RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Ohio >> Wood County >> Grand Rapids >> Tidbits & TriviaIndex...

Outdoor Activities ...

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

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

  • Weather ...
  • 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 Grand Rapids:
    • 41.410555, -83.865327
    • 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 Grand Rapids
  • 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 Wood County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Wood County
    • Since Grand Rapids is near Lucas County and also Henry County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Lucas County
    • Open the eBird sighting report for Henry 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 Grand Rapids

Communities Also Named Grand Rapids ...

We found nine communities that are also named Grand Rapids.

There is one other community in Ohio that is also named Grand Rapids.

Beyond Ohio, we know of eight communities that are located in the United States and Canada. Of these eight communities, seven are located in the United States and two are in Canada.

  • Communities Located In Ohio ...
    • Lake County
      • This community is historic<1> and although located in Lake County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Lake County community of Grand Rapids.
  • Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
    • British Columbia
      • This Grand Rapids lies 2,066 miles [3,324.9 km]<2> to the northwest of the Grand Rapids that is located in Wood County.
    • Manitoba
      • This Grand Rapids lies 1,081 miles [1,739.7 km]<2> to the northwest of the Grand Rapids that is located in Wood County.
    • Michigan
      • Kent County
      • This Grand Rapids is located in Kent County and lies 140 miles [225.3 km]<2> to the northwest of the Grand Rapids that is located in Wood County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Kent County community of Grand Rapids.
      • Ontonagon County
      • This Grand Rapids is located in Ontonagon County and lies 456 miles [733.9 km] to the northwest of the Grand Rapids that is located in Wood County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Ontonagon County community of Grand Rapids.
    • Minnesota
      • Itasca County
      • This Grand Rapids is located in Itasca County and lies 623 miles [1,002.6 km]<2> to the northwest of the Grand Rapids that is located in Wood County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Itasca County community of Grand Rapids.
    • Nebraska
      • Holt County
      • This community is historic<1> and although located in Holt County, we don't know where within the county.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Holt County community of Grand Rapids.
    • North Dakota
      • LaMoure County
      • This Grand Rapids is located in LaMoure County and lies 799 miles [1,285.9 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Grand Rapids that is located in Wood County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the LaMoure County community of Grand Rapids.
    • Oregon
      • Clatsop County
      • This Grand Rapids is located in Clatsop County and lies 1,983 miles [3,191.3 km]<2> to the west northwest of the Grand Rapids that is located in Wood County.
      • For more information, please visit our profile page for the Clatsop County community of Grand Rapids.

Curious and Interesting Names Near Grand Rapids ...

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.

  • Bowling Green
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the east)
  • Christy
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Christy is located in Wood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Christy
  • Cloverleaf ‑ Historic
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
    • Cloverleaf is located in Henry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cloverleaf
  • Damascus ‑ Historic
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • Damascus is located in Henry County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Damascus
  • Homewood
    (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Homewood is located in Lucas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Homewood
  • Hull Prairie
    (9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Hull Prairie is located in Wood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hull Prairie
  • Liberty Center
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
  • Milton Center
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)
    • Milton Center is located in Wood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milton Center
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 146 people
  • Peaceful Valley
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Peaceful Valley is located in Fulton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Peaceful Valley
  • Providence
    (Less than 2 miles to the northwest)
    • Providence is located in Lucas County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Providence
  • Quail Hollow
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)
    • Quail Hollow is located in Wood County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Quail Hollow
  • Raker Corners
    (10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)
    • Raker Corners is located in Fulton County
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Raker Corners
  • Continue List   (4 more) ...
    • Ratsville
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Ratsville is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ratsville
    • Texas
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
      • Texas is located in Henry County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Texas
    • Willowbend
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Willowbend is located in Wood County
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Willowbend
    • Wintergarden Heights
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the east)

How Far From Grand Rapids 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 village such as Grand Rapids to various places of note, such as the White House.

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

  • Bowling Green, which is the Seat of Wood County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<2> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Grand Rapids to Bowling Green, 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.
  • Columbus, which is the State Capital of Ohio, lies 109 miles [175.4 km] to the south southeast (SSE). 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 399 miles [642.1 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of a day, a buggy would take 16 days and walking would take 23 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,063 miles [9,757.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,792 miles [10,930.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,670 miles [7,515.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>'

Footnotes ...

<1>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Grand Rapids, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<2>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Grand Rapids) to Point B. In other words: 'As the crow flies'.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<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 Grand Rapids to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Grand Rapids. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.4106, Longitude: -83.8653       In this case, the coordinates for Grand Rapids have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS).
<6>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 311.984 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 308.472 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 306.882 degrees.