Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ocala, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ocala and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ocala
- 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 Ocala:
- 36.860128, -80.638401
- 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 Ocala
- 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 Carroll County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Carroll County
- Since Ocala is near Floyd County and also Pulaski County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Floyd County
- eBird sighting report for Pulaski 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 Ocala ...
We found three communities that share the name Ocala.
Within Virginia, the name Ocala is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- Georgia
- Nevada
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ocala ...
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.
- Boom Furnace
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Boom Furnace have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boom Furnace
- Boom Furnace is located in Pulaski County
- Dugspur
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dugspur
- Dugspur is located in Carroll County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dugspur <4>
- High Rocks Mill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for High Rocks Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for High Rocks Mill
- High Rocks Mill is located in Wythe County
- Hillsville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillsville
- Hillsville is located in Carroll County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,686 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hillsville <4>
- Indian Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Valley
- Indian Valley is located in Floyd County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Indian Valley <4>
- Jett
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Liberty Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Liberty Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Liberty Hill
- Liberty Hill is located in Carroll County
- Mitchell Crossroads
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mitchell Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mitchell Crossroads
- Mitchell Crossroads is located in Carroll County
- Red Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Reed Junction
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Reed Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reed Junction
- Reed Junction is located in Pulaski County
- Star
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Ocala 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 Ocala to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ocala and extending to:
- Hillsville, which is the Seat of Carroll County, lies just to the Southwest.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 182 miles [292.9 km]<1> to the east northeast (ENE). If you could drive a straight line from Ocala to Richmond, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 11 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 241 miles [387.9 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take nearly four hours, a buggy would take 10 days and walking would take 14 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,138 miles [9,878.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,844 miles [11,014.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,721 miles [7,597.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ocala. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Carroll County: www.co.carroll.va.us/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.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- Ocala) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ocala. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.8601, Longitude: -80.6384 In this case, the coordinates for Ocala have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 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 Ocala 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> | 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 Ocala 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 310.091 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 305.642 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.921 degrees. |