Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Park Forest, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Park Forest and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Park Forest
- 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 Park Forest:
- 41.491542, -87.674253
- 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 Park Forest
- 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 Cook County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Cook County
- Since Park Forest is near Will County and also Lake County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Will County
- eBird sighting report for Lake 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 Park Forest ...
We found seven communities that share the name Park Forest.
Within Illinois, the name Park Forest is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another seven communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Mobile County
- This Park Forest is located in Mobile County and lies 745 miles [1,199 km]<1> to the south of the Park Forest that is located in Cook County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Mobile County community of Park Forest.
- California
- San Mateo County
- This Park Forest is located in San Mateo County and lies 1,848 miles [2,974.1 km]<1> to the west of the Park Forest that is located in Cook County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the San Mateo County community of Park Forest.
- Florida
- Hillsborough County
- This Park Forest is located in Hillsborough County and lies 970 miles [1,561.1 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Park Forest that is located in Cook County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hillsborough County community of Park Forest.
- Georgia
- Clayton County
- This Park Forest is located in Clayton County and lies 575 miles [925.4 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Park Forest that is located in Cook County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clayton County community of Park Forest.
- Douglas County
- This Park Forest is located in Douglas County and lies 557 miles [896.4 km] to the south southeast of the Park Forest that is located in Cook County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Douglas County community of Park Forest.
- Louisiana
- East Baton Rouge Parish
- This Park Forest is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and lies 783 miles [1,260.1 km]<1> to the south southwest of the Park Forest that is located in Cook County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the East Baton Rouge Parish community of Park Forest.
- Missouri
- Platte 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 Park Forest [Platte County].
- Alabama
Curious and Interesting Names Near Park Forest ...
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.
- Claus
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south) - Crete
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crete have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crete
- Crete is located in Will County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,938 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crete <4>
- Dyer
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dyer
- Dyer is located in Lake County (IN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,955 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dyer <4>
- Flossmoor
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flossmoor have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flossmoor
- Flossmoor is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,018 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Flossmoor <4>
- Globe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Greenwood
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Harvey
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harvey
- Harvey is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 24,109 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Harvey <4>
- Homewood
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homewood
- Homewood is located in Cook County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 18,475 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Homewood <4>
- Indian Hill
(Less than 2 miles to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Hill
- Indian Hill is located in Cook County
- Munster
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Munster have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Munster
- Munster is located in Lake County (IN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 22,483 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Munster <4>
- University Park
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for University Park have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Park
- University Park is located in Will County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,817 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for University Park <4>
- Willowbrook
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Willowbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowbrook
- Willowbrook is located in Will County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Willowbrook <4>
How Far From Park Forest 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 Park Forest to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Park Forest and extending to:
- Chicago, which is the Seat of Cook County, lies 26 miles [41.8 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Park Forest to Chicago, with an average speed<5> 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.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 157 miles [252.7 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 9 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 588 miles [946.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 34 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,202 miles [9,981.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,940 miles [11,168.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,823 miles [7,761.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Park Forest: www.villageofparkforest.com/
The official website for Cook County: www.co.cook.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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Park Forest) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Park Forest. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.4915, Longitude: -87.6743 |
| <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 Park Forest 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're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Park Forest to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.465 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.309 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.699 degrees. |