Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Waco, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Waco and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Waco
- 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 Waco:
- 37.520574, -97.307545
- 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 Waco
- 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 Sedgwick County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Sedgwick County
- Since Waco is near Sumner County and also Butler County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Sumner County
- eBird sighting report for Butler 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 Waco ...
We found eighteen communities that share the name Waco.
Within Kansas, the name Waco is unique.
Beyond Kansas, we know of another eighteen communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these eighteen communities, seventeen are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Cleburne 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 Arkansas community of Waco [Cleburne County].
- Craighead County
- This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Arkansas community of Waco [Craighead County].
- Florida
- Georgia
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Quebec
- This Waco lies 1,812 miles [2,916.1 km]<1> to the northeast of the Waco that is located in Sedgwick County.
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Waco ...
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.
- Cessna
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest) - Clearwater
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clearwater have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clearwater
- Clearwater is located in Sedgwick County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,580 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clearwater <5>
- Derby
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Derby have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby
- Derby is located in Sedgwick County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 25,145 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Derby <5>
- Glenville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Haysville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Haysville have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Haysville
- Haysville is located in Sedgwick County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 11,389 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Haysville <5>
- Oatville
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oatville
- Oatville is located in Sedgwick County
- Peck
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peck
- Peck is located in Sedgwick County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Peck <5>
- Prospect
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest) - Rose Hill
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rose Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rose Hill
- Rose Hill is located in Butler County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,979 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rose Hill <5>
- Sand Burr Hill
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sand Burr Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Burr Hill
- Sand Burr Hill is located in Sedgwick County
- Sunset Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sunset Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sunset Park
- Sunset Park is located in Sedgwick County
How Far From Waco 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 community such as Waco to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Waco and extending to:
- Wichita, which is the Seat of Sedgwick County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Waco to Wichita, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
- Topeka, which is the State Capital of Kansas, lies 137 miles [220.5 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 1,101 miles [1,771.9 km] to the east (E). Driving would take over two days, a buggy would take 43 days and walking would take 63 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,750 miles [10,863.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 7,497 miles [12,065.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 5,388 miles [8,671.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Waco. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Sedgwick County: www.sedgwickcounty.org/
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 from Point A (ie- Waco) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Waco. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5206, Longitude: -97.3075 In this case, the coordinates for Waco have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Waco 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> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Waco, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Waco to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 320.793 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 318.077 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 314.276 degrees. |