Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Rantoul, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rantoul and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Rantoul
- 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 Rantoul:
- 38.547896, -95.100567
- 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 Rantoul
- 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 Franklin County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Franklin County
- Since Rantoul is near Miami County and also Anderson County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Miami County
- eBird sighting report for Anderson 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 Rantoul ...
We found one communities that share the name Rantoul.
Within Kansas, the name Rantoul is unique.
Beyond Kansas, there is another community also named Rantoul in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
Curious and Interesting Names Near Rantoul ...
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.
- Beagle
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast) - Black Jack ‑ Historic
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Black Jack have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Black Jack
- Black Jack is located in Douglas County
- Block
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Block
- Block is located in Miami County
- Chiles
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chiles
- Chiles is located in Miami County
- Henson
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east) - Homewood
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homewood
- Homewood is located in Franklin County
- Lane
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lane have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lane
- Lane is located in Franklin County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 229 people
- Lane has also been known as:
- Lane City
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lane <3>
- Ransomville
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ransomville
- Ransomville is located in Franklin County
How Far From Rantoul to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a city such as Rantoul to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rantoul and extending to:
- Ottawa, which is the Seat of Franklin County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Rantoul to Ottawa, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
- Topeka, which is the State Capital of Kansas, lies 46 miles [74 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take most of two days and walking would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 971 miles [1,562.7 km] to the east (E). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 38 days and walking would take 56 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,619 miles [10,652.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,364 miles [11,851.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,253 miles [8,453.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rantoul. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for State of Kansas: https://portal.kansas.gov/
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- Rantoul) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Rantoul. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 38.5479, Longitude: -95.1006 |
| <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 Rantoul 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 319.353 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 316.532 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 313.021 degrees. |