Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Macatawa, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Macatawa and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Macatawa
- 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 Macatawa:
- 42.769335, -86.206862
- 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 Macatawa
- 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 Ottawa County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Ottawa County
- Since Macatawa is near Allegan County and also Kent County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Allegan County
- eBird sighting report for Kent 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Macatawa ...
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.
- Castle Park
(Less than 2 miles to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castle Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Park
- Castle Park is located in Allegan County
- Harlem
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast) - Holland
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holland
- Holland is located in Ottawa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 33,140 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holland <2>
- Macks Landing
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Macks Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macks Landing
- Macks Landing is located in Allegan County
- New Holland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Holland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Holland
- New Holland is located in Ottawa County
- Oxbow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south) - Pine Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pine Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Creek
- Pine Creek is located in Ottawa County
- Singapore ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south) - Virginia Park
(Less than 2 miles to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Virginia Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Park
- Virginia Park is located in Ottawa County
How Far From Macatawa 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 community such as Macatawa to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Macatawa and extending to:
- Grand Haven, which is the Seat of Ottawa County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<3> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Macatawa to Grand Haven, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 83 miles [133.6 km] to the east (E). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 548 miles [881.9 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,087 miles [9,796.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,826 miles [10,985.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,709 miles [7,578.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Macatawa. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Ottawa County: www.co.ottawa.mi.us/
The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | 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 from Point A (ie- Macatawa) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Macatawa. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.7693, Longitude: -86.2069 |
| <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 Macatawa 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 313.477 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.369 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.587 degrees. |