RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Virginia >> Page County >> Luray >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Luray, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Luray and the surrounding area.

  • 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 Luray:
    • 38.665488, -78.457485
    • 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.
    • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Luray
  • 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 Page County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Page County
    • Since Luray is near Shenandoah County and also Rappahannock County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Shenandoah County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Rappahannock 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:
    • Open the Waymark.com report for Luray

Communities Also Named Luray ...

We found eight communities that are also named Luray.

Within Virginia, the name Luray is unique.

Beyond Virginia, we know of eight communities that are located in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Indiana
      • Henry County
      • This Luray is located in Henry County and lies 381 miles [613.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Luray that is located in Page County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Henry County community of Luray.
    • Iowa
      • Marshall County
      • This Luray is located in Marshall County and lies 798 miles [1,284.3 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Luray that is located in Page County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Marshall County community of Luray.
    • Kansas
      • Russell County
      • This Luray is located in Russell County and lies 1,085 miles [1,746.1 km]<1> to the west of the Luray that is located in Page County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Russell County community of Luray.
    • Missouri
      • Clark County
      • This Luray is located in Clark County and lies 724 miles [1,165.2 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Luray that is located in Page County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clark County community of Luray.
    • Ohio
      • Fayette County
      • This Luray is located in Fayette County and lies 278 miles [447.4 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Luray that is located in Page County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of Luray.
      • Licking County
      • This Luray is located in Licking County and lies 235 miles [378.2 km] to the west northwest of the Luray that is located in Page County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Licking County community of Luray.
    • South Carolina
      • Hampton County
      • This Luray is located in Hampton County and lies 433 miles [696.8 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Luray that is located in Page County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hampton County community of Luray.
    • Tennessee
      • Henderson County
      • This Luray is located in Henderson County and lies 595 miles [957.6 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Luray that is located in Page County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Henderson County community of Luray.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Luray ...

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.

  • Big Spring
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Big Spring is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Spring
  • Cavetown
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Cavetown is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cavetown
  • Ida
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Ida is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ida
  • Intersections
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
    • Intersections is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Intersections
  • Leaksville
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
  • Marksville
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Skyland
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Skyland is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Skyland
  • Spring View
    (Less than 2 miles to the east)
    • Spring View is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring View
  • Stanley
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
  • Stony Man
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Stony Man is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Man
  • Whitehouse Landing
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Whitehouse Landing is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Whitehouse Landing
  • Woodland Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Woodland Park is located in Page County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Park

How Far From Luray 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 town such as Luray to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Luray and extending to:

  • Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 95 miles [152.9 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could drive a straight line from Luray to Richmond, with an average speed<3>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 78 miles [125.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,967 miles [9,603 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,675 miles [10,742.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,551 miles [7,324.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Luray) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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.
<4>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 Luray to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Luray. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.6655, Longitude: -78.4575    
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.743 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.374 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.40 degrees.