Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Helena, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Helena and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Helena
- 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 Helena:
- 40.500555, -96.249732
- 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 Helena
- 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 Johnson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Johnson County
- Since Helena is near Otoe County and also Gage County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Otoe County
- eBird sighting report for Gage 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 Helena ...
We found 35 communities that share the name Helena.
Within Nebraska, the name Helena is unique.
Beyond Nebraska, we know of another 35 communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- San Diego County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Helena [San Diego County].
- Trinity County
- This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the California community of Helena [Trinity County].
- Florida
- Georgia
- Idaho
- Adams County
- This Helena is located in Adams County and lies 1,078 miles [1,734.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Helena that is located in Johnson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Adams County community of Helena.
- Washington County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Idaho community of Helena [Washington County].
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Antrim County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Helena [Antrim County].
- Huron County
- This Helena is located in Huron County and lies 729 miles [1,173.2 km]<1> to the east northeast of the Helena that is located in Johnson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Huron County community of Helena.
- Marquette County
- This Helena is located in Marquette County and lies 598 miles [962.4 km] to the northeast of the Helena that is located in Johnson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marquette County community of Helena.
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Andrew County
- This Helena is located in Andrew County and lies 93 miles [149.7 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Helena that is located in Johnson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Andrew County community of Helena.
- Pettis County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Pettis County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pettis County community of Helena.
- Montana
- Nevada
- Lander County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Lander County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lander County community of Helena.
- Nye County
- This community is historic and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Nevada community of Helena [Nye County].
- New York
- North Carolina
- Durham County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the North Carolina community of Helena [Durham County].
- Person County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the North Carolina community of Helena [Person County].
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Guernsey County
- This Helena is located in Guernsey County and lies 772 miles [1,242.4 km]<1> to the east of the Helena that is located in Johnson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Guernsey County community of Helena.
- Sandusky County
- This Helena is located in Sandusky County and lies 677 miles [1,089.5 km] to the east of the Helena that is located in Johnson County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sandusky County community of Helena.
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Helena ...
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.
- Burr
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burr have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burr
- Burr is located in Otoe County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 59 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Burr <5>
- Cook
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cook have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cook
- Cook is located in Johnson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 300 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cook <5>
- Crab Orchard
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crab Orchard have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crab Orchard
- Crab Orchard is located in Johnson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 36 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crab Orchard <5>
- Elk Creek
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Creek
- Elk Creek is located in Johnson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 91 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elk Creek <5>
- Firth
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firth
- Firth is located in Lancaster County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 619 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Firth <5>
- Holland
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
- Holland is located in Lancaster County
- Julian
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Julian
- Julian is located in Nemaha County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
- Mayberry
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the south) - Panama
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panama
- Panama is located in Lancaster County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 277 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Panama <5>
- Paul
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
How Far From Helena 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 Helena to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers and using the location of where the historic community of Helena once stood, the straight-line distance beginning in Helena and extending to:
- Tecumseh, which is the Seat of Johnson County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Helena to Tecumseh, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Lincoln, which is the State Capital of Nebraska, lies 32 miles [51.5 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take just over a day and walking would take most of two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,024 miles [1,648 km] to the east (E). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 40 days and walking would take 59 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,555 miles [10,549.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,306 miles [11,757.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,205 miles [8,376.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Johnson County: www.co.johnson.ne.us/
The official website for State of Nebraska: https://www.nebraska.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Helena) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Helena. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.5006, Longitude: -96.2497 In this case, the coordinates for Helena have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Helena 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> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Helena, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Helena to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 320.267 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 317.84 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.236 degrees. |