Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Portage Lakes, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Portage Lakes and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Portage Lakes
- 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 Portage Lakes:
- 41.007278, -81.527062
- 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 Portage Lakes
- 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 Summit County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Summit County
- Since Portage Lakes is near Stark County and also Portage County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Stark County
- eBird sighting report for Portage 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 Portage Lakes ...
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.
- Cascade ‑ Historic
(5 miles [8 km] to the north) - Comet
(5 miles [8 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Comet
- Comet is located in Summit County
- Cottage Grove
(Less than 2 miles to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottage Grove have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Grove
- Cottage Grove is located in Summit County
- Derby Downs
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Derby Downs have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Derby Downs
- Derby Downs is located in Summit County
- Firestone Park
(Less than 2 miles to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Firestone Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Firestone Park
- Firestone Park is located in Summit County
- Goodyear Heights
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Goodyear Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Goodyear Heights
- Goodyear Heights is located in Summit County
- Green
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green
- Green is located in Summit County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 25,678 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Green <2>
- Halo
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest) - Lakeview
(Less than 2 miles to the south) - Lawndale
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest) - Maple Valley
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maple Valley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maple Valley
- Maple Valley is located in Summit County
- Uniontown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Uniontown have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Uniontown
- Uniontown is located in Stark County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Uniontown <2>
- White House Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for White House Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for White House Park
- White House Park is located in Summit County
How Far From Portage Lakes 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 Portage Lakes to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Portage Lakes and extending to:
- Akron, which is the Seat of Summit County, lies just to the North.
- Columbus, which is the State Capital of Ohio, lies 104 miles [167.4 km]<3> to the southwest (SW). If you could drive a straight line from Portage Lakes to Columbus, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take less than two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 6 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 4 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 278 miles [447.4 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 5,990 miles [9,640 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,713 miles [10,803.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,589 miles [7,385.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Portage Lakes. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Summit County: www.co.summit.oh.us/
The official website for State of Ohio: https://ohio.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- Portage Lakes) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Portage Lakes. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 41.0073, Longitude: -81.5271 In this case, the coordinates for Portage Lakes 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 Portage Lakes 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 310.513 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 306.741 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 305.921 degrees. |