Outdoor Activities ...

As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).

When in Rapid City, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Rapid City and the surrounding area.

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Rapid City

• 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 Rapid City:
  • 44.834449, -85.282562
  • 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 Rapid City

• 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 Kalkaska County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • eBird sighting report for Kalkaska County
  • Since Rapid City is near Antrim County and also Grand Traverse County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • eBird sighting report for Antrim County
  • eBird sighting report for Grand Traverse 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 Rapid City ...

We found two communities that share the name Rapid City.

Within Michigan, the name Rapid City is unique.

Beyond Michigan, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these two communities, one is located in the United States and the other in Canada.

• Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
  • Manitoba
    • This Rapid City lies 777 miles [1,250.5 km]<1> to the northwest of the Rapid City that is located in Kalkaska County.
  • South Dakota
    • Pennington County
    • This Rapid City is located in Pennington County and lies 884 miles [1,422.7 km]<1> to the west of the Rapid City that is located in Kalkaska County.
    • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Pennington County community of Rapid City.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Rapid City ...

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.

• Acme
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Acme have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Acme
  • Acme is located in Grand Traverse County
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Acme <3>
• Angel
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the west)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Angel
  • Angel is located in Grand Traverse County
  • Angel has also been known as:
  • Angel Station
  • Angell Station
• Clam Lake ‑ Historic
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
  • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clam Lake. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<4>
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clam Lake
  • Clam Lake is located in Antrim County
• Clam River
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clam River have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clam River
  • Clam River is located in Antrim County
• Cotton
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cotton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cotton
  • Cotton is located in Kalkaska County
• Devils Elbow
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Devils Elbow
  • Devils Elbow is located in Grand Traverse County
• Elk Rapids
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Elk Rapids
  • Elk Rapids is located in Antrim County
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,626 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Elk Rapids <3>
• Fivemile Corner
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fivemile Corner have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fivemile Corner
  • Fivemile Corner is located in Grand Traverse County
• Jacks Landing
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Jacks Landing have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Jacks Landing
  • Jacks Landing is located in Grand Traverse County
• Mabel
  (5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mabel
  • Mabel is located in Grand Traverse County
• Snowflake
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the north)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Snowflake have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowflake
  • Snowflake is located in Antrim County
• Torch River
  (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest)
  • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Torch River have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Torch River
  • Torch River is located in Kalkaska County

How Far From Rapid City 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 Rapid City to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Rapid City and extending to:

• Kalkaska, which is the Seat of Kalkaska County, lies just to the Southeast.
• Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 149 miles [239.8 km]<1> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Rapid City to Lansing, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than three hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 9 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 6 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 589 miles [947.9 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 34 days.
• The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,956 miles [9,585.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,698 miles [10,779.4 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,587 miles [7,382.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<9>

Off-the-Road Links ...

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Rapid City. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Michigan: https://www.michigan.gov/