Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Oak Brook, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Oak Brook and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Oak Brook
- 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 Oak Brook:
- 41.837210, -87.951363
- 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 Oak Brook
- 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 Oak Brook is near Cook County and also Will County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cook County
- eBird sighting report for Will 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 Oak Brook ...
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.
- Churchville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Churchville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Churchville
- Churchville is located in DuPage County
- Countryside
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Countryside have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
- Downers Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- 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 <2>
- Flowerfield
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flowerfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flowerfield
- Flowerfield is located in DuPage County
- Fullersburg
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fullersburg have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fullersburg
- Fullersburg is located in DuPage County
- Gary
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Hillside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hillside
- Hillside is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,785 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hillside <2>
- Indian Head Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Head Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
- Lace
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Mammoth Springs
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mammoth Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mammoth Springs
- Mammoth Springs is located in DuPage County
- Maywood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maywood
- Maywood is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 22,868 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Maywood <2>
- McCook
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for McCook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for McCook
- McCook is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 217 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for McCook <2>
- Stone Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Stone Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stone Park
- Stone Park is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,764 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Stone Park <2>
- Willowbrook
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willowbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
How Far From Oak Brook to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a village such as Oak Brook to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Oak Brook and extending to:
- Wheaton, which is the Seat of DuPage County, lies just to the West Northwest.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 167 miles [268.8 km]<3> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Oak Brook to Springfield, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,196 miles [9,971.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,935 miles [11,160.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,819 miles [7,755.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Oak Brook: www.oak-brook.org/
The official website for DuPage County: www.dupageco.org/
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- Oak Brook) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Oak Brook. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.8372, Longitude: -87.9514 In this case, the coordinates for Oak Brook 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 Oak Brook 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 314.647 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.567 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.736 degrees. |