Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Castro Valley, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Castro Valley and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Castro Valley
- 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 Castro Valley:
- 37.695646, -122.086815
- 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 Castro Valley
- 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 Alameda County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Alameda County
- Since Castro Valley is near Contra Costa County and also San Mateo County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Contra Costa County
- eBird sighting report for San Mateo 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 Castro Valley ...
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.
- Carpenter
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast) - Cherryland
(Less than 2 miles to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherryland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherryland
- Cherryland is located in Alameda County
- Danville
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Danville
- Danville is located in Contra Costa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 44,883 people
- Former name for Danville:
- Inmanville
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Danville <2>
- Dublin
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Dublin
- Dublin is located in Alameda County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 66,936 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Dublin <2>
- Fruitvale
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fruitvale
- Fruitvale is located in Alameda County
- Former names for Fruitvale:
- Brays
- Fruit Vale
- Hall Station
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hall Station have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hall Station
- Hall Station is located in Alameda County
- Havenscourt
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Havenscourt
- Havenscourt is located in Alameda County
- Maxwell Park
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Maxwell Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Maxwell Park
- Maxwell Park is located in Alameda County
- Seminary Park
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Seminary Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Seminary Park
- Seminary Park is located in Alameda County
- Union City
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Union City
- Union City is located in Alameda County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 74,501 people
- Former name for Union City:
- Decoto
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Union City <2>
How Far From Castro Valley 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 Castro Valley to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Castro Valley and extending to:
- Oakland, which is the Seat of Alameda County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<3> to the northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Castro Valley to Oakland, 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.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 69 miles [111 km] to the north northeast (NNE). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take about three full days and walking would take three full days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,417 miles [3,889.8 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 95 days and walking would take 138 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,414 miles [11,931.7 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,181 miles [13,166 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,233 miles [10,031 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Castro Valley. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Alameda County: www.acgov.org/
The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.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 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Castro Valley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Castro Valley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.6956, Longitude: -122.0868 |
| <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 Castro Valley 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 339.914 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 340.804 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.961 degrees. |