Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in West Reading, we use the following websites to find information relevant to West Reading and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for West Reading
- 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 Reading:
- 40.333148, -75.944376
- 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 Reading
- 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 Berks County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Berks County
- Since West Reading is near Lancaster County and also Chester County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Lancaster County
- eBird sighting report for Chester 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 Reading ...
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.
- Birdland
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest) - Clover Park
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clover Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clover Park
- Clover Park is located in Berks County
- Cornwall Terrace
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cornwall Terrace have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cornwall Terrace
- Cornwall Terrace is located in Berks County
- Flying Hills
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flying Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flying Hills
- Flying Hills is located in Berks County
- Foxchase
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north) - Freemanville
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Freemanville
- Freemanville is located in Berks County
- Green Valley Gardens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Valley Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Valley Gardens
- Green Valley Gardens is located in Berks County
- Grill
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the south) - Heather Knoll
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Heather Knoll have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Heather Knoll
- Heather Knoll is located in Berks County
- Hunters Run
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hunters Run have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hunters Run
- Hunters Run is located in Berks County
- Lincoln Park
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lincoln Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lincoln Park
- Lincoln Park is located in Berks County
- Marywood
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east) - Continue List (8 more) ...
- Mountain Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mountain Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mountain Park
- Mountain Park is located in Berks County
- Neversink
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast) - Pheasant Run
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pheasant Run have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pheasant Run
- Pheasant Run is located in Berks County
- Reading
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Reading
- Reading is located in Berks County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 88,217 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Reading <2>
- Ridge Park
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ridge Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ridge Park
- Ridge Park is located in Berks County
- River View Park
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for River View Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for River View Park
- River View Park is located in Berks County
- Rivers Bend
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rivers Bend have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rivers Bend
- Rivers Bend is located in Berks County
- Sinking Spring
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sinking Spring
- Sinking Spring is located in Berks County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,095 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sinking Spring <2>
- Mountain Park
How Far From West Reading 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 West Reading 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 Reading and extending to:
- Reading, which is the Seat of Berks County, lies just to the East.
- Harrisburg, which is the State Capital of Pennsylvania, lies 49 miles [78.9 km]<3> to the west (W). If you could walk a straight line from West Reading to Harrisburg, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take about three full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of two days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 114 miles [183.5 km] to the south southwest (SSW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,791 miles [9,319.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,500 miles [10,460.7 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,376 miles [7,042.5 km] and it lies to the east northeast (ENE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for West Reading: www.westreadingborough.com/
The official website for Berks County: www.co.berks.pa.us/
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 drawn from Point A (ie- West Reading) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in West Reading. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 40.3331, Longitude: -75.9444 In this case, the coordinates for West Reading 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 West Reading 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 307.134 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 302.805 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 303.671 degrees. |