RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • 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 Refton:
    • 39.947240, -76.232864
    • 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 Refton
  • 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:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lancaster County
    • Since Refton is near York County and also Chester County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for York County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Chester 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 Refton

Curious and Interesting Names Near Refton ...

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.

  • Bird-in-Hand
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Buck
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Burnt Mills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Burnt Mills is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Mills
  • Drytown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Drytown is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Drytown
  • Fertility
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Fertility is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fertility
  • Greenland
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Greenland is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenland
  • Hawksville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Hawksville is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawksville
  • Irishtown
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Irishtown is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irishtown
  • Lime Valley
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Lime Valley is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lime Valley
  • Mount Pleasant
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Mount Pleasant is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Pleasant
  • Oregon
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
    • Oregon is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oregon
  • Quarryville
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Continue List   (7 more) ...

How Far From Refton 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 Refton to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Lancaster, which is the Seat of Lancaster County, lies just to the North Northwest.
  • Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 41 miles [66 km]<2> to the northwest (NW). If you could walk a straight line from Refton to Harrisburg, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 84 miles [135.2 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,819 miles [9,364.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,527 miles [10,504.2 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,403 miles [7,085.9 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>'

Footnotes ...

<1>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Refton) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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 Refton to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Refton. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.9472, Longitude: -76.2329    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 307.338 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.976 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.955 degrees.