Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Rantoul, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rantoul and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Rantoul

• 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 Rantoul:
  • 40.302383, -88.153474
  • 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.
  • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Rantoul

• 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 Champaign County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Champaign County
  • Since Rantoul is near Ford County and also Vermilion County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Ford County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Vermilion 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:
  • Open the Waymark.com report for Rantoul

Communities Also Named Rantoul ...

We found one communities that are also named Rantoul.

Within Illinois, the name Rantoul is unique.

Beyond Illinois, there is another community also named Rantoul in the United States.

• Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
  • Kansas
    • Franklin County
    • This Rantoul is located in Franklin County and lies 389 miles [626 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Rantoul that is located in Champaign County.
    • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Franklin County community of Rantoul.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rantoul ...

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.

• Dailey
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Dailey is located in Champaign County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dailey
• Dewey
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Dewey is located in Champaign County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dewey
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dewey <2>
• Fisher
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
  • Fisher is located in Champaign County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisher
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,911 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fisher <2>
• Flatville
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Flatville is located in Champaign County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatville
• Gerald
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Gerald is located in Champaign County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gerald
• Mayview
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
  • Mayview is located in Champaign County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mayview
• Prospect
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
  • Prospect is located in Champaign County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prospect
• Rising
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Rising is located in Champaign County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rising
• Royal
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Royal is located in Champaign County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Royal
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 273 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Royal <2>
• Sellers
  (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Sellers is located in Champaign County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sellers

How Far From Rantoul 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 Rantoul to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rantoul and extending to:

• Urbana, which is the Seat of Champaign County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the south southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Rantoul to Urbana, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take 6 hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
• Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 86 miles [138.4 km] to the west southwest (WSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 598 miles [962.4 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 34 days.
• The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,278 miles [10,103.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,013 miles [11,286.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,894 miles [7,876.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'