Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Oakford, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Oakford and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Oakford
- 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 Oakford:
- 40.102883, -89.965253
- 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 Oakford
- 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 Menard County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Menard County
- Since Oakford is near Mason County and also Cass County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Mason County
- eBird sighting report for Cass 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 Oakford ...
We found three communities that share the name Oakford.
Within Illinois, the name Oakford is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- Indiana
- Pennsylvania
Curious and Interesting Names Near Oakford ...
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.
- Bath
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bath have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bath
- Bath is located in Mason County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 306 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bath <3>
- Bobtown
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest) - Chandlerville
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chandlerville
- Chandlerville is located in Cass County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 487 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chandlerville <3>
- Greenview
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenview have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenview
- Greenview is located in Menard County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 715 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenview <3>
- Hill Top
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Hilltop
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast) - Lewisburg
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast) - Long Branch
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Branch have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Branch
- Long Branch is located in Mason County
- Moscow ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west) - Peterville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Peterville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peterville
- Peterville is located in Mason County
- Poplar City
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Poplar City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Poplar City
- Poplar City is located in Mason County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Poplar City <3>
- Wolf Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)
How Far From Oakford 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 village such as Oakford to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Oakford and extending to:
- Petersburg, which is the Seat of Menard County, lies just to the Southeast.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 27 miles [43.5 km]<1> to the southeast (SE). If you could walk a straight line from Oakford to Springfield, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 693 miles [1,115.3 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 27 days and walking would take 40 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,355 miles [10,227.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,093 miles [11,415.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,976 miles [8,008.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Oakford. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
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' (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- Oakford) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Oakford. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.1029, Longitude: -89.9653 |
| <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 Oakford 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 315.966 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 312.834 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 310.186 degrees. |