Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

• Weather ...
  • Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
  • The National Weather Service forecast for Torch 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 Torch Lake:
  • 45.075281, -85.358684
  • 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 Torch 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 Antrim County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Antrim County
  • Since Torch Lake is near Charlevoix County and also Grand Traverse County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
  • Open the eBird sighting report for Charlevoix County
  • Open the 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:
  • Open the Waymark.com report for Torch Lake

Curious and Interesting Names Near Torch 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.

• Boulder Park
  (16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)
  • Boulder Park is located in Charlevoix County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Boulder Park
• Central Lake
  (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • 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 <1>
• Clam Lake ‑ Historic
  (10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)
  • Clam Lake is located in Antrim County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clam Lake
• Clam River
  (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)
  • Clam River is located in Antrim County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clam River
• Elk Rapids
  (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • 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 <1>
• Goo ‑ Historic
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Goo is located in Charlevoix County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goo
• Graves Crossing
  (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
  • Graves Crossing is located in Antrim County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Graves Crossing
• Green River
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
  • Green River is located in Antrim County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green River
• Snowflake
  (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
  • Snowflake is located in Antrim County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Snowflake
• Torch River
  (15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)
  • Torch River is located in Kalkaska County
  • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Torch River

How Far From Torch Lake 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 Torch Lake to various places of note, such as the White House.

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Torch Lake and extending to:

• Bellaire, which is the Seat of Antrim County, lies 10 miles [16.1 km]<2> to the southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Torch Lake to Bellaire, with an average speed<3> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take four to five hours to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take a little over three hours.
• Lansing, which is the State Capital of Michigan, lies 166 miles [267.2 km] to the south southeast (SSE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take about three hours, a buggy would take 7 days and walking would take 10 days.
• The White House (Washington, DC) is 603 miles [970.4 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving would take just over a day, a buggy would take 24 days and walking would take 35 days.
• The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,947 miles [9,570.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
• The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,691 miles [10,768.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
• The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,580 miles [7,370.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>'