RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
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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 Sylvan Lake, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Sylvan Lake 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 Sylvan Lake:
    • 42.243913, -88.052855
    • 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 Sylvan Lake
  • 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 Lake County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lake County
    • Since Sylvan Lake is near Cook County and also McHenry County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Cook County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for McHenry 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 Sylvan Lake

Communities Also Named Sylvan Lake ...

We found eight communities that are also named Sylvan Lake.

Within Illinois, the name Sylvan Lake is unique.

Beyond Illinois, we know of eight communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these eight communities, seven are located in the United States and one is in Canada.

  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • Alberta
      • This Sylvan Lake lies 1,392 miles [2,240.2 km]<1> to the northwest of the Sylvan Lake that is located in Lake County.
    • Florida
      • Orange 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 Florida community of Sylvan Lake [Orange County].
      • Seminole County
      • This Sylvan Lake is located in Seminole County and lies 1,000 miles [1,609.3 km]<1> to the south southeast of the Sylvan Lake that is located in Lake County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Seminole County community of Sylvan Lake.
    • Michigan
      • Oakland County
      • This Sylvan Lake is located in Oakland County and lies 242 miles [389.5 km]<1> to the east of the Sylvan Lake that is located in Lake County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Oakland County community of Sylvan Lake.
    • Minnesota
      • Cass 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 Minnesota community of Sylvan Lake [Cass County].
    • New Jersey
      • Burlington 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 Sylvan Lake [Burlington County].
    • New York
      • Dutchess County
      • This Sylvan Lake is located in Dutchess County and lies 735 miles [1,182.9 km]<1> to the east of the Sylvan Lake that is located in Lake County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Dutchess County community of Sylvan Lake.
    • Wisconsin
      • Langlade 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 Wisconsin community of Sylvan Lake [Langlade County].

Curious and Interesting Names Near Sylvan Lake ...

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.

  • Ancient Oaks
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Ancient Oaks is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ancient Oaks
  • Cedar Creek
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Cedar Creek is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Creek
  • Copperfield
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Copperfield is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copperfield
  • Diamond Lake
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Diamond Lake is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Diamond Lake
  • Echo Lake
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Echo Lake is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Lake
  • Forest Lake
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Forest Lake is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Lake
  • Heather Highlands
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Heather Highlands is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heather Highlands
  • Herons Crossing
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
    • Herons Crossing is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Herons Crossing
  • Highview
    (Less than 2 miles to the southeast)
    • Highview is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Highview
  • Ivanhoe
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Ivanhoe is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ivanhoe
  • Lake Corner
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Lake Corner is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Corner
  • Lake View Highlands
    (Less than 2 miles to the south)
    • Lake View Highlands is located in Lake County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake View Highlands
  • Continue List   (8 more) ...
    • Lake Zurich
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Meadowridge
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Meadowridge is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowridge
    • Pheasant Knolls
      (Less than 2 miles to the south)
      • Pheasant Knolls is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pheasant Knolls
    • Prairie Creek
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)
      • Prairie Creek is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Creek
    • Rambling Hills
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
      • Rambling Hills is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rambling Hills
    • Thornfield
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
      • Thornfield is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornfield
    • Timber Trails
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Timber Trails is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Trails
    • White Birch Lakes
      (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
      • White Birch Lakes is located in Lake County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Birch Lakes

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

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

  • Waukegan, which is the Seat of Lake County, lies 13 miles [20.9 km]<1> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Sylvan Lake to Waukegan, with an average speed<4> 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 189 miles [304.2 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
  • The White House (Washington, DC) is 621 miles [999.4 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,180 miles [9,945.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,920 miles [11,136.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,806 miles [7,734.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

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 drawn from Point A (ie- Sylvan Lake) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<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 Sylvan Lake 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>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 Sylvan Lake to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Sylvan Lake. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2439, Longitude: -88.0529       In this case, the coordinates for Sylvan Lake have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 314.713 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.699 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.67 degrees.