RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Tennessee >> Hamilton County >> Brainerd >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

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 ...
  • 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:
    • 35.020074, -85.240233
    • 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 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 Hamilton County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Hamilton County
    • Since Brainerd is near Catoosa County and also Walker County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Catoosa County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Walker 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 Brainerd

Communities Also Named Brainerd ...

We found five communities that are also named Brainerd.

Within Tennessee, the name Brainerd is unique.

Beyond Tennessee, we know of five communities that are located 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
      • Poinsett County
      • This community is historic<1> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Brainerd [Poinsett County].
    • Illinois
      • Cook County
      • This Brainerd is located in Cook County and lies 481 miles [774.1 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Brainerd that is located in Hamilton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cook County community of Brainerd.
    • Kansas
      • Butler County
      • This Brainerd is located in Butler County and lies 687 miles [1,105.6 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Brainerd that is located in Hamilton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Butler County community of Brainerd.
    • Manitoba
      • This Brainerd lies 1,195 miles [1,923.2 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Brainerd that is located in Hamilton County.
    • Minnesota
      • Crow Wing County
      • This Brainerd is located in Crow Wing County and lies 911 miles [1,466.1 km]<2> to the north northwest of the Brainerd that is located in Hamilton County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Crow Wing County community of Brainerd.

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.

  • Bushtown
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Bushtown is located in Hamilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bushtown
  • Castle Park
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Castle Park is located in Hamilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Park
  • Cedar Hill
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Cedar Hill is located in Hamilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Hill
  • Green Acres
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Green Acres is located in Catoosa County (GA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
  • Harris Hills
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Harris Hills is located in Hamilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harris Hills
  • Indian Hills
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Indian Hills is located in Hamilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hills
  • Lakeview
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Lakeview is located in Catoosa County (GA)
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeview
  • Mission Oaks
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Mission Oaks is located in Hamilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Oaks
  • Oak Grove
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Oak Grove is located in Hamilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Grove
  • Orchard Knob
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
    • Orchard Knob is located in Hamilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Orchard Knob
  • Poindexter Heights
    (Less than 2 miles to the west)
    • Poindexter Heights is located in Hamilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poindexter Heights
  • Regency Place
    (Less than 2 miles to the north)
    • Regency Place is located in Hamilton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Regency Place
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Ridgedale
      (Less than 2 miles to the west)
      • Ridgedale is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgedale
    • Ridgeside
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Ridgeside is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridgeside
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 446 people
    • Riverside Park
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
      • Riverside Park is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverside Park
    • Rollingwood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Rollingwood is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rollingwood
    • Shepherd
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)
      • Shepherd is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shepherd
    • Walnut Hills
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Walnut Hills is located in Hamilton County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Walnut Hills

How Far From Brainerd 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 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:

  • Chattanooga, which is the Seat of Hamilton County, lies just to the West Northwest.
  • Nashville, which is the State Capital of Tennessee, lies 116 miles [186.7 km]<2> to the northwest (NW). If you could drive a straight line from Brainerd to Nashville, with an average speed<3>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 525 miles [844.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 21 days and walking would take 30 days.
  • The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,415 miles [10,323.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,126 miles [11,468.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,002 miles [8,049.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'

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 '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. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>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.
<4>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.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Brainerd. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.0201, Longitude: -85.2402       In this case, the coordinates for Brainerd have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<5>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.811 degrees.
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.498 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.32 degrees.