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










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Wisconsin

The Commemorative Quarter for Wisconsin





Outdoor Activities ...

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

When in Wisconsin Rapids, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Wisconsin 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 Wisconsin Rapids:
    • 44.383992, -89.817120
    • 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 Wisconsin Rapids
  • 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 Wisconsin 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.

  • Grand Rapids
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the east)
  • Junction City
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Junction City have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the north)
  • Park Ridge
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park Ridge have been provided by the GNIS.<2> 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
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plover have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plover
    • Plover is located in Portage County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 13,252 people
  • Rocky Run
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rocky Run have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rocky Run
    • Rocky Run is located in Portage County
  • Rudolph
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rudolph have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rudolph
    • Rudolph is located in Wood County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 411 people
  • Sherry
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the north)
  • Stevens Point
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)

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

With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Wisconsin Rapids and extending to:

  • Madison, which is the State Capital of Wisconsin, lies 92 miles [148.1 km]<3> to the south southeast (SSE). If you could drive a straight line from Wisconsin 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 759 miles [1,221.5 km] to the east southeast (ESE). Driving would take just about two full days, a buggy would take 30 days and walking would take 44 days.
  • The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 6,137 miles [9,876.5 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<6>
  • The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 6,886 miles [11,081.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<7>
  • The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 4,782 miles [7,695.9 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>

The official website for Wisconsin Rapids: www.wirapids.org/

The official website for Wood County: www.co.wood.wi.us/

The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>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.
<3>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Wisconsin Rapids) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Wisconsin Rapids. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 44.3840, Longitude: -89.8171    
<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 Wisconsin 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 315.89 degrees.
<7>The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 313.34 degrees.
<8>The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 308.952 degrees.




 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 24 Mar 2025