Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Onalaska, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Onalaska and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Onalaska
- 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 Onalaska:
- 43.886909, -91.219028
- 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 Onalaska
- 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 La Crosse County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for La Crosse County
- Since Onalaska is near Houston County and also Winona County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Houston County
- eBird sighting report for Winona 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 Onalaska ...
We found three communities that share the name Onalaska.
Within Wisconsin, the name Onalaska is unique.
Beyond Wisconsin, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Texas
- Washington
Curious and Interesting Names Near Onalaska ...
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.
- Cold Springs
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cold Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cold Springs
- Cold Springs is located in La Crosse County
- French Island
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Island
- French Island is located in La Crosse County
- Grand Crossing
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Grand Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grand Crossing
- Grand Crossing is located in La Crosse County
- Holiday Heights
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holiday Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Heights
- Holiday Heights is located in La Crosse County
- La Crosse
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for La Crosse
- La Crosse is located in La Crosse County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 51,163 people
- Lakeview ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west) - River Junction
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for River Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Junction
- River Junction is located in Houston County (MN)
- Sunset Point ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Point have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Point
- Sunset Point is located in La Crosse County
How Far From Onalaska to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Onalaska to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Onalaska and extending to:
- La Crosse, which is the Seat of La Crosse County, lies just to the South Southwest.
- Madison, which is the State Capital of Wisconsin, lies 107 miles [172.2 km]<2> to the east southeast (ESE). If you could drive a straight line from Onalaska to Madison, with an average speed<4>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 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 809 miles [1,302 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 32 days and walking would take 46 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,210 miles [9,994 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,960 miles [11,201 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,858 miles [7,818.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Onalaska: www.ci.onalaska.wi.us/
The official website for La Crosse County: www.co.la-crosse.wi.us/
The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Onalaska, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <2> | 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- Onalaska) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Onalaska. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.8869, Longitude: -91.2190 In this case, the coordinates for Onalaska have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 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 Onalaska 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 316.862 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.378 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.835 degrees. |