Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Mercersburg, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mercersburg and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Mercersburg
- 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 Mercersburg:
- 39.826980, -77.902199
- 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 Mercersburg
- 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 Franklin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Franklin County
- Since Mercersburg is near Fulton County and also Washington County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Fulton County
- eBird sighting report for Washington 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 Mercersburg ...
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.
- Bear Lick
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Big Cove Tannery
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Cove Tannery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Cove Tannery
- Big Cove Tannery is located in Fulton County
- Claylick
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Claylick. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Claylick
- Claylick is located in Franklin County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Claylick
- From Mercersburg to Claylick
- Cove Gap
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cove Gap
- Cove Gap is located in Franklin County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Cove Gap
- From Mercersburg to Cove Gap
- Dickey
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Dickey. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dickey
- Dickey is located in Franklin County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Dickey
- From Mercersburg to Dickey
- Dry Run
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Dutchtown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Gristmill Hill
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gristmill Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gristmill Hill
- Gristmill Hill is located in Washington County (MD)
- Nova
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Rockdale
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Rockdale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
- Rockdale is located in Franklin County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Rockdale
- From Mercersburg to Rockdale
- Welsh Run
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Welsh Run. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Welsh Run
- Welsh Run is located in Franklin County
- Google driving directions:
- From your current location to Welsh Run
- From Mercersburg to Welsh Run
How Far From Mercersburg 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 Mercersburg to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Mercersburg and extending to:
- Chambersburg, which is the Seat of Franklin County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<3> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Mercersburg to Chambersburg, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 62 miles [99.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 79 miles [127.1 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,894 miles [9,485.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,605 miles [10,629.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,481 miles [7,211.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Mercersburg. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Franklin County: www.co.franklin.pa.us/
The official website for Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.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> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Mercersburg) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mercersburg. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.8270, Longitude: -77.9022 |
| <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 Mercersburg 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 308.346 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 304.101 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 304.726 degrees. |