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 ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Grand Rapids
- 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:
- 44.373187, -89.765675
- 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 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:
- eBird sighting report for Wood County
- Since Grand Rapids is near Portage County and also Adams County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Portage County
- eBird sighting report for Adams 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
Communities Also Named Grand Rapids ...
We found ten communities that share the name Grand Rapids.
Within Wisconsin, the name Grand Rapids is unique.
Beyond Wisconsin, we know of another ten communities that are located throughout in the United States and Canada. Of these ten communities, eight are located in the United States and two are in Canada.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- British Columbia
- This Grand Rapids lies 1,705 miles [2,743.9 km]<1> to the northwest of the Grand Rapids that is located in Wood County.
- Manitoba
- This Grand Rapids lies 744 miles [1,197.4 km]<1> to the north northwest of the Grand Rapids that is located in Wood County.
- Michigan
- Kent County
- This Grand Rapids is located in Kent County and lies 227 miles [365.3 km]<1> to the east southeast 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 166 miles [267.2 km] to the north 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 267 miles [429.7 km]<1> 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<2> 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 440 miles [708.1 km]<1> 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.
- Ohio
- Lake County
- This community is historic<2> 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.
- Wood County
- This Grand Rapids is located in Wood County and lies 361 miles [581 km]<1> to the east southeast of the Grand Rapids that is located in Wood County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Wood County community of Grand Rapids.
- Oregon
- Clatsop County
- This Grand Rapids is located in Clatsop County and lies 1,634 miles [2,629.7 km]<1> 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.
- British Columbia
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.
- Junction City
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Junction City have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction City
- Junction City is located in Portage County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 439 people
- Milladore
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Milladore
- Milladore is located in Wood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 258 people
- Park Ridge
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<3> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Ridge
- Park Ridge is located in Portage County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 496 people
- Plover
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast) - Rocky Run
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast) - Rudolph
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the north) - Sherry
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sherry
- Sherry is located in Wood County
- Stevens Point
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Stevens Point
- Stevens Point is located in Portage County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 25,949 people
- Wisconsin Rapids
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wisconsin Rapids
- Wisconsin Rapids is located in Wood County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,555 people
How Far From Grand Rapids 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 include the distance from a community 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:
- Wisconsin Rapids, which is the Seat of Wood County, lies just to the West Northwest.
- Madison, which is the State Capital of Wisconsin, lies 91 miles [146.5 km]<1> to the south (S). If you could drive a straight line from Grand Rapids to Madison, 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 most of three days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 756 miles [1,216.7 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 43 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,136 miles [9,874.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,884 miles [11,078.7 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,781 miles [7,694.3 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Grand Rapids. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Wood County: www.co.wood.wi.us/
The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | 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- Grand Rapids) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Grand Rapids. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.3732, Longitude: -89.7657 In this case, the coordinates for Grand Rapids have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | 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. |
| <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. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 315.854 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.299 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.928 degrees. |