Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Fern, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Fern and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Fern
- 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 Fern:
- 42.484545, -92.770154
- 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 Fern
- 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 Grundy County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Grundy County
- Since Fern is near Butler County and also Black Hawk County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Butler County
- eBird sighting report for Black Hawk 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 Fern ...
We found thirteen communities that share the name Fern.
Within Iowa, the name Fern is unique.
Beyond Iowa, we know of another thirteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- California
- Indiana
- Kansas
- Labette County
- This Fern is located in Labette County and lies 380 miles [611.6 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Fern that is located in Grundy County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Labette County community of Fern.
- Sherman County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Fern [Sherman County].
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
- Harris County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Fern [Harris County].
- Liberty County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Fern [Liberty County].
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Fern ...
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.
- Dairyville
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Dairyville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dairyville
- Dairyville is located in Grundy County
- Dike
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dike
- Dike is located in Grundy County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,267 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dike <5>
- Eleanor
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest) - Finchford
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Finchford
- Finchford is located in Black Hawk County
- Fredsville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fredsville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fredsville
- Fredsville is located in Grundy County
- Hicks
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast) - Holland
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holland have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
- Holland is located in Grundy County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 276 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holland <5>
- Lincoln
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Steamboat Rock
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Steamboat Rock
- Steamboat Rock is located in Hardin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 298 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Steamboat Rock <5>
- Stout
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stout
- Stout is located in Grundy County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 214 people
How Far From Fern 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 Fern to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Fern and extending to:
- Grundy Center, which is the Seat of Grundy County, lies just to the South.
- Des Moines, which is the State Capital of Iowa, lies 75 miles [120.7 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Fern to Des Moines, with an average speed<6>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 5 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 858 miles [1,380.8 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 34 days and walking would take 49 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,334 miles [10,193.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,083 miles [11,399 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,980 miles [8,014.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Fern. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/
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 drawn from Point A (ie- Fern) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Fern. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.4845, Longitude: -92.7702 |
| <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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Fern 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> | 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 Fern, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Fern to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.922 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 315.399 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 311.01 degrees. |