Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

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

• 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 Van Dykes:
  • 40.712565, -79.640603
  • 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.
  • Open the Heavens-Above website centered on Van Dykes

• 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 Armstrong County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Armstrong County
  • Since Van Dykes is near Westmoreland County and also Butler County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Westmoreland County
  • Open the 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:
  • Open the Waymark.com report for Van Dykes

Curious and Interesting Names Near Van Dykes ...

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.

• Aladdin
  (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Aladdin is located in Armstrong County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aladdin
• Bagdad
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Bagdad is located in Westmoreland County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bagdad
• Boggsville
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
  • Boggsville is located in Armstrong County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boggsville
• Bricker Crossroads
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Bricker Crossroads is located in Butler County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bricker Crossroads
• Butler Junction
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Butler Junction is located in Butler County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Butler Junction
• Dock Hollow
  (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
  • Dock Hollow is located in Armstrong County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dock Hollow
• Forks Church
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Forks Church is located in Armstrong County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forks Church
• Freeport
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Freeport is located in Armstrong County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freeport
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,662 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Freeport <1>
• Laneville
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
  • Laneville is located in Armstrong County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Laneville
• Leasureville
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Leasureville is located in Butler County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Leasureville
• Sandy Lick
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Sandy Lick is located in Butler County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandy Lick
• Silverville
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Silverville is located in Butler County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Silverville
• Slate Lick
  (3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)
  • Slate Lick is located in Armstrong County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Slate Lick

How Far From Van Dykes 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 Van Dykes to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Van Dykes and extending to:

• Kittanning, which is the Seat of Armstrong County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<2> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Van Dykes to Kittanning, with an average speed<3> 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.
• Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 147 miles [236.6 km] to the east (E). 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 9 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 186 miles [299.3 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
• The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,927 miles [9,538.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,646 miles [10,695.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,521 miles [7,275.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'