Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Van Allen Park, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Van Allen Park and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Van Allen Park

• 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 Van Allen Park:
  • 42.655079, -73.708453
  • 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 Van Allen Park

• 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 Rensselaer County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • eBird sighting report for Rensselaer County
  • Since Van Allen Park is near Albany County and also Saratoga County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • eBird sighting report for Albany County
  • eBird sighting report for Saratoga 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 Van Allen Park ...

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.

• Barberville
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Barberville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barberville
  • Barberville is located in Rensselaer County
• Beaver Dam
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Beaver Dam have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Dam
  • Beaver Dam is located in Albany County
• Best
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Best
  • Best is located in Rensselaer County
• Cedar Hill
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
  • Cedar Hill is located in Albany County
• Eagle Mills
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Mills
  • Eagle Mills is located in Rensselaer County
• Green Island
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Island have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Island
  • Green Island is located in Albany County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,879 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Green Island <2>
• Luther
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Luther
  • Luther is located in Rensselaer County
• Maple Grove
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
  • Maple Grove is located in Rensselaer County
• Mountain View
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain View have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain View
  • Mountain View is located in Rensselaer County
• Normansville
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Normansville. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<3>
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normansville
  • Normansville is located in Albany County
• Sand Lake
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Lake
  • Sand Lake is located in Rensselaer County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sand Lake <2>
• Shakers
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shakers have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shakers
  • Shakers is located in Albany County
• Stony Point
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stony Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Point
  • Stony Point is located in Rensselaer County

How Far From Van Allen Park 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 Van Allen Park to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Van Allen Park and extending to:

• Troy, which is the Seat of Rensselaer County, lies just to the North Northeast.
• Albany, which is the State Capital of New York, lies just to the west (W).
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 312 miles [502.1 km]<4> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Van Allen Park to White House, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 18 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 13 days.
• The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,603 miles [9,017.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,316 miles [10,164.6 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,192 miles [6,746.4 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>

Off-the-Road Links ...

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

The official website for Rensselaer County: www.rensco.com/

The official website for State of New York: https://www.ny.gov/