Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Machesney Park, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Machesney Park and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Machesney Park
- 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 Machesney Park:
- 42.366138, -89.027658
- 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 Machesney Park
- 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 Winnebago County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Winnebago County
- Since Machesney Park is near Boone County and also Rock County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Boone 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 Machesney Park ...
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.
- Argyle
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Cherry Valley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherry Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherry Valley
- Cherry Valley is located in Winnebago County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,853 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cherry Valley <2>
- Coreys Bluff
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coreys Bluff have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coreys Bluff
- Coreys Bluff is located in Winnebago County
- Coventry Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Coventry Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coventry Creek
- Coventry Creek is located in Winnebago County
- Harlem
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Hunter
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Indian Village
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Indian Village is located in Winnebago County
- Jonesville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jonesville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jonesville
- Jonesville is located in Winnebago County
- Loves Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Loves Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Loves Park
- Loves Park is located in Winnebago County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 23,382 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Loves Park <2>
- Morehaven
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Panorama Valley
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Panorama Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Panorama Valley
- Panorama Valley is located in Winnebago County
- Poplar Grove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar Grove
- Poplar Grove is located in Boone County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,075 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Poplar Grove <2>
- Continue List (4 more) ...
- Prairie View
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie View have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie View
- Prairie View is located in Boone County
- Ruby
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Silver Hills
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Hills
- Silver Hills is located in Winnebago County
- Stagecoach Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stagecoach Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stagecoach Hills
- Stagecoach Hills is located in Winnebago County
- Prairie View
How Far From Machesney Park 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 Machesney Park to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Machesney Park and extending to:
- Rockford, which is the Seat of Winnebago County, lies just to the South Southwest.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 181 miles [291.3 km]<3> to the south (S). If you could drive a straight line from Machesney Park to Springfield, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 11 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 671 miles [1,079.9 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 39 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,209 miles [9,992.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,952 miles [11,188.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,839 miles [7,787.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Machesney Park: www.machesney-park.il.us/
The official website for Winnebago County: www.co.winnebago.il.us/
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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Machesney Park) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Machesney Park. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3661, Longitude: -89.0277 In this case, the coordinates for Machesney Park 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 Machesney Park 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 315.366 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.461 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.125 degrees. |