Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ithaca, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ithaca and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ithaca
- 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 Ithaca:
- 43.292253, -84.604722
- 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 Ithaca
- 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 Gratiot County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Gratiot County
- Since Ithaca is near Saginaw County and also Isabella County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Saginaw County
- eBird sighting report for Isabella 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 Ithaca ...
We found five communities that share the name Ithaca.
Within Michigan, the name Ithaca is unique.
Beyond Michigan, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Georgia
- Nebraska
- New York
- Ohio
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ithaca ...
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.
- Bannister
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bannister
- Bannister is located in Gratiot County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bannister <2>
- Crystal
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crystal have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal
- Crystal is located in Montcalm County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crystal <2>
- Elm Hall
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest) - Eugene
(5 miles [8 km] to the west) - Eureka
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south) - Maple Rapids
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Rapids have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Rapids
- Maple Rapids is located in Clinton County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 671 people
- Marion Springs
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marion Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marion Springs
- Marion Springs is located in Saginaw County
- Merrill
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Merrill
- Merrill is located in Saginaw County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 720 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Merrill <2>
- Pompeii
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pompeii
- Pompeii is located in Gratiot County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Pompeii <2>
- Rathbone
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east) - Redstone
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Redstone
- Redstone is located in Midland County
- Sickles
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sickles
- Sickles is located in Gratiot County
How Far From Ithaca 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 city such as Ithaca to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ithaca and extending to:
- Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 38 miles [61.2 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could walk a straight line from Ithaca to Lansing, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take over two days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just about two full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 496 miles [798.2 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of a day, a buggy would take 20 days and walking would take 29 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,003 miles [9,660.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,740 miles [10,847 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,623 miles [7,440 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Ithaca: www.ithacami.com/
The official website for Gratiot County: www.co.gratiot.mi.us/
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 obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ithaca) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ithaca. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.2923, Longitude: -84.6047 In this case, the coordinates for Ithaca have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | 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 Ithaca to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 312.402 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.225 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.613 degrees. |