Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Niles, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Niles and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Niles
- 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 Niles:
- 41.829965, -86.254014
- 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 Niles
- 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 Berrien County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Berrien County
- Since Niles is near Cass County and also Saint Joseph County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Cass County
- eBird sighting report for Saint Joseph 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 Niles ...
We found seventeen communities that share the name Niles.
There is one other community in Michigan which is also named Niles.
Beyond Michigan, we know of another sixteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Located In Michigan ...
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- Illinois
- Iowa
- Boone County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Iowa community of Niles [Boone County].
- Floyd County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Iowa community of Niles [Floyd County].
- Kansas
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- New York
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Gallia County
- This community is historic<3> and although located in Gallia County, we don't know where within the county.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Gallia County community of Niles.
- Trumbull County
- This Niles is located in Trumbull County and lies 287 miles [461.9 km]<2> to the east of the Niles that is located in Berrien County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Trumbull County community of Niles.
- Oklahoma
- Pennsylvania
- Texas
- Harris County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<1> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Niles [Harris County].
- Lee County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Texas community of Niles [Lee County].
- Wisconsin
Curious and Interesting Names Near Niles ...
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.
- Bakertown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west) - Chain-O-Lakes
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chain-O-Lakes have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chain-O-Lakes
- Chain-O-Lakes is located in Saint Joseph County (IN)
- Dailey
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast) - Edwardsburg
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Edwardsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Edwardsburg
- Edwardsburg is located in Cass County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,241 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Edwardsburg <5>
- Georgetown
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Georgetown have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Georgetown
- Georgetown is located in Saint Joseph County (IN)
- Hills Corners
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hills Corners
- Hills Corners is located in Berrien County
- Indian Village
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Village have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Village
- Indian Village is located in Saint Joseph County (IN)
- Population from the 2020 Census: 134 people
- Maple Lane
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Lane have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Lane
- Maple Lane is located in Saint Joseph County (IN)
- Roseland
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
How Far From Niles 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 city such as Niles to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Niles and extending to:
- Saint Joseph, which is the Seat of Berrien County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<2> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Niles to Saint Joseph, with an average speed<6> 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 106 miles [170.6 km] to the northeast (NE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 6 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 525 miles [844.9 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<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,133 miles [9,870.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,869 miles [11,054.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,751 miles [7,646 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Niles: www.ci.niles.mi.us/
The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Niles could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' (or 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- Niles) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Niles. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.8300, Longitude: -86.2540 |
| <3> | We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Niles, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Niles to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 313.526 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 310.288 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.903 degrees. |