Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ben Hur, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ben Hur and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ben Hur
- 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 Ben Hur:
- 36.732866, -83.082115
- 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 Ben Hur
- 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 Lee County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Lee County
- Since Ben Hur is near Harlan County and also Hancock County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Harlan County
- eBird sighting report for Hancock 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 Ben Hur ...
We found four communities that share the name Ben Hur.
Within Virginia, the name Ben Hur is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another four communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- California
- Florida
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ben Hur ...
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.
- Bonny Blue
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bonny Blue have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bonny Blue
- Bonny Blue is located in Lee County
- Cranks
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cranks
- Cranks is located in Harlan County (KY)
- Dominion
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Fleenortown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fleenortown
- Fleenortown is located in Lee County
- Jonesville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesville
- Jonesville is located in Lee County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 920 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Jonesville <3>
- Jonesville Camp Ground
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jonesville Camp Ground have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesville Camp Ground
- Jonesville Camp Ground is located in Lee County
- Lee ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Mayflower
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Pocket
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Stone Creek
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stone Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Creek
- Stone Creek is located in Lee County
- Sulphur Springs
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sulphur Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
- Sulphur Springs is located in Lee County
- Woodway
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
How Far From Ben Hur 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 Ben Hur to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ben Hur and extending to:
- Jonesville, which is the Seat of Lee County, lies just to the South Southwest.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 315 miles [506.9 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Ben Hur to Richmond, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 18 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 13 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 361 miles [581 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 6 hours, a buggy would take 15 days and walking would take 21 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,246 miles [10,052 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,958 miles [11,197.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,834 miles [7,779.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ben Hur. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ben Hur) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ben Hur. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.7329, Longitude: -83.0821 In this case, the coordinates for Ben Hur have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Ben Hur 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 311.549 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 307.292 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.971 degrees. |