Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Brainerd, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Brainerd and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Brainerd
- 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 Brainerd:
- 41.732812, -87.658383
- 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 Brainerd
- 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 Cook County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Cook County
- Since Brainerd is near Lake County and also DuPage County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lake County
- eBird sighting report for DuPage 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 Brainerd ...
We found five communities that share the name Brainerd.
Within Illinois, the name Brainerd is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these five communities, four are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- Kansas
- Manitoba
- This Brainerd lies 727 miles [1,170 km]<2> to the northwest of the Brainerd that is located in Cook County.
- Minnesota
- Tennessee
Curious and Interesting Names Near Brainerd ...
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.
- Beverly
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest) - Evergreen Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Park
- Evergreen Park is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,905 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Evergreen Park <4>
- Gage Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Grand Crossing
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- 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 Cook County
- Hometown
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hometown
- Hometown is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,120 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hometown <4>
- Honeymoon Row
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Honeymoon Row have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honeymoon Row
- Honeymoon Row is located in Cook County
- Italian Bowery
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Italian Bowery have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Italian Bowery
- Italian Bowery is located in Cook County
- Mexico
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Mount Greenwood
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Greenwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Greenwood
- Mount Greenwood is located in Cook County
- Pierces Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pierces Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pierces Park
- Pierces Park is located in Cook County
- Poverty Row
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poverty Row have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poverty Row
- Poverty Row is located in Cook County
- Roseland
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast) - Stony Island
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stony Island have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stony Island
- Stony Island is located in Cook County
- Woodlawn
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Brainerd 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 community such as Brainerd to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Brainerd and extending to:
- Chicago, which is the Seat of Cook County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<2> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Brainerd to Chicago, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 170 miles [273.6 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 592 miles [952.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 34 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,190 miles [9,961.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,929 miles [11,151.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,812 miles [7,744.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Brainerd. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Cook County: www.co.cook.il.us/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.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 Brainerd, 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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Brainerd) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Brainerd. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.7328, Longitude: -87.6584 In this case, the coordinates for Brainerd 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'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 Brainerd 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 314.453 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.331 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.622 degrees. |