Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

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

• 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 Elk Rapids:
  • 44.898611, -85.409479
  • 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 Elk Rapids

• 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 Antrim County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Antrim County
  • Since Elk Rapids is near Grand Traverse County and also Kalkaska County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Grand Traverse County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Kalkaska 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 Elk Rapids

Curious and Interesting Names Near Elk Rapids ...

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.

• Acme
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Acme is located in Grand Traverse County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Acme <1>
• Angel
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the south)
  • Angel is located in Grand Traverse County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel
  • Angel has also been known as:
  • Angel Station
  • Angell Station
  • Google driving directions:
  • From your current location to Angel
  • From Elk Rapids to Angel
• Clam Lake ‑ Historic
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • Clam Lake is located in Antrim County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clam Lake
  • Google driving directions:
  • From your current location to Clam Lake
  • From Elk Rapids to Clam Lake
• Clam River
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Clam River is located in Antrim County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clam River
• Crystal Spring
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Crystal Spring is located in Leelanau County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Spring
• Fivemile Corner
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest)
  • Fivemile Corner is located in Grand Traverse County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fivemile Corner
• Mabel
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
  • Mabel is located in Grand Traverse County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
  • Google driving directions:
  • From your current location to Mabel
  • From Elk Rapids to Mabel
• Rapid City
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Rapid City is located in Kalkaska County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rapid City
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Rapid City <1>
• Snowflake
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Snowflake is located in Antrim County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowflake
• Torch Lake
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the north)
  • Torch Lake is located in Antrim County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Torch Lake
• Torch River
  (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
  • Torch River is located in Kalkaska County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Torch River

How Far From Elk Rapids 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 village such as Elk Rapids to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

• Bellaire, which is the Seat of Antrim County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<2> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Elk Rapids to Bellaire, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
• Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 155 miles [249.4 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 9 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 596 miles [959.2 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 34 days.
• The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,957 miles [9,586.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,700 miles [10,782.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,589 miles [7,385.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'