Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ridgway, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ridgway and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ridgway
- 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 Ridgway:
- 37.799161, -88.260115
- 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 Ridgway
- 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 Gallatin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Gallatin County
- Since Ridgway is near Saline County and also White County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Saline County
- eBird sighting report for White 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 Ridgway ...
We found three communities that share the name Ridgway.
Within Illinois, the name Ridgway is unique.
Beyond Illinois, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Colorado
- Florida
- Pennsylvania
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ridgway ...
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.
- Cottage Grove
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Grove
- Cottage Grove is located in Saline County
- Cottonwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottonwood have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottonwood
- Cottonwood is located in Gallatin County
- Elba
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest) - Eldorado
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eldorado have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eldorado
- Eldorado is located in Saline County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,837 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Eldorado <3>
- Equality
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Equality
- Equality is located in Gallatin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 512 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Equality <3>
- Horseshoe
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest) - Junction
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction
- Junction is located in Gallatin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 110 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Junction <3>
- Middlepoint
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middlepoint have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlepoint
- Middlepoint is located in White County
- Red Bud ‑ Historic
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west) - Saline City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Saline City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Saline City
- Saline City is located in Saline County
- Texas City
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texas City
- Texas City is located in Saline County
How Far From Ridgway 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 Ridgway to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ridgway and extending to:
- Shawneetown, which is the Seat of Gallatin County, lies just to the Southeast.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 156 miles [251.1 km]<1> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could drive a straight line from Ridgway to Springfield, with an average speed<4>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 612 miles [984.9 km] to the east (E). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 35 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,404 miles [10,306.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,132 miles [11,477.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,009 miles [8,061.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ridgway. 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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Ridgway) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ridgway. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.7992, Longitude: -88.2601 |
| <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 Ridgway 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 314.787 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.161 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.948 degrees. |