Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Bentown, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Bentown and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Bentown
- 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 Bentown:
- 40.471979, -88.806459
- 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 Bentown
- 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 McLean County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for McLean County
- Since Bentown is near De Witt County and also Woodford County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for De Witt County
- eBird sighting report for Woodford 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 Bentown ...
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.
- Arrowsmith
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Arrowsmith have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Arrowsmith
- Arrowsmith is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 275 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Arrowsmith <2>
- Burns
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest) - Cooksville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooksville
- Cooksville is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 179 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cooksville <2>
- Downs
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Downs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downs
- Downs is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 949 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Downs <2>
- Eagle Ridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Ridge
- Eagle Ridge is located in McLean County
- Hedgewood
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Holder
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Le Roy
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Le Roy have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Le Roy
- Le Roy is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,498 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Le Roy <2>
- Normal
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Normal
- Normal is located in McLean County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 54,451 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Normal <2>
- Pleasant Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Hill
- Pleasant Hill is located in McLean County
- Shamrock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
How Far From Bentown 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 Bentown to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Bentown and extending to:
- Bloomington, which is the Seat of McLean County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<3> to the west. If you could walk a straight line from Bentown to Bloomington, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 65 miles [104.6 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 634 miles [1,020.3 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 36 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,294 miles [10,129.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,031 miles [11,315.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,913 miles [7,906.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Bentown. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for McLean County: www.mclean.gov/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.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 drawn from Point A (ie- Bentown) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Bentown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.4720, Longitude: -88.8065 In this case, the coordinates for Bentown have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Bentown 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 315.206 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.014 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.531 degrees. |