Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Hill Side, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Hill Side and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Hill Side

• 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 Hill Side:
  • 42.939160, -96.785320
  • 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.
  • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Hill Side

• 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 Union County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Union County
  • Since Hill Side is near Clay County and also Plymouth County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Clay County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Plymouth 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:
  • Open the Waymark.com report for Hill Side

Curious and Interesting Names Near Hill Side ...

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.

• Big Springs
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)
  • Big Springs is located in Union County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Springs
• Bluff Center ‑ Historic
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
  • Bluff Center is located in Clay County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bluff Center
• Centerville
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Centerville is located in Turner County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Centerville
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 870 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Centerville <1>
• Clay Point
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Clay Point is located in Clay County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clay Point
• Emmet
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
  • Emmet is located in Union County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emmet
  • Estimated population in 2014: 231 people
• Greenfield
  (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Greenfield is located in Clay County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
  • Estimated population in 2014: 40 people
• Hub City
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Hub City is located in Clay County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hub City
• Junction City
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)
  • Junction City is located in Union County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
• Marshalltown ‑ Historic
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Marshalltown is located in Clay County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marshalltown
• Star Corner ‑ Historic
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)
  • Star Corner is located in Clay County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Star Corner

How Far From Hill Side 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 Hill Side to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Hill Side and extending to:

• Elk Point, which is the Seat of Union County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<2> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Hill Side to Elk Point, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
• Pierre, which is the State Capital of South Dakota, lies 203 miles [326.7 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 12 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,064 miles [1,712.3 km] to the east (E). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 42 days and walking would take 61 days.
• The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,443 miles [10,369 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• 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).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,110 miles [8,223.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'