Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Williams Bay, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Williams Bay and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Williams Bay
- 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 Williams Bay:
- 42.577882, -88.541451
- 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 Williams Bay
- 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 Walworth County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Walworth County
- Since Williams Bay is near McHenry County and also Rock County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for McHenry County
- eBird sighting report for Rock 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 Williams Bay ...
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 Foot Prairie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Foot Prairie have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Foot Prairie
- Big Foot Prairie is located in McHenry County (IL)
- Bowers
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bowers
- Bowers is located in Walworth County
- Elkhorn
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elkhorn
- Elkhorn is located in Walworth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,020 people
- Harvard
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harvard have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvard
- Harvard is located in McHenry County (IL)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,979 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harvard <2>
- Hebron
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hebron have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hebron
- Hebron is located in McHenry County (IL)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,175 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hebron <2>
- Inlet
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Lake Lawn
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Lyons
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lyons
- Lyons is located in Walworth County
- Shady Side ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Side have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Side
- Shady Side is located in Walworth County
How Far From Williams Bay 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 village such as Williams Bay to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Williams Bay and extending to:
- Elkhorn, which is the Seat of Walworth County, lies just to the North.
- Madison, which is the State Capital of Wisconsin, lies 55 miles [88.5 km]<3> to the northwest (NW). If you could walk a straight line from Williams Bay to Madison, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take over two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 652 miles [1,049.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just over a day, a buggy would take 26 days and walking would take 37 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,181 miles [9,947.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,923 miles [11,141.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,811 miles [7,742.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Williams Bay: www.williamsbay.org/
The official website for Walworth County: www.co.walworth.wi.us/
The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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- Williams Bay) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Williams Bay. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.5779, Longitude: -88.5415 |
| <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 Williams Bay 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 315.039 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.118 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.819 degrees. |