Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Herscher, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Herscher and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Herscher
- 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 Herscher:
- 41.051566, -88.094932
- 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 Herscher
- 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 Kankakee County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Kankakee County
- Since Herscher is near Ford County and also Livingston County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Ford County
- eBird sighting report for Livingston 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 Herscher ...
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.
- Blair
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west) - Campus
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Campus have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Campus
- Campus is located in Livingston County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 157 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Campus <2>
- Dickeys
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Greenwich
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Irwin
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Limestone
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Otto
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Otto
- Otto is located in Kankakee County
- Pilot Center ‑ Historic
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pilot Center have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pilot Center
- Pilot Center is located in Kankakee County
- Union Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union Hill
- Union Hill is located in Kankakee County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 56 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Union Hill <2>
How Far From Herscher 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 village such as Herscher to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Herscher and extending to:
- Kankakee, which is the Seat of Kankakee County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<3> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Herscher to Kankakee, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 119 miles [191.5 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 603 miles [970.4 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 35 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,239 miles [10,040.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,977 miles [11,228.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,859 miles [7,819.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Herscher. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Kankakee County: www.co.kankakee.il.us/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Herscher) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Herscher. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.0516, Longitude: -88.0949 |
| <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 Herscher 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 314.742 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.564 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.029 degrees. |