Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Festus, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Festus and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Festus
- 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 Festus:
- 38.213402, -90.405534
- 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 Festus
- 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 Jefferson County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Jefferson County
- Since Festus is near Monroe County and also Saint Louis County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Monroe County
- eBird sighting report for Saint Louis 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 Festus ...
We found two communities that share the name Festus.
Within Missouri, the name Festus is unique.
Beyond Missouri, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Festus ...
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.
- Bushburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Crystal City
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal City
- Crystal City is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,694 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crystal City <3>
- De Soto
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for De Soto
- De Soto is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,340 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for De Soto <3>
- Goldman
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goldman have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goldman
- Goldman is located in Jefferson County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Goldman <3>
- Hematite
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west) - Herculaneum
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Herculaneum have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herculaneum
- Herculaneum is located in Jefferson County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,261 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Herculaneum <3>
- Ludwig
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - Madonnaville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Madonnaville
- Madonnaville is located in Monroe County (IL)
- Mitchie
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Silica
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest) - Sulphur Springs
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sulphur Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sulphur Springs
- Sulphur Springs is located in Jefferson County
- Sunnyside
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)
How Far From Festus 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 Festus to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Festus and extending to:
- Hillsboro, which is the Seat of Jefferson County, lies just to the West.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 722 miles [1,161.9 km]<1> to the east (E). If you could drive a straight line from Festus to White House, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 41 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 29 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,465 miles [10,404.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,199 miles [11,585.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,079 miles [8,173.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Festus: www.cityoffestus.org/
The official website for Jefferson County: www.jeffcomo.org/
The official website for State of Missouri: https://www.mo.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Festus) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Festus. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.2134, Longitude: -90.4055 |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Festus 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 316.191 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.835 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.84 degrees. |