 19 days.
• The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,216 miles [10,003.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,921 miles [11,138.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,798 miles [7,721.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'