Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Solon Center, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Solon Center and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Solon Center
- 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 Solon Center:
- 43.248637, -85.611427
- 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 Solon Center
- 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 Kent County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Kent County
- Since Solon Center is near Newaygo County and also Montcalm County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Newaygo County
- eBird sighting report for Montcalm 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 Solon Center ...
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.
- Cedar Springs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cedar Springs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cedar Springs
- Cedar Springs is located in Kent County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,743 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cedar Springs <2>
- Childsdale
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Childsdale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Childsdale
- Childsdale is located in Kent County
- Englishville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Englishville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Englishville
- Englishville is located in Kent County
- Evans
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast) - Grant
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Grant
- Grant is located in Newaygo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 900 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Grant <2>
- Harvard
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the east) - Kent City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Kent City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Kent City
- Kent City is located in Kent County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,212 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Kent City <2>
- Lisbon
(11 miles [17.7 km] to the southwest) - Sand Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sand Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Lake
- Sand Lake is located in Kent County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 537 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sand Lake <2>
- Sun
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Solon Center to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Solon Center to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Solon Center and extending to:
- Grand Rapids, which is the Seat of Kent County, lies 19 miles [30.6 km]<3> to the south. If you could walk a straight line from Solon Center to Grand Rapids, 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 6 hours.
- Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 64 miles [103 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than an hour, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 537 miles [864.2 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 21 days and walking would take 31 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,042 miles [9,723.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,781 miles [10,913 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,665 miles [7,507.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Solon Center. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Kent County: www.accesskent.com/
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 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Solon Center) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Solon Center. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 43.2486, Longitude: -85.6114 In this case, the coordinates for Solon Center have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Solon Center 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 313.069 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 309.975 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 307.133 degrees. |