Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Chetek, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Chetek and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Chetek
- 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 Chetek:
- 45.315794, -91.653223
- 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 Chetek
- 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 Barron County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Barron County
- Since Chetek is near Chippewa County and also Dunn County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Chippewa County
- eBird sighting report for Dunn 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 Chetek ...
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.
- Birchwood
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the north) - Bloomer
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bloomer
- Bloomer is located in Chippewa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,508 people
- Bruce
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast) - Comstock
(23 miles [37 km] to the northwest) - Eagle Point
(23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Eagle Point have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eagle Point
- Eagle Point is located in Chippewa County
- Graytown
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west) - Horseman
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north) - Island Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Island Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Island Lake
- Island Lake is located in Rusk County
- Prairie Farm
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Prairie Farm have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Prairie Farm
- Prairie Farm is located in Barron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 434 people
- Rice Lake
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north) - Sand Creek
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sand Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sand Creek
- Sand Creek is located in Dunn County
- Tainter Lake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tainter Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tainter Lake
- Tainter Lake is located in Dunn County
- Turtle Lake
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Turtle Lake
- Turtle Lake is located in Barron County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 990 people
How Far From Chetek 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 city such as Chetek to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<2> beginning in Chetek and extending to:
- Barron, which is the Seat of Barron County, lies 11 miles [17.7 km]<2> to the west northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Chetek to Barron, with an average speed<3> 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.
- Madison, which is the State Capital of Wisconsin, lies 190 miles [305.8 km] to the southeast (SE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take a little over three hours, a buggy would take 8 days and walking would take 11 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 868 miles [1,396.9 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take most of two days, a buggy would take 34 days and walking would take 50 days.
- The shortest distance<4> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,152 miles [9,900.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<5>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,906 miles [11,114.1 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,811 miles [7,742.6 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Chetek. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Barron County: www.co.barron.wi.us/
The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.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> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Chetek) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Chetek. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 45.3158, Longitude: -91.6532 In this case, the coordinates for Chetek have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <3> | 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. |
| <4> | 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 Chetek to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <5> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 317.157 degrees. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 314.909 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 309.669 degrees. |