Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Bend, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bend and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Bend
- 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 Bend:
- 44.227765, -103.010175
- 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 Bend
- 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 Meade County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Meade County
- Since Bend is near Pennington County and also Lawrence County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Pennington County
- eBird sighting report for Lawrence 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 Bend ...
We found eleven communities that share the name Bend.
Within South Dakota, the name Bend is unique.
Beyond South Dakota, we know of another eleven communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eleven communities, ten are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- British Columbia
- This Bend lies 1,045 miles [1,681.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Bend that is located in Meade County.
- California
- Louisiana
- Missouri
- Montana
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Crook 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 Oregon community of Bend [Crook County].
- Deschutes County
- This Bend is located in Deschutes County and lies 904 miles [1,454.8 km]<1> to the west of the Bend that is located in Meade County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Deschutes County community of Bend.
- Texas
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Bend ...
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.
- Blackhawk
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blackhawk
- Blackhawk is located in Meade County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Blackhawk <4>
- Box Elder
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Box Elder have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Box Elder
- Box Elder is located in Pennington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,564 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Box Elder <4>
- Carwye ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west) - Green Valley
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley
- Green Valley is located in Pennington County
- Estimated population in 2014: 51 people
- Haydraw
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast) - Murphy
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest) - Rapid City
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapid City
- Rapid City is located in Pennington County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 78,864 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rapid City <4>
- Rapid Valley
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapid Valley
- Rapid Valley is located in Pennington County
- Population from the 2010 Census: 8,260 people
- Summerset
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerset
- Summerset is located in Meade County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,691 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Summerset <4>
- Volunteer
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)
How Far From Bend to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Bend to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Bend and extending to:
- Sturgis, which is the Seat of Meade County, lies 27 miles [43.5 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Bend to Sturgis, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- Pierre, which is the State Capital of South Dakota, lies 133 miles [214 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,384 miles [2,227.3 km] to the east (E). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 54 days and walking would take 79 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,559 miles [10,555.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,324 miles [11,786.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,269 miles [8,479.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bend. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Meade County: www.meadecounty.org/
The official website for State of South Dakota: sd.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Bend) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bend. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.2278, Longitude: -103.0102 In this case, the coordinates for Bend 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 Bend 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 Bend, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Bend 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 325.37 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 324.181 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 316.242 degrees. |