Tidbits & Trivia

Introduction ...

Below is our collection of tidbits and odds 'n ends for Stony Lake.

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

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

• 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 Stony Lake:
  • 43.559729, -86.500077<1>
  • 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 Stony Lake

• 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 Oceana County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Oceana County
  • Since Stony Lake is near Muskegon County and also Mason County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Muskegon County
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Mason 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 Stony Lake

Curious and Interesting Names Near Stony Lake ...

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.

• Crystal Valley
  (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Crystal Valley is also located in Oceana County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crystal Valley
• Ferry
  (13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)
  • Ferry is also located in Oceana County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ferry
• French Town
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • French Town is also located in Oceana County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for French Town
• Hart
  (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
  • Hart is also located in Oceana County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hart
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,089 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hart <2>
• Little Point Sable
  (5 miles [8 km] to the north)
  • Little Point Sable is also located in Oceana County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Little Point Sable
• Maple Grove
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Maple Grove is located in Muskegon County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Grove
• New Era
  (7 miles [11.3 km] to the east)
  • New Era is also located in Oceana County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Era
  • Population from the 2020 Census: 440 people
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Era <2>
• Twin Lake
  (21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast)
  • Twin Lake is located in Muskegon County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Twin Lake
  • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Twin Lake <2>

How Far From Stony Lake 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 included the distance from a community such as Stony Lake to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Stony Lake and extending to:

• Hart, which is the Seat of Oceana County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<3> to the northeast. If you could walk a straight line from Stony Lake to Hart, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take nearly four hours.
• Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 113 miles [181.9 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about two hours, a buggy would take 5 days and walking would take 7 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 586 miles [943.1 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 23 days and walking would take 34 days.
• The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,060 miles [9,752.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,801 miles [10,945.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,688 miles [7,544.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>