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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 Dakota Dunes, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Dakota Dunes 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 Dakota Dunes:
    • 42.49047, -96.492258
    • 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 Dakota Dunes
  • 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 Dakota Dunes ...

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.

  • Elk Point
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Elk Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Point
    • Elk Point is located in Union County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,874 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elk Point <2>
  • Evergreen Village
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evergreen Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Village
    • Evergreen Village is located in Woodbury County (IA)
  • Glen Ellen
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Holiday Village
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holiday Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Village
    • Holiday Village is located in Woodbury County (IA)
  • Homer
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
  • James
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)
  • Martinsburg
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
  • Sergeant Bluff
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sergeant Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sergeant Bluff
    • Sergeant Bluff is located in Woodbury County (IA)
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 5,119 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sergeant Bluff <2>
  • Yeomans
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Yeomans have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Yeomans
    • Yeomans is located in Plymouth County (IA)

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Dakota Dunes and extending to:

  • Elk Point, which is the Seat of Union County, lies 16 miles [25.7 km]<3> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Dakota Dunes to Elk Point, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of 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.
  • Pierre, which is the State Capital of South Dakota, lies 231 miles [371.8 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 9 days and walking would take 14 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,045 miles [1,681.8 km] to the east (E). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 41 days and walking would take 60 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,457 miles [10,391.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,213 miles [11,608.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,120 miles [8,239.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

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

The official website for State of South Dakota: https://www.sd.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Dakota Dunes) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Dakota Dunes. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4905, Longitude: -96.4923    
<4>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.
<5>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 Dakota Dunes to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 320.532 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 318.397 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.967 degrees.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 16 Jul 2025