Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rutland, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rutland and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rutland
- 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 Rutland:
- 44.089573, -96.967008
- 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 Rutland
- 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 Lake County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Lake County
- Since Rutland is near Moody County and also Brookings County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Moody County
- eBird sighting report for Brookings 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 Rutland ...
We found twenty communities that share the name Rutland.
Within South Dakota, the name Rutland is unique.
Beyond South Dakota, we know of another twenty communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these twenty communities, eighteen are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- British Columbia
- This Rutland lies 1,124 miles [1,808.9 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Rutland that is located in Lake County.
- Florida
- Georgia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Nebraska
- New York
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Saskatchewan
- This Rutland lies 817 miles [1,314.8 km]<1> to the northwest of the Rutland that is located in Lake County.
- Texas
- Vermont
- Wisconsin
- British Columbia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rutland ...
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.
- Aurora
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aurora have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurora
- Aurora is located in Brookings County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 866 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aurora <5>
- Chester
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
- Chester is located in Lake County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chester <5>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Chester
- From Rutland to Chester
- Dell Rapids
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dell Rapids
- Dell Rapids is located in Minnehaha County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,666 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dell Rapids <5>
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Dell Rapids
- From Rutland to Dell Rapids
- Franklin
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south) - Lone Tree
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast) - Prairie Queen ‑ Historic
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Queen have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Queen
- Prairie Queen is located in Lake County
- Prairie Village
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Village
- Prairie Village is located in Lake County
- Estimated population in 2014: 18 people
- Sunnyview
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunnyview
- Sunnyview is located in Brookings County
- Estimated population in 2014: 17 people
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Sunnyview
- From Rutland to Sunnyview
How Far From Rutland 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 Rutland to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rutland and extending to:
- Madison, which is the Seat of Lake County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Rutland to Madison, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Pierre, which is the State Capital of South Dakota, lies 167 miles [268.8 km] to the west (W). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,088 miles [1,751 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 43 days and walking would take 62 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,387 miles [10,278.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,145 miles [11,498.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,063 miles [8,148.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rutland. 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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Rutland) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rutland. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.0896, Longitude: -96.9670 |
| <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 Rutland, 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 Rutland 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> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Rutland 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 320.925 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 319.049 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.882 degrees. |