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:
  • 36.209294, -81.778444
  • 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 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:
  • 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:
  • eBird sighting report for Avery County
  • 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:
  • Waymark.com

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)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Grove
  • Forest Grove is located in Watauga County
• Grave Yard ‑ Historic
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grave Yard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grave Yard
  • Grave Yard is located in Watauga County
• Hemlock Ridge
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hemlock Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hemlock Ridge
  • Hemlock Ridge is located in Watauga County
• Hillcrest
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillcrest have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillcrest
  • Hillcrest is located in Watauga County
• Hounds Ear
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hounds Ear have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hounds Ear
  • Hounds Ear is located in Watauga County
• Oak Grove
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
  • Oak Grove is located in Watauga County
• Poplar Grove
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poplar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
  • Poplar Grove is located in Watauga County
• Seven Devils
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seven Devils have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seven Devils
  • Seven Devils is located in Avery County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 203 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Seven Devils <2>
• Silverstone
  (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silverstone have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverstone
  • Silverstone is located in Watauga County
• Sugar Grove
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sugar Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
  • Sugar Grove is located in Watauga County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sugar Grove <2>
• Sweetwater
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sweetwater have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sweetwater
  • Sweetwater is located in Watauga County
• Valley Creek
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Valley Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Creek
  • Valley Creek is located in Watauga County

How Far From Valle Crucis 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 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<3> 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]<3> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Valle Crucis 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 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<5> 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).<6>
• 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).<7>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,798 miles [7,721.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Valle Crucis. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Watauga County: www.wataugacounty.org/

The official website for State of North Carolina: https://www.nc.gov/