Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Gowen, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Gowen and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Gowen
- 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 Gowen:
- 43.251697, -85.301970
- 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 Gowen
- 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 Montcalm County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Montcalm County
- Since Gowen is near Kent County and also Ionia County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Kent County
- eBird sighting report for Ionia 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 Gowen ...
We found three communities that share the name Gowen.
Within Michigan, the name Gowen is unique.
Beyond Michigan, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Louisiana
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
Curious and Interesting Names Near Gowen ...
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.
- Cedar Springs
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
- Cedar Springs is located in Kent County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,743 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedar Springs <3>
- Cooks Corners
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cooks Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cooks Corners
- Cooks Corners is located in Ionia County
- Coral
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Coral
- Coral is located in Montcalm County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Coral <3>
- Eureka Place
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)- Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Eureka Place. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eureka Place
- Eureka Place is located in Montcalm County
- Evans
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest) - Greenville
(5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Greenville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenville
- Greenville is located in Montcalm County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 8,386 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenville <3>
- Harvard
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southwest) - Howard City
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Howard City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Howard City
- Howard City is located in Montcalm County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,819 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Howard City <3>
- Kings Corner
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kings Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kings Corner
- Kings Corner is located in Montcalm County
- Sand Lake
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sand Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Lake
- Sand Lake is located in Kent County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 537 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sand Lake <3>
- Turk Lake
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
How Far From Gowen 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 community such as Gowen to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Gowen and extending to:
- Stanton, which is the Seat of Montcalm County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<1> to the east northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Gowen to Stanton, with an average speed<5> 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 52 miles [83.7 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take over two days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 524 miles [843.3 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 21 days and walking would take 30 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,031 miles [9,706 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,769 miles [10,893.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,653 miles [7,488.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Gowen. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Montcalm County: www.montcalm.org/
The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Gowen) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Gowen. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.2517, Longitude: -85.3020 In this case, the coordinates for Gowen have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <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 Gowen 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 312.864 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.743 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.977 degrees. |