Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Mercer Island, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mercer Island and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Mercer Island
- 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 Mercer Island:
- 47.570914, -122.221535
- 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 Mercer Island
- 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 King County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for King County
- Since Mercer Island is near Kitsap County and also Snohomish County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Kitsap County
- eBird sighting report for Snohomish 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 Mercer Island ...
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.
- Boddy
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Clyde
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north) - Clyde Hill
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clyde Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clyde Hill
- Clyde Hill is located in King County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,398 people
- Coal Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coal Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coal Creek
- Coal Creek is located in King County
- Cougar Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cougar Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cougar Hills
- Cougar Hills is located in King County
- Crossroads
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crossroads have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crossroads
- Crossroads is located in King County
- Edgewater Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edgewater Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edgewater Park
- Edgewater Park is located in King County
- Hillman City ‑ Historic
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hillman City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillman City
- Hillman City is located in King County
- Hilltop
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Holly Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holly Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holly Park
- Holly Park is located in King County
- Hunts Point
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunts Point
- Hunts Point is located in King County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 435 people
- Kennydale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south) - Continue List (5 more) ...
- May Creek
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Moorland
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north) - Robinswood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Robinswood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Robinswood
- Robinswood is located in King County
- Skyway
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - South Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Park
- South Park is located in King County
- May Creek
How Far From Mercer Island 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 city such as Mercer Island to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Mercer Island and extending to:
- Seattle, which is the Seat of King County, lies just to the West Northwest.
- Olympia, which is the State Capital of Washington, lies 48 miles [77.2 km]<2> to the southwest (SW). If you could walk a straight line from Mercer Island to Olympia, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,315 miles [3,725.6 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take 5 days, a buggy would take 91 days and walking would take 132 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,774 miles [10,901.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,536 miles [12,128 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,659 miles [9,107.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Mercer Island: www.ci.mercer-island.wa.us/
The official website for King County: www.metrokc.gov/
The official website for State of Washington: https://access.wa.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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Mercer Island) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mercer Island. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 47.5709, Longitude: -122.2215 |
| <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 Mercer Island to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 340.78 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 342.319 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.689 degrees. |