Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Downingtown, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Downingtown and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Downingtown
- 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 Downingtown:
- 40.008162, -75.705219
- 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 Downingtown
- 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 Chester County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Chester County
- Since Downingtown is near Erie County and also Delaware County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Erie County
- eBird sighting report for Delaware 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 Downingtown ...
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.
- Copesville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Copesville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Copesville
- Copesville is located in Chester County
- Corner Ketch
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Corner Ketch have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Corner Ketch
- Corner Ketch is located in Chester County
- Eagle
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Fisherville
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fisherville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fisherville
- Fisherville is located in Chester County
- Gallagherville
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gallagherville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallagherville
- Gallagherville is located in Chester County
- Goosetown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Green Hill
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Hill
- Green Hill is located in Chester County
- Grove
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east) - Harmony Hill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Harmony Hill have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harmony Hill
- Harmony Hill is located in Chester County
- Kirby Woods
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kirby Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kirby Woods
- Kirby Woods is located in Chester County
- Lionville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lionville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lionville
- Lionville is located in Chester County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lionville <2>
- Little Washington
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Little Washington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Washington
- Little Washington is located in Chester County
- Romansville
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Romansville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Romansville
- Romansville is located in Chester County
- Ship Road
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
How Far From Downingtown 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 community such as Downingtown to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Downingtown and extending to:
- West Chester, which is the Seat of Chester County, lies just to the East Southeast.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 64 miles [103 km]<3> to the west northwest (WNW). If you could walk a straight line from Downingtown to Harrisburg, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of three days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take about three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 104 miles [167.4 km] to the southwest (SW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 4 days and walking would take 6 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,794 miles [9,324.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,501 miles [10,462.3 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,378 miles [7,045.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Downingtown: www.downingtown.org/
The official website for Chester County: www.chesco.org/
The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.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- Downingtown) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Downingtown. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.0082, Longitude: -75.7052 In this case, the coordinates for Downingtown 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 Downingtown 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 307.019 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.624 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.703 degrees. |