RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Illinois >> Will County >> Lake of the Woods >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Lake of the Woods, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Lake of the Woods and the surrounding area.

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Lake of the Woods:
    • 41.489722, -88.208056
    • 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 Lake of the Woods
  • 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 Lake of the Woods ...

We found ten communities that share the name Lake of the Woods.

There are two communities within Illinois that are also named Lake of the Woods.

Beyond Illinois, we know of another eight communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eight communities, eight are located in the United States and two are in Canada.

  • Communities Located In Illinois ...
    • Champaign County
      • This Lake of the Woods is located in Champaign County and lies 89 miles [143.2 km]<1> to the south of the Lake of the Woods that is located in Will County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Champaign County community of Lake of the Woods.
    • Peoria County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Illinois community of Lake of the Woods [Peoria County].
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Arizona
      • Navajo County
      • This Lake of the Woods is located in Navajo County and lies 1,286 miles [2,069.6 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Lake of the Woods that is located in Will County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Navajo County community of Lake of the Woods.
    • California
      • Kern County
      • This Lake of the Woods is located in Kern County and lies 1,723 miles [2,772.9 km]<1> to the west of the Lake of the Woods that is located in Will County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kern County community of Lake of the Woods.
    • Indiana
      • Marshall County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Indiana community of Lake of the Woods [Marshall County].
    • Michigan
      • Branch County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Michigan community of Lake of the Woods [Branch County].
    • Missouri
      • Grundy County
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Missouri community of Lake of the Woods [Grundy County].
    • Nova Scotia
      • We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Nova Scotia community of Lake of the Woods.
    • Ontario
      • We haven't found the location of this community yet.
    • Oregon
      • Klamath County
      • This Lake of the Woods is located in Klamath County and lies 1,736 miles [2,793.8 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Lake of the Woods that is located in Will County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Klamath County community of Lake of the Woods.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Lake of the Woods ...

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.

  • Birds
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Birds have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Birds
    • Birds is located in Will County
  • Fox Meadow
    (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fox Meadow have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox Meadow
    • Fox Meadow is located in Will County
  • Hunt Club
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunt Club have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunt Club
    • Hunt Club is located in Will County
  • Oak Lane
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Oak Lane have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oak Lane
    • Oak Lane is located in Will County
  • Pheasant Landing
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pheasant Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pheasant Landing
    • Pheasant Landing is located in Will County
  • Pleasant Knoll
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pleasant Knoll have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pleasant Knoll
    • Pleasant Knoll is located in Will County
  • Prairie Trail
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Trail have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Trail
    • Prairie Trail is located in Will County
  • Riverwalk
    (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverwalk have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverwalk
    • Riverwalk is located in Will County
  • Rock Run Park
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock Run Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock Run Park
    • Rock Run Park is located in Will County
  • Continue List   (6 more) ...
    • Rockdale
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockdale
      • Rockdale is located in Will County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,884 people
    • Springwood
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Springwood have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Springwood
      • Springwood is located in Will County
    • Squires Mill
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Squires Mill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Squires Mill
      • Squires Mill is located in Will County
    • Sunset Hills
      (Less than 2 miles to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Hills
      • Sunset Hills is located in Will County
    • Sunset Ridge
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Ridge
      • Sunset Ridge is located in Will County
    • Vintage
      (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vintage have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vintage
      • Vintage is located in Will County

How Far From Lake of the Woods 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 Lake of the Woods to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Lake of the Woods and extending to:

  • Joliet, which is the Seat of Will County, lies just to the East Northeast.
  • Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 140 miles [225.3 km]<1> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Lake of the Woods to Springfield, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 8 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 615 miles [989.7 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,222 miles [10,013.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,961 miles [11,202.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,844 miles [7,795.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

Footnotes ...

<1>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Lake of the Woods) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Lake of the Woods. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.4897, Longitude: -88.2081       In this case, the coordinates for Lake of the Woods have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<2>If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer.

Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Rock Creek to see Pete ... Rock Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name.

Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time.

Also keep in mind that Lake of the Woods could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out.
<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 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 Lake of the Woods 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 314.818 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.713 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.962 degrees.