Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rapidan, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rapidan and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rapidan
- 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 Rapidan:
- 38.312631, -78.065833
- 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 Rapidan
- 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 Culpeper County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Culpeper County
- Since Rapidan is near Orange County and also Madison County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Orange County
- eBird sighting report for Madison 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 Rapidan ...
We found two communities that share the name Rapidan.
Within Virginia, the name Rapidan is unique.
Beyond Virginia, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Louisiana
- Minnesota
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rapidan ...
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.
- Burnt Tree
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Burnt Tree
- Burnt Tree is located in Madison County
- Five Forks
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Forks have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Forks
- Five Forks is located in Madison County
- Fordsville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fordsville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fordsville
- Fordsville is located in Madison County
- Grassland
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast) - Locust Dale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Locust Dale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Locust Dale
- Locust Dale is located in Madison County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Locust Dale <4>
- Orange
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orange
- Orange is located in Orange County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,166 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Orange <4>
- Raccoon Ford
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Raccoon Ford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raccoon Ford
- Raccoon Ford is located in Culpeper County
- Radiant
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Surprise
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Trimmers Crossing
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trimmers Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trimmers Crossing
- Trimmers Crossing is located in Orange County
- Unionville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Unionville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Unionville
- Unionville is located in Orange County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Unionville <4>
How Far From Rapidan 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 Rapidan to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rapidan and extending to:
- Culpeper, which is the Seat of Culpeper County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Rapidan to Culpeper, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Richmond, which is the State Capital of Virginia, lies 63 miles [101.4 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 68 miles [109.4 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,966 miles [9,601.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,671 miles [10,735.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,548 miles [7,319.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rapidan. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Culpeper County: www.culpepercounty.gov/
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- Rapidan) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rapidan. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.3126, Longitude: -78.0658 In this case, the coordinates for Rapidan 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> | 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. |
| <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 Rapidan 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 308.529 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.077 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.364 degrees. |