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Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Ridgefield:
    • 42.268261, -88.361691
    • 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 Ridgefield
  • 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 Ridgefield ...

We found fourteen communities that share the name Ridgefield.

Within Illinois, the name Ridgefield is unique.

Beyond Illinois, we know of another fourteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alabama
      • Montgomery County
      • This Ridgefield is located in Montgomery County and lies 694 miles [1,116.9 km]<1> to the south of the Ridgefield that is located in McHenry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Montgomery County community of Ridgefield.
    • Connecticut
      • Fairfield County
      • This Ridgefield is located in Fairfield County and lies 767 miles [1,234.4 km]<1> to the east of the Ridgefield that is located in McHenry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fairfield County community of Ridgefield.
    • Georgia
      • Fayette County
      • This Ridgefield is located in Fayette County and lies 647 miles [1,041.2 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Ridgefield that is located in McHenry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Fayette County community of Ridgefield.
    • Maryland
      • Anne Arundel County
      • This Ridgefield is located in Anne Arundel County and lies 645 miles [1,038 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Ridgefield that is located in McHenry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anne Arundel County community of Ridgefield.
    • New Jersey
      • Bergen 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 New Jersey community of Ridgefield [Bergen County].
    • North Carolina
      • Guilford 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 North Carolina community of Ridgefield [Guilford County].
      • Orange County
      • This Ridgefield is located in Orange County and lies 664 miles [1,068.6 km]<1> to the southeast of the Ridgefield that is located in McHenry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Orange County community of Ridgefield.
    • North Dakota
      • Cavalier 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 North Dakota community of Ridgefield [Cavalier County].
    • Ohio
      • Muskingum County
      • This community is historic<3> and although located in Muskingum County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Muskingum County community of Ridgefield.
    • Pennsylvania
      • York County
      • This Ridgefield is located in York County and lies 626 miles [1,007.4 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Ridgefield that is located in McHenry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the York County community of Ridgefield.
    • Tennessee
      • Rutherford County
      • This Ridgefield is located in Rutherford County and lies 453 miles [729 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Ridgefield that is located in McHenry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Rutherford County community of Ridgefield.
      • Sullivan County
      • This Ridgefield is located in Sullivan County and lies 513 miles [825.6 km] to the southeast of the Ridgefield that is located in McHenry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sullivan County community of Ridgefield.
    • Virginia
      • Radford City
      • This Ridgefield is located in Radford City and lies 545 miles [877.1 km]<1> to the southeast of the Ridgefield that is located in McHenry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Radford City community of Ridgefield.
    • Washington
      • Clark County
      • This Ridgefield is located in Clark County and lies 1,710 miles [2,752 km]<1> to the west northwest of the Ridgefield that is located in McHenry County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clark County community of Ridgefield.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Ridgefield ...

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.

  • Bull Valley
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bull Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bull Valley
    • Bull Valley is located in McHenry County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,078 people
  • Crystal Gardens
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Gardens
    • Crystal Gardens is located in McHenry County
  • Crystal Lake
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Lake
    • Crystal Lake is located in McHenry County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 39,642 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crystal Lake <5>
  • Crystal Vista
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal Vista have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Vista
    • Crystal Vista is located in McHenry County
  • Emerald Park
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emerald Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Park
    • Emerald Park is located in McHenry County
  • Ferndale
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ferndale have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferndale
    • Ferndale is located in McHenry County
  • Holiday Hills
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holiday Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holiday Hills
    • Holiday Hills is located in McHenry County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 574 people
  • Lake-in-the-Hills
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake-in-the-Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake-in-the-Hills
    • Lake-in-the-Hills is located in McHenry County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 28,345 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake-in-the-Hills <5>
  • Prairie Grove
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Grove
    • Prairie Grove is located in McHenry County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,920 people
  • Riverstream
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Riverstream have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Riverstream
    • Riverstream is located in McHenry County
  • Silver Lake
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
    • Silver Lake is located in McHenry County
  • Sunrise Ridge
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunrise Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunrise Ridge
    • Sunrise Ridge is located in McHenry County
  • Terra Cotta
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
  • Trout Valley
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Trout Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Trout Valley
    • Trout Valley is located in McHenry County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 508 people

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

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

  • Woodstock, which is the Seat of McHenry County, lies just to the Northwest.
  • Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 184 miles [296.1 km]<1> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from Ridgefield to Springfield, with an average speed<7>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take a little over three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 11 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 8 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 637 miles [1,025.2 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 25 days and walking would take 37 days.
  • The shortest distance<8> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,190 miles [9,961.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,931 miles [11,154.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,817 miles [7,752.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<11>

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ridgefield. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for McHenry County: www.co.mchenry.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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ridgefield) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ridgefield. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2683, Longitude: -88.3617    
<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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 Ridgefield 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 Ridgefield, 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>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<7>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.
<8>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 Ridgefield to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.
<9>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.92 degrees.
<10>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.938 degrees.
<11>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.817 degrees.




 

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This page was last modified/updated: 21 Apr 2025