Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Bethesda, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bethesda and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Bethesda
- 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 Bethesda:
- 39.845936, -76.303848
- 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 Bethesda
- 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 Lancaster County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Lancaster County
- Since Bethesda is near York County and also Harford County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for York County
- eBird sighting report for Harford 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 Bethesda ...
We found 22 communities that share the name Bethesda.
Within Pennsylvania, the name Bethesda is unique.
Beyond Pennsylvania, we know of another 22 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 22 communities, 21 are located in the United States and three are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Delaware
- Georgia
- Chatham County
- This Bethesda is located in Chatham County and lies 606 miles [975.3 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Bethesda that is located in Lancaster County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Chatham County community of Bethesda.
- Greene County
- This Bethesda is located in Greene County and lies 566 miles [910.9 km] to the southwest of the Bethesda that is located in Lancaster County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greene County community of Bethesda.
- Gwinnett County
- This Bethesda is located in Gwinnett County and lies 592 miles [952.7 km] to the southwest of the Bethesda that is located in Lancaster County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gwinnett County community of Bethesda.
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Mississippi
- Hinds County
- This Bethesda is located in Hinds County and lies 947 miles [1,524 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Bethesda that is located in Lancaster County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hinds County community of Bethesda.
- Yazoo County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Mississippi community of Bethesda [Yazoo County].
- North Carolina
- Davidson County
- This Bethesda is located in Davidson County and lies 347 miles [558.4 km]<1> to the southwest of the Bethesda that is located in Lancaster County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Davidson County community of Bethesda.
- Durham County
- This Bethesda is located in Durham County and lies 302 miles [486 km] to the south southwest of the Bethesda that is located in Lancaster County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Durham County community of Bethesda.
- Ohio
- Belmont County
- This Bethesda is located in Belmont County and lies 252 miles [405.6 km]<1> to the west of the Bethesda that is located in Lancaster County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Belmont County community of Bethesda.
- Ross County
- This community is historic<2> and although located in Ross County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ross County community of Bethesda.
- Ontario
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Greene County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<3> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Tennessee community of Bethesda [Greene County].
- White County
- This Bethesda is located in White County and lies 565 miles [909.3 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Bethesda that is located in Lancaster County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the White County community of Bethesda.
- Williamson County
- This Bethesda is located in Williamson County and lies 637 miles [1,025.2 km] to the west southwest of the Bethesda that is located in Lancaster County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Williamson County community of Bethesda.
- Texas
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Bethesda ...
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.
- Airville
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Airville
- Airville is located in York County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Airville <4>
- Buck
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Buck
- Buck is located in Lancaster County
- Burnt Mills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Burnt Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Mills
- Burnt Mills is located in Lancaster County
- Castle Fin
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castle Fin have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Fin
- Castle Fin is located in York County
- Chestnut Level
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chestnut Level have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chestnut Level
- Chestnut Level is located in Lancaster County
- Drytown
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast) - Slab
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slab
- Slab is located in York County
- Sunnyburn
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Truce
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Union
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Bethesda 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 Bethesda to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Bethesda and extending to:
- Lancaster, which is the Seat of Lancaster County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Bethesda to Lancaster, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 42 miles [67.6 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 about two full days and walking would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 76 miles [122.3 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,826 miles [9,376 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,534 miles [10,515.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,410 miles [7,097.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bethesda. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Lancaster County: www.co.lancaster.pa.us/
The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bethesda) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bethesda. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.8459, Longitude: -76.3038 In this case, the coordinates for Bethesda have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Bethesda, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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 Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock 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 Bethesda 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <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 Bethesda 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 307.388 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.017 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.027 degrees. |