Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

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

• 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 Afton Center:
  • 41.849196, -88.773696
  • 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 Afton Center

• 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 DeKalb County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • eBird sighting report for DeKalb County
  • Since Afton Center is near Lee County and also Kane County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • eBird sighting report for Lee County
  • eBird sighting report for Kane 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 Afton Center ...

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 Rock
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
  • Big Rock is located in Kane County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,121 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Big Rock <2>
• Clare
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the north)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clare
  • Clare is located in DeKalb County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clare <2>
• East Paw Paw
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Paw Paw have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Paw Paw
  • East Paw Paw is located in Lee County
• Five Points
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Points have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Points
  • Five Points is located in DeKalb County
• Franks
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franks
  • Franks is located in DeKalb County
• Kaneville
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kaneville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kaneville
  • Kaneville is located in Kane County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 477 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kaneville <2>
• Lee
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lee
  • Lee is located in Lee County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 323 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lee <2>
• Little Rock
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock
  • Little Rock is located in Kendall County
• Malta
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Malta have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Malta
  • Malta is located in DeKalb County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,161 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Malta <2>
• Maple Park
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Park
  • Maple Park is located in Kane County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,384 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maple Park <2>

How Far From Afton Center 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 Afton Center to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Afton Center and extending to:

• Sycamore, which is the Seat of DeKalb County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<3> to the north northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Afton Center to Sycamore, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
• Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 149 miles [239.8 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 9 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 649 miles [1,044.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving 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 6,225 miles [10,018.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,966 miles [11,210.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,851 miles [7,806.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Afton Center. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for DeKalb County: www.dekalbcounty.org/

The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov