Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Mattoon, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Mattoon and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Mattoon
- 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 Mattoon:
- 39.483668, -88.375842
- 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 Mattoon
- 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 Coles County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Coles County
- Since Mattoon is near Moultrie County and also Cumberland County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Moultrie County
- eBird sighting report for Cumberland 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 Mattoon ...
We found three communities that share the name Mattoon.
Within Illinois, the name Mattoon is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Kentucky
- Mississippi
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Mattoon ...
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.
- Cooks Mills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Mills
- Cooks Mills is located in Coles County
- Fuller
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest) - Gays
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gays have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gays
- Gays is located in Moultrie County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 252 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gays <3>
- Humboldt
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Humboldt
- Humboldt is located in Coles County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 414 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Humboldt <3>
- Janesville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Janesville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Janesville
- Janesville is located in Cumberland County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Janesville <3>
- Johnstown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnstown
- Johnstown is located in Cumberland County
- Jones
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Magnet
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Magnet
- Magnet is located in Coles County
- Paradise
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Rolling Green
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rolling Green have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rolling Green
- Rolling Green is located in Coles County
How Far From Mattoon 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 city such as Mattoon to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Mattoon and extending to:
- Charleston, which is the Seat of Coles County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<1> to the east. If you could walk a straight line from Mattoon to Charleston, 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 70 miles [112.7 km] to the west northwest (WNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 607 miles [976.9 km] to the east (E). 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 6,326 miles [10,180.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,060 miles [11,362 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,939 miles [7,948.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Mattoon. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Coles County: www.co.coles.il.us/
The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Mattoon) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Mattoon. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 39.4837, Longitude: -88.3758 |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 Mattoon 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 314.907 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.533 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.582 degrees. |