Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Plano, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Plano and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Plano
- 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 Plano:
- 41.670316, -88.524859
- 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 Plano
- 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 Kendall County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Kendall County
- Since Plano is near DeKalb County and also Kane County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for DeKalb County
- eBird sighting report for Kane 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 Plano ...
We found fourteen communities that share the name Plano.
Within Illinois, the name Plano is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another fourteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- California
- Idaho
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Comanche 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 Kansas community of Plano [Comanche County].
- Stafford County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Plano [Stafford County].
- Kentucky
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- Nebraska
- Ohio
- South Dakota
- Texas
Curious and Interesting Names Near Plano ...
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.
- Big Rock
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Big Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Big Rock
- Big Rock is located in Kane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,121 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Big Rock <5>
- Countryside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Countryside have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Countryside
- Countryside is located in Kendall County
- Fox
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Franks
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Franks
- Franks is located in DeKalb County
- Knob Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the south) - Little Rock
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Rock have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Rock
- Little Rock is located in Kendall County
- Pavillion
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast) - Sandwich
(5 miles [8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandwich
- Sandwich is located in DeKalb County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,384 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sandwich <5>
- Sugar Grove
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sugar Grove
- Sugar Grove is located in Kane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 9,884 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sugar Grove <5>
How Far From Plano 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 Plano to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Plano and extending to:
- Yorkville, which is the Seat of Kendall County, lies just to the East.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 143 miles [230.1 km]<1> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Plano to Springfield, with an average speed<6>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 634 miles [1,020.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 36 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,225 miles [10,018.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,965 miles [11,209.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,849 miles [7,803.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Plano: www.cityofplanoil.com/
The official website for Kendall County: www.co.kendall.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' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Plano) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Plano. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.6703, Longitude: -88.5249 In this case, the coordinates for Plano have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Plano 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> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Plano, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Plano to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.029 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.979 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.068 degrees. |