RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of South Carolina >> York County >> Forest Lake >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Forest Lake:
    • 35.069035, -80.935908
    • 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 Forest Lake
  • 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 York County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for York County
    • Since Forest Lake is near Mecklenburg County and also Lancaster County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Mecklenburg County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lancaster 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 Forest Lake

Communities Also Named Forest Lake ...

We found seventeen communities that are also named Forest Lake.

There are three communities within South Carolina that are also named Forest Lake.

Beyond South Carolina, we know of fourteen communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Located In South Carolina ...
    • Greenwood County
      • This Forest Lake is located in Greenwood County and lies 92 miles [148.1 km]<1> to the southwest of the Forest Lake that is located in York County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Greenwood County community of Forest Lake.
    • Horry County
      • This Forest Lake is located in Horry County and lies 153 miles [246.2 km]<1> to the southeast of the Forest Lake that is located in York County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Horry County community of Forest Lake.
    • Richland 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 South Carolina community of Forest Lake [Richland County].
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Tuscaloosa County
      • This Forest Lake is located in Tuscaloosa County and lies 398 miles [640.5 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Forest Lake that is located in York County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Tuscaloosa County community of Forest Lake.
    • California
      • Lake County
      • This Forest Lake is located in Lake County and lies 2,300 miles [3,701.5 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Forest Lake that is located in York County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lake County community of Forest Lake.
      • San Joaquin 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 Forest Lake [San Joaquin County].
    • Georgia
      • Bibb County
      • This Forest Lake is located in Bibb County and lies 219 miles [352.4 km]<1> to the southwest of the Forest Lake that is located in York County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Bibb County community of Forest Lake.
    • Illinois
      • Lake County
      • This Forest Lake is located in Lake County and lies 624 miles [1,004.2 km]<1> to the northwest of the Forest Lake that is located in York County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lake County community of Forest Lake.
    • Indiana
      • Hendricks 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 Indiana community of Forest Lake [Hendricks County].
    • Kansas
      • Wyandotte 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 Kansas community of Forest Lake [Wyandotte County].
    • Maryland
      • Harford County
      • This Forest Lake is located in Harford County and lies 397 miles [638.9 km]<1> to the northeast of the Forest Lake that is located in York County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Harford County community of Forest Lake.
    • Massachusetts
      • Hampden 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 Massachusetts community of Forest Lake [Hampden County].
    • Michigan
      • Alger County
      • This Forest Lake is located in Alger County and lies 836 miles [1,345.4 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Forest Lake that is located in York County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Alger County community of Forest Lake.
    • Minnesota
      • Washington County
      • This Forest Lake is located in Washington County and lies 945 miles [1,520.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Forest Lake that is located in York County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Washington County community of Forest Lake.
    • New Hampshire
      • Cheshire 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 New Hampshire community of Forest Lake [Cheshire County].
    • Pennsylvania
      • Susquehanna County
      • This Forest Lake is located in Susquehanna County and lies 541 miles [870.7 km]<1> to the north northeast of the Forest Lake that is located in York County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Susquehanna County community of Forest Lake.
    • Texas
      • Brazos County
      • Although located in Brazos County, we don't know the location within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Brazos County community of Forest Lake.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Forest Lake ...

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
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Barberville is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barberville
  • Colonial Village
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Colonial Village is located in Lancaster County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
  • Eden Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • Eden Gardens is located in Mecklenburg County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eden Gardens
  • Falcon Bridge
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Falcon Bridge is located in Mecklenburg County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Falcon Bridge
  • Grey Rock
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Grey Rock is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grey Rock
  • Greycrest
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Greycrest is located in Mecklenburg County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greycrest
  • Hebron ‑ Historic
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Hebron is located in Mecklenburg County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
  • Old Orchid
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
    • Old Orchid is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Old Orchid
  • Quail Hollow
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Quail Hollow is located in Mecklenburg County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Hollow
  • Ramblewood
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Ramblewood is located in Mecklenburg County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ramblewood
  • Riverview
    (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
    • Riverview is located in York County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverview
  • Steel Creek ‑ Historic
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Steel Creek is located in Mecklenburg County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steel Creek
  • Twelve Oaks
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Twelve Oaks is located in Mecklenburg County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twelve Oaks
  • Windsong Trails
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Windsong Trails is located in Mecklenburg County (NC)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsong Trails

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Forest Lake and extending to:

  • York, which is the Seat of York County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<1> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Forest Lake to York, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
  • Columbia, which is the State Capital of South Carolina, lies 73 miles [117.5 km] to the south (S). 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 White House (Washington, DC) is 340 miles [547.2 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take five to six hours, a buggy would take 14 days and walking would take 20 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,231 miles [10,027.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,929 miles [11,151.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,809 miles [7,739.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 from Point A (ie- Forest Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 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 Forest Lake 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>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 Forest Lake 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 Forest Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.0690, Longitude: -80.9359       In this case, the coordinates for Forest Lake have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 310.275 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.591 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.587 degrees.