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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.
- 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.
- Open 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:
- Open the 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:
- Open the eBird sighting report for Allegan County
- Open the 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:
- Open the Waymark.com report for Macatawa
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)
- Castle Park is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Park
- Harlem
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- Harlem is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Harlem
- Holland
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)
- Macks Landing
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)
- Macks Landing is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Macks Landing
- New Holland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)
- New Holland is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Holland
- Oxbow
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
- Oxbow is located in Allegan County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Oxbow
- Pine Creek
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)
- Pine Creek is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pine Creek
- Singapore ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
- Virginia Park
(Less than 2 miles to the east)
- Virginia Park is located in Ottawa County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Virginia Park
How Far From Macatawa 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 Macatawa to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Macatawa and extending to:
- Grand Haven, which is the Seat of Ottawa County, lies 20 miles [32.2 km]<2> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Macatawa to Grand Haven, with an average speed<3> 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<4> 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).<5>
- 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).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,709 miles [7,578.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or point-to-point) distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Macatawa) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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.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 |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.477 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.369 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.587 degrees. |
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