Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Porter, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Porter and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Porter
- 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 Porter:
- 41.617813, -87.074225
- 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 Porter
- 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 Porter County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Porter County
- Since Porter is near LaPorte County and also Lake County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for LaPorte County
- eBird sighting report for Lake 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 Porter ...
We found 29 communities that share the name Porter.
Within Indiana, the name Porter is unique.
Beyond Indiana, we know of another 29 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 29 communities, 28 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Delaware
- Georgia
- Kentucky
- Knott County
- This Porter is located in Knott County and lies 365 miles [587.4 km]<1> to the southeast of the Porter that is located in Porter County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Knott County community of Porter.
- Scott County
- This Porter is located in Scott County and lies 258 miles [415.2 km] to the south southeast of the Porter that is located in Porter County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Scott County community of Porter.
- Maine
- Michigan
- Menominee 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 Michigan community of Porter [Menominee County].
- Midland County
- This Porter is located in Midland County and lies 186 miles [299.3 km]<1> to the northeast of the Porter that is located in Porter County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Midland County community of Porter.
- Minnesota
- Missouri
- New Mexico
- Quay County
- This Porter is located in Quay County and lies 981 miles [1,578.8 km]<1> to the west southwest of the Porter that is located in Porter County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Quay County community of Porter.
- Sandoval County
- This Porter is located in Sandoval County and lies 1,131 miles [1,820.2 km] to the west southwest of the Porter that is located in Porter County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sandoval County community of Porter.
- New York
- North Carolina
- Beaufort County
- This Porter is located in Beaufort County and lies 684 miles [1,100.8 km]<1> to the southeast of the Porter that is located in Porter County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Beaufort County community of Porter.
- Stanly County
- This Porter is located in Stanly County and lies 575 miles [925.4 km] to the southeast of the Porter that is located in Porter County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Stanly County community of Porter.
- Nova Scotia
- Ohio
- Gallia County
- This Porter is located in Gallia County and lies 313 miles [503.7 km]<1> to the southeast of the Porter that is located in Porter County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gallia County community of Porter.
- Sandusky County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Sandusky County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Sandusky County community of Porter.
- Scioto County
- This community is historic and although located in Scioto County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Scioto County community of Porter.
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Clay County
- This Porter is located in Clay County and lies 375 miles [603.5 km]<1> to the southeast of the Porter that is located in Porter County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clay County community of Porter.
- Tucker 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 West Virginia community of Porter [Tucker County].
Curious and Interesting Names Near Porter ...
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.
- Chesterton
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterton
- Chesterton is located in Porter County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,232 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chesterton <4>
- Edgewater
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Forest Oaks
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Forest Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Forest Oaks
- Forest Oaks is located in Porter County
- Graham Woods
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Graham Woods have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graham Woods
- Graham Woods is located in Porter County
- Hillcrest
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Lake View
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Long Lake Island
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Long Lake Island have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Long Lake Island
- Long Lake Island is located in Porter County
- McCool
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest) - Meadowbrook
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Meadowbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Meadowbrook
- Meadowbrook is located in Porter County
- Portage
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage
- Portage is located in Porter County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 37,137 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Portage <4>
- Shady Side
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shady Side have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shady Side
- Shady Side is located in Porter County
- Willow Creek
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willow Creek
- Willow Creek is located in Porter County
- Woodland Village
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodland Village have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Village
- Woodland Village is located in Porter County
How Far From Porter 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 town such as Porter to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Porter and extending to:
- Valparaiso, which is the Seat of Porter County, lies 9 miles [14.5 km]<1> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Porter to Valparaiso, with an average speed<6> 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.
- Indianapolis, which is the State Capital of Indiana, lies 136 miles [218.9 km] to the south southeast (SSE). 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 560 miles [901.2 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 22 days and walking would take 32 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,174 miles [9,936.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,911 miles [11,122.2 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,793 miles [7,713.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Porter. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Porter County: www.porterco.org/
The official website for State of Indiana: https://www.in.gov
Footnotes ...
| <1> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Porter) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Porter. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.6178, Longitude: -87.0742 |
| <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 Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird 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 Porter 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 Porter, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <5> | 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. |
| <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 Porter 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 314.068 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.875 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.368 degrees. |