Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Darien, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Darien and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Darien
- 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 Darien:
- 41.744812, -87.982370
- 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 Darien
- 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 DuPage County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for DuPage County
- Since Darien is near Will County and also Cook County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Will County
- eBird sighting report for Cook 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
Communities Also Named Darien ...
We found six communities that share the name Darien.
Within Illinois, the name Darien is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another six communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Connecticut
- Georgia
- Kansas
- Missouri
- New York
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Darien ...
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.
- Cherrywood
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherrywood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherrywood
- Cherrywood is located in Will County
- Colonial Village
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Colonial Village have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Colonial Village
- Colonial Village is located in Will County
- Countryside
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Countryside have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countryside
- Countryside is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,862 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Countryside <4>
- Downers Grove
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Downers Grove
- Downers Grove is located in DuPage County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 48,727 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Downers Grove <4>
- Equestrian Woods
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Equestrian Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Equestrian Woods
- Equestrian Woods is located in Cook County
- Heather Sound
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heather Sound have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heather Sound
- Heather Sound is located in Will County
- Heritage Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heritage Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage Creek
- Heritage Creek is located in Will County
- Home Run
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest) - Hunters Trail
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunters Trail have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Trail
- Hunters Trail is located in Will County
- Indian Head Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Head Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Head Park
- Indian Head Park is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,680 people
- Ivanhoe
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Kings Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kings Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Park
- Kings Park is located in Will County
- Continue List (5 more) ...
- Lace
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast) - Sag Bridge
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sag Bridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sag Bridge
- Sag Bridge is located in Cook County
- Stonegate
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Willow Springs
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willow Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Springs
- Willow Springs is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,562 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Willow Springs <4>
- Willowbrook
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willowbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowbrook
- Willowbrook is located in DuPage County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,507 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Willowbrook <4>
- Lace
How Far From Darien 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 city such as Darien to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Darien and extending to:
- Wheaton, which is the Seat of DuPage County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Darien to Wheaton, with an average speed<5> 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 161 miles [259.1 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 608 miles [978.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 35 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,201 miles [9,979.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,941 miles [11,170.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,824 miles [7,763.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Darien: www.darien.il.us/
The official website for DuPage County: www.dupageco.org/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Darien) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Darien. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.7448, Longitude: -87.9824 In this case, the coordinates for Darien have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 Darien, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Darien to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.668 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.578 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.778 degrees. |