Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for West Dundee

• 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 Dundee:
  • 42.112309, -88.344513
  • 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 Dundee

• 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 Kane County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • eBird sighting report for Kane County
  • Since West Dundee is near McHenry County and also Cook County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • eBird sighting report for McHenry 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 Dundee ...

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.

• Carpentersville
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Carpentersville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Carpentersville
  • Carpentersville is located in Kane County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 36,940 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Carpentersville <2>
• Freeman
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Freeman have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeman
  • Freeman is located in Kane County
• Gilberts
  (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gilberts
  • Gilberts is located in Kane County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 8,071 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gilberts <2>
• Hidden Hill
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hidden Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidden Hill
  • Hidden Hill is located in Kane County
• Hidden Lakes
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hidden Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hidden Lakes
  • Hidden Lakes is located in Kane County
• Illinois Park
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Illinois Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Illinois Park
  • Illinois Park is located in Kane County
• Lake-in-the-Hills
  (5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake-in-the-Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 <2>
• Sleepy Hollow
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sleepy Hollow have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sleepy Hollow
  • Sleepy Hollow is located in Kane County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,215 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sleepy Hollow <2>
• Starks
  (5 miles [8 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Starks
  • Starks is located in Kane County
• Wildwood Valley
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wildwood Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wildwood Valley
  • Wildwood Valley is located in Kane County

How Far From West Dundee 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 village such as West Dundee 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 Dundee and extending to:

• Geneva, which is the Seat of Kane County, lies 15 miles [24.1 km]<3> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from West Dundee to Geneva, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day 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 174 miles [280 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 633 miles [1,018.7 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 6,197 miles [9,973.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,937 miles [11,164 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,823 miles [7,761.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

Off-the-Road Links ...

The official website for West Dundee: www.west-dundee.il.us/

The official website for Kane County: www.co.kane.il.us/

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