Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in South Riding, we use the following websites to find information relevant to South Riding and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for South Riding
- 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 South Riding:
- 38.920945, -77.503879
- 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 South Riding
- 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 Loudoun County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Loudoun County
- Since South Riding is near Fairfax County and also Prince William County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Fairfax County
- eBird sighting report for Prince William 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near South Riding ...
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.
- Butler
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Cedar Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Park
- Cedar Park is located in Prince William County
- Cooktown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Country Scene
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Country Scene have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Country Scene
- Country Scene is located in Prince William County
- Coverstone
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coverstone have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coverstone
- Coverstone is located in Prince William County
- Crystal Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Springs
- Crystal Springs is located in Fairfax County
- Evergreen Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evergreen Mills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Mills
- Evergreen Mills is located in Loudoun County
- German
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - Gilberts Corner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gilberts Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilberts Corner
- Gilberts Corner is located in Loudoun County
- Hickory Grove
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hickory Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hickory Grove
- Hickory Grove is located in Prince William County
- Lees Corner
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lees Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lees Corner
- Lees Corner is located in Fairfax County
- London Towne
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for London Towne have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for London Towne
- London Towne is located in Fairfax County
- Continue List (8 more) ...
- Moneys Corner
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Moneys Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Moneys Corner
- Moneys Corner is located in Fairfax County
- Navy
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east) - Oak Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
- Oak Grove is located in Loudoun County
- Royville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Snow Hill
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Sunset Hills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Hills
- Sunset Hills is located in Fairfax County
- Uniontown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Willow Springs
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Springs
- Willow Springs is located in Fairfax County
- Moneys Corner
How Far From South Riding 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 community such as South Riding to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in South Riding and extending to:
- Leesburg, which is the Seat of Loudoun County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<2> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from South Riding to Leesburg, with an average speed<3> 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 95 miles [152.9 km] to the south (S). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take three full days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 25 miles [40.2 km] to the east (E). The buggy would take most of a day and walking would take just about two full days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,916 miles [9,520.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,622 miles [10,657.1 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,499 miles [7,240.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for South Riding. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Loudoun County: www.co.loudoun.va.us/
The official website for State of Virginia: https://www.virginia.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | 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- South Riding) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in South Riding. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.9209, Longitude: -77.5039 In this case, the coordinates for South Riding have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 South Riding to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 308.164 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 303.754 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.902 degrees. |