Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Valley Springs, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Valley Springs and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Valley Springs
- 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 Valley Springs:
- 43.583029, -96.465041
- 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 Valley Springs
- 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 Minnehaha County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Minnehaha County
- Since Valley Springs is near Rock County and also Lyon County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Rock County
- eBird sighting report for Lyon 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 Valley Springs ...
We found three communities that share the name Valley Springs.
Within South Dakota, the name Valley Springs is unique.
Beyond South Dakota, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Boone County
- This Valley Springs is located in Boone County and lies 544 miles [875.5 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Valley Springs that is located in Minnehaha County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Boone County community of Valley Springs.
- California
- Calaveras County
- This Valley Springs is located in Calaveras County and lies 1,319 miles [2,122.7 km]<1> to the west of the Valley Springs that is located in Minnehaha County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Calaveras County community of Valley Springs.
- North Carolina
- Buncombe County
- This Valley Springs is located in Buncombe County and lies 926 miles [1,490.3 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Valley Springs that is located in Minnehaha County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Buncombe County community of Valley Springs.
- Arkansas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Valley Springs ...
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.
- Ash Creek
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east) - Beaver Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Beaver Creek
- Beaver Creek is located in Rock County (MN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 283 people
- Bruce
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Granite
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Hills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hills
- Hills is located in Rock County (MN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 647 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hills <4>
- Lester
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast) - Manley
(Less than 2 miles to the east) - Skyline Heights
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Skyline Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyline Heights
- Skyline Heights is located in Minnehaha County
- Split Rock Heights
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Split Rock Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Split Rock Heights
- Split Rock Heights is located in Minnehaha County
- Estimated population in 2014: 216 people
How Far From Valley Springs 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 city such as Valley Springs to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Valley Springs and extending to:
- Sioux Falls, which is the Seat of Minnehaha County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Valley Springs to Sioux Falls, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Pierre, which is the State Capital of South Dakota, lies 199 miles [320.3 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 12 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,056 miles [1,699.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 42 days and walking would take 60 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,398 miles [10,296.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,155 miles [11,514.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,068 miles [8,156.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Valley Springs. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Minnehaha County: www.minnehahacounty.org/
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 '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- Valley Springs) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Valley Springs. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.5830, Longitude: -96.4650 In this case, the coordinates for Valley Springs have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Valley Springs to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 320.55 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 318.556 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 312.719 degrees. |