Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Waco, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Waco and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Waco
- 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 Waco:
- 31.549364, -97.147115
- 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 Waco
- 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 McLennan County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for McLennan County
- Since Waco is near Falls County and also Coryell County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Falls County
- eBird sighting report for Coryell 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 Waco ...
We found eighteen communities that share the name Waco.
Within Texas, the name Waco is unique.
Beyond Texas, we know of another eighteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eighteen communities, seventeen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Cleburne 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 Arkansas community of Waco [Cleburne County].
- Craighead County
- This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Waco [Craighead County].
- Florida
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Quebec
- This Waco lies 2,104 miles [3,386.1 km]<1> to the northeast of the Waco that is located in McLennan County.
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Waco ...
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.
- Beverly
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Downs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Downsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Downsville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downsville
- Downsville is located in McLennan County
- Elm Mott
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elm Mott
- Elm Mott is located in McLennan County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elm Mott <5>
- Jewell
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Lacy - Lakeview
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lacy - Lakeview have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lacy - Lakeview
- Lacy - Lakeview is located in McLennan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,803 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lacy - Lakeview <5>
- Rock Creek
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Creek
- Rock Creek is located in McLennan County
- Willow Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Grove
- Willow Grove is located in McLennan County
- Woodway
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodway have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodway
- Woodway is located in McLennan County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,077 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodway <5>
How Far From Waco 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 city such as Waco to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Waco and extending to:
- Austin, which is the State Capital of Texas, lies 95 miles [152.9 km]<1> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Waco to Austin, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,239 miles [1,994 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take about three full days, a buggy would take 49 days and walking would take 71 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,062 miles [11,365.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,794 miles [12,543.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,672 miles [9,128.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Waco: www.waco-texas.com/
The official website for McLennan County: www.co.mclennan.tx.us/
The official website for State of Texas: https://texas.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- Waco) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Waco. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 31.5494, Longitude: -97.1471 |
| <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 Waco 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 Waco, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <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 Waco 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 320.01 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.413 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.944 degrees. |