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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 Tower Lakes, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Tower Lakes 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 Tower Lakes:
    • 42.231581, -88.154076
    • 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 Tower Lakes
  • 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

Curious and Interesting Names Near Tower Lakes ...

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 southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ancient Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ancient Oaks
    • Ancient Oaks is located in Lake County
  • Chapel Hill
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chapel Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chapel Hill
    • Chapel Hill is located in Lake County
  • Copperfield
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Copperfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copperfield
    • Copperfield is located in Lake County
  • Cuba
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cuba have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cuba
    • Cuba is located in Lake County
  • Echo Lake
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Echo Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Echo Lake
    • Echo Lake is located in Lake County
  • Fox River Grove
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fox River Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fox River Grove
    • Fox River Grove is located in McHenry County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,518 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fox River Grove <2>
  • Heather Highlands
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heather Highlands have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heather Highlands
    • Heather Highlands is located in Lake County
  • Island Lake
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Island Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Lake
    • Island Lake is located in McHenry County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 7,951 people
  • Lake Corner
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Corner
    • Lake Corner is located in Lake County
  • Lake Zurich
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Zurich have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Zurich
    • Lake Zurich is located in Lake County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 19,760 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Zurich <2>
  • Quail Run
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Quail Run have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Run
    • Quail Run is located in Lake County
  • Silver Lake
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Silver Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silver Lake
    • Silver Lake is located in McHenry County
  • Continue List   (5 more) ...
    • Ski Hill
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ski Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ski Hill
      • Ski Hill is located in McHenry County
    • Thornfield
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Thornfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Thornfield
      • Thornfield is located in Lake County
    • Timber Trails
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Timber Trails have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Timber Trails
      • Timber Trails is located in Lake County
    • White Birch Lakes
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White Birch Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White Birch Lakes
      • White Birch Lakes is located in Lake County
    • Williams Park
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Williams Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Williams Park
      • Williams Park is located in Lake County

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Tower Lakes and extending to:

  • Waukegan, which is the Seat of Lake County, lies 18 miles [29 km]<3> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Tower Lakes to Waukegan, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take five to six hours.
  • Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 186 miles [299.3 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 626 miles [1,007.4 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 6,184 miles [9,952.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,925 miles [11,144.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,810 miles [7,740.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

The official website for Tower Lakes: www.villageoftowerlakes.com/

The official website for Lake County: www.co.lake.il.us

The official website for State of Illinois: https://illinois.gov

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<3>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- Tower Lakes) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Tower Lakes. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.2316, Longitude: -88.1541       In this case, the coordinates for Tower Lakes have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<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 Tower Lakes 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 314.781 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.775 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.724 degrees.









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 07 Apr 2024