Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Benzonia, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Benzonia and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Benzonia
- 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 Benzonia:
- 44.617789, -86.099173
- 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 Benzonia
- 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 Benzie County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Benzie County
- Since Benzonia is near Manistee County and also Leelanau County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Manistee County
- eBird sighting report for Leelanau 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 Benzonia ...
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.
- Bear Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bear Lake
- Bear Lake is located in Manistee County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 288 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bear Lake <1>
- Edgewater
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Empire
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Empire have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
- Empire is located in Leelanau County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 375 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Empire <1>
- Henry ‑ Historic
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast) - Honor
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Honor have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Honor
- Honor is located in Benzie County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 331 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Honor <1>
- Jacktown ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast) - Lake Ann
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Ann have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Ann
- Lake Ann is located in Benzie County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 271 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lake Ann <1>
- Malcolm
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south) - Pilgrim
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Benzonia 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 village such as Benzonia to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<4> beginning in Benzonia and extending to:
- Beulah, which is the Seat of Benzie County, lies just to the North.
- Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 151 miles [243 km]<4> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Benzonia to Lansing, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 610 miles [981.7 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 35 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,995 miles [9,648 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,739 miles [10,845.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,628 miles [7,448 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Benzonia. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Benzie County: www.berriencounty.org/
The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <4> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a '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- Benzonia) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Benzonia. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.6178, Longitude: -86.0992 |
| <5> | 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. |
| <6> | 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 Benzonia to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.347 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.49 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.926 degrees. |