Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Portola Valley, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Portola Valley and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Portola 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 Portola Valley:
- 37.384463, -122.234929
- 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 Portola 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 San Mateo County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for San Mateo County
- Since Portola Valley is near Santa Clara County and also Alameda County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Santa Clara County
- eBird sighting report for Alameda 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 Portola 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.
- Crescent Park
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Crescent Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crescent Park
- Crescent Park is located in Santa Clara County
- Emerald Lake
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emerald Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Lake
- Emerald Lake is located in San Mateo County
- Emerald Lake Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emerald Lake Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Emerald Lake Hills
- Emerald Lake Hills is located in San Mateo County
- Evergreen Park
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Evergreen Park have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Evergreen Park
- Evergreen Park is located in Santa Clara County
- Fair Oaks
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north) - Farm Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farm Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farm Hills
- Farm Hills is located in San Mateo County
- Grabtown
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northwest) - Green Acres
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Green Acres have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green Acres
- Green Acres is located in Santa Clara County
- Neal
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Park Forest
(5 miles [8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Forest
- Park Forest is located in San Mateo County
- Professorville
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Professorville have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Professorville
- Professorville is located in Santa Clara County
- University Heights
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for University Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for University Heights
- University Heights is located in San Mateo County
- Continue List (5 more) ...
- Vintage Oaks
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vintage Oaks have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vintage Oaks
- Vintage Oaks is located in San Mateo County
- Vista Verde
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Vista Verde have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Vista Verde
- Vista Verde is located in San Mateo County
- Woodside
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside
- Woodside is located in San Mateo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,508 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Woodside <2>
- Woodside Glens
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodside Glens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside Glens
- Woodside Glens is located in San Mateo County
- Woodside Highlands
(Less than 2 miles to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodside Highlands have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside Highlands
- Woodside Highlands is located in San Mateo County
- Vintage Oaks
How Far From Portola 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 town such as Portola 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 Portola Valley and extending to:
- Redwood City, which is the Seat of San Mateo County, lies just to the North.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 92 miles [148.1 km]<3> to the north northeast (NNE). If you could drive a straight line from Portola Valley to Sacramento, 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 2,431 miles [3,912.3 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 95 days and walking would take 139 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,437 miles [11,968.7 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 8,204 miles [13,203.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,255 miles [10,066.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Portola Valley: www.portolavalley.net/
The official website for San Mateo County: www.co.sanmateo.ca.us/
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 'straight-line' (or 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- Portola Valley) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Portola Valley. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.3845, Longitude: -122.2349 |
| <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 Portola 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 340.006 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 340.899 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.051 degrees. |