Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in West Chicago, we use the following websites to find information relevant to West Chicago and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for West Chicago
- 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 West Chicago:
- 41.875553, -88.241018
- 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 West Chicago
- 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 DuPage County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for DuPage County
- Since West Chicago is near Kane County and also Cook County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Kane County
- eBird sighting report for Cook 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near West Chicago ...
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.
- Bonnie
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest) - Cloverdale
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverdale
- Cloverdale is located in DuPage County
- Exposition View
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Exposition View have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Exposition View
- Exposition View is located in Kane County
- Five Island Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Five Island Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Five Island Park
- Five Island Park is located in Kane County
- Geneva
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva
- Geneva is located in Kane County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 21,674 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Geneva <2>
- Geneva Road
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Geneva Road have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Geneva Road
- Geneva Road is located in DuPage County
- Happy Hills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Happy Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Happy Hills
- Happy Hills is located in Kane County
- Heaton Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heaton Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heaton Park
- Heaton Park is located in Kane County
- Heritage West
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heritage West have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heritage West
- Heritage West is located in Kane County
- Jewell Road
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jewell Road have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jewell Road
- Jewell Road is located in DuPage County
- Marywood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest) - Middlecreek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middlecreek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlecreek
- Middlecreek is located in Kane County
- Continue List (11 more) ...
- Mooseheart
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mooseheart have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mooseheart
- Mooseheart is located in Kane County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mooseheart <2>
- Pheasant Run
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pheasant Run have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pheasant Run
- Pheasant Run is located in Kane County
- Prince Crossing
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prince Crossing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prince Crossing
- Prince Crossing is located in DuPage County
- Rainbow Hills
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rainbow Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rainbow Hills
- Rainbow Hills is located in Kane County
- Randall Hills
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Randall Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Randall Hills
- Randall Hills is located in Kane County
- Redgate Ridge
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Redgate Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redgate Ridge
- Redgate Ridge is located in Kane County
- River Grange Lakes
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for River Grange Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River Grange Lakes
- River Grange Lakes is located in Kane County
- Spring Green
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spring Green have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Green
- Spring Green is located in Kane County
- Tanglewood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tanglewood have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tanglewood
- Tanglewood is located in Kane County
- Wildrose
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest) - Wildrose Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wildrose Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildrose Valley
- Wildrose Valley is located in Kane County
- Mooseheart
How Far From West Chicago 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 city such as West Chicago to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in West Chicago and extending to:
- Wheaton, which is the Seat of DuPage County, lies just to the East.
- Springfield, which is the State Capital of Illinois, lies 162 miles [260.7 km]<3> to the south southwest (SSW). If you could drive a straight line from West Chicago 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 10 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 7 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 623 miles [1,002.6 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 6,205 miles [9,986 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,944 miles [11,175.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,829 miles [7,771.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for West Chicago: www.westchicago.org/
The official website for DuPage County: www.dupageco.org/
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- West Chicago) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Chicago. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.8756, Longitude: -88.2410 In this case, the coordinates for West Chicago 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 West Chicago 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 314.84 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 311.792 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.869 degrees. |