Welcome to Rapid City ...

Rapid City is located in Kalkaska County<1>.

While we don't have a date for the founding of Rapid City, you might consider that their post office opened in 1898.

Rapid City is 620 feet [189 m] above sea level.<2>.

Time Zone: Rapid City lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time

Area Code for Rapid City: 231

The ZIP code for Rapid City: 49676<3>

Communities Also Named Rapid City ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 2 communities that are also named Rapid City - they are located in Manitoba and South Dakota.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Rapid City.

Communities near Rapid City ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Rapid City.

Traverse City
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)
- Traverse City is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Traverse City
- Population from the 2020 Census: 15,734 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Traverse City <4>
Kalkaska
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)
- Kalkaska is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kalkaska
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,083 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kalkaska <4>
Elk Rapids
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
- Elk Rapids is located in Antrim County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Rapids
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,626 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elk Rapids <4>
Mancelona
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
- Mancelona is located in Antrim County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mancelona
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,375 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Mancelona <4>
Bellaire
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the north)
- Bellaire is located in Antrim County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellaire
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,068 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bellaire <4>
Central Lake
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
- Central Lake is located in Antrim County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Central Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 942 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Central Lake <4>
Fife Lake
(18 miles [29 km] to the south)
- Fife Lake is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fife Lake
- Population from the 2020 Census: 478 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Fife Lake <4>
Barker Creek
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Barker Creek is located in Kalkaska County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Barker Creek
Tunk ‑ Historic
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
- Tunk is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tunk
Mabel
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
- Mabel is located in Grand Traverse County
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Rapid City. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Rapid City.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Rapid City. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Rapid City.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Rapid City. See our Newspapers Page for Rapid City.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Rapid City ...

Looking for more information about Rapid City? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Rapid City, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Rapid City.

Adding Rapid City to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Rapid City in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found (so far) for Rapid City was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<5>

From that list, the Rapid City post office opened in 1898.

For more details, see References and Mentions for Rapid City.

Footnotes ...

<1>	If you're interested in how the shape of Michigan's counties, including Kalkaska, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>	The elevation is an estimate for the area around Rapid City - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<3>	ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a community (such as Rapid City). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Rapid City or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<4>	While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<5>	A copy of the Blevins & Helbock Post Office list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/