Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Colfax, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Colfax and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Colfax
- 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 Colfax:
- 43.743344, -86.079234
- 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 Colfax
- 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 Oceana County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Oceana County
- Since Colfax is near Newaygo County and also Mason County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Newaygo County
- eBird sighting report for Mason 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 Colfax ...
We found 32 communities that share the name Colfax.
There are two communities within Michigan that are also named Colfax.
Beyond Michigan, we know of another 30 communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these 30 communities, 31 are located in the United States and one is in Canada.
- Communities Located In Michigan ...
- Bay County
- Mecosta County
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Florida
- Georgia
- Bulloch County
- This community is historic<3> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Colfax [Bulloch County].
- Marion County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Georgia community of Colfax [Marion County].
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Chautauqua County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Colfax [Chautauqua County].
- Elk County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Colfax [Elk County].
- McPherson County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Colfax [McPherson County].
- Montgomery County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Colfax [Montgomery County].
- Osage County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Colfax [Osage County].
- Osborne County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Colfax [Osborne County].
- Wilson County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Kansas community of Colfax [Wilson County].
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Minnesota
- New Mexico
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Allegheny County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Pennsylvania community of Colfax [Allegheny County].
- Huntingdon County
- This Colfax is located in Huntingdon County and lies 474 miles [762.8 km]<2> to the east southeast of the Colfax that is located in Oceana County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Huntingdon County community of Colfax.
- Saskatchewan
- This Colfax lies 936 miles [1,506.3 km]<2> to the northwest of the Colfax that is located in Oceana County.
- Texas
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Colfax ...
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.
- Amber
(18 miles [29 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Amber
- Amber is located in Mason County
- Amber has also been known as:
- Slaughtburg
- Bitely
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bitely
- Bitely is located in Newaygo County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bitely <4>
- Crystal Valley
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Valley
- Crystal Valley is located in Oceana County
- Fern
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest) - Ferry
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferry
- Ferry is located in Oceana County
- French Town
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for French Town have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Town
- French Town is located in Oceana County
- Hart
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hart have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hart
- Hart is located in Oceana County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,089 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hart <4>
- Idlewild
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Idlewild
- Idlewild is located in Lake County
- Jugville
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast) - New Era
(18 miles [29 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Era have been provided by the GNIS.<5> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Era
- New Era is located in Oceana County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 440 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Era <4>
- Woodland Park
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodland Park
- Woodland Park is located in Newaygo County
How Far From Colfax to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Colfax to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Colfax and extending to:
- Hart, which is the Seat of Oceana County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<2> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from Colfax to Hart, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 103 miles [165.8 km] to the southeast (SE). 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 White House (Washington, DC) is 575 miles [925.4 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 33 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,036 miles [9,714 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,777 miles [10,906.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,663 miles [7,504.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Colfax. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Oceana County: www.oceana.mi.us/
The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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 Colfax 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. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Colfax) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Colfax. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.7433, Longitude: -86.0792 In this case, the coordinates for Colfax have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Colfax, 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 Colfax 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 313.365 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.383 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.208 degrees. |