Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Ballard, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Ballard and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Ballard
- 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 Ballard:
- 34.635839, -120.113465
- 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 Ballard
- 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 Santa Barbara County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Santa Barbara County
- Since Ballard is near San Luis Obispo County, we have provided a link to its eBird sighting report:
- eBird sighting report for San Luis Obispo 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 Ballard ...
We found eighteen communities that share the name Ballard.
Within California, the name Ballard is unique.
Beyond California, we know of another eighteen communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Florida
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Anderson County
- This Ballard is located in Anderson County and lies 1,956 miles [3,147.9 km]<2> to the east northeast of the Ballard that is located in Santa Barbara County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Anderson County community of Ballard.
- Menifee County
- This Ballard is located in Menifee County and lies 2,025 miles [3,258.9 km] to the east northeast of the Ballard that is located in Santa Barbara County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Menifee County community of Ballard.
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- Utah
- Salt Lake County
- This Ballard is located in Salt Lake County and lies 615 miles [989.7 km]<2> to the northeast of the Ballard that is located in Santa Barbara County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Salt Lake County community of Ballard.
- Uintah County
- This Ballard is located in Uintah County and lies 679 miles [1,092.7 km] to the northeast of the Ballard that is located in Santa Barbara County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Uintah County community of Ballard.
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
Curious and Interesting Names Near Ballard ...
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.
- Acorn
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west) - Gato
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest) - Hope Ranch
(24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope Ranch
- Hope Ranch is located in Santa Barbara County
- Isla Vista
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Isla Vista
- Isla Vista is located in Santa Barbara County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Isla Vista <5>
- Junction Camp
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Junction Camp have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Junction Camp
- Junction Camp is located in Santa Barbara County
- Mission
(25 miles [40.2 km] to the southeast) - Mission Canyon
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mission Canyon have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Canyon
- Mission Canyon is located in Santa Barbara County
- Mission Hills
(18 miles [29 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mission Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Hills
- Mission Hills is located in Santa Barbara County
- Naples ‑ Historic
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
- Naples is located in Santa Barbara County
- Rosemary
(26 miles [41.8 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Ballard 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 Ballard to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Ballard and extending to:
- Santa Barbara, which is the Seat of Santa Barbara County, lies 27 miles [43.5 km]<2> to the east southeast. If you could walk a straight line from Ballard to Santa Barbara, with an average speed<6> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just about two full days to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take just over a day.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 282 miles [453.8 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 11 days and walking would take 16 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,378 miles [3,827 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 93 days and walking would take 136 days.
- The shortest distance<7> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,571 miles [12,184.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,340 miles [13,421.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,351 miles [10,220.9 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<10>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Ballard. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Santa Barbara County: www.countyofsb.org/
The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If we encounter the name of what might be a community, our methodology is to add that name to our Gazetteer as a placeholder. As we find more information about that community, it will be added to our Gazetteer. Just as a reminder: Our definition of a community is rather broad and includes those places (or areas) where several families lived and had a name which identified that place. For example, you might hear somebody say that they are going over to Bird Creek to see Pete ... Bird Creek is just a gas station and a couple of homes at the crossroads. While it might not be on the map, everybody in the area knows it by that name. Places of interest include buildings at a crossroad, several families clustered in a hollow or maybe the location of a way station. It also includes places like mines, lumber camps, ferry crossings, etc. The community might still exist, is now gone or only existed for just a short period of time. Also keep in mind that Ballard could have been on the original document by mistake, misspelled, the original/alternate name of a community that we've listed elsewhere or was placed in the wrong county. Sometimes a post office or train station would have a different name than the community where it's located, so two names might be referring to the same community - we're working to straighten it all out. |
| <2> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Ballard) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Ballard. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.6358, Longitude: -120.1135 |
| <3> | 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 Ballard, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <4> | 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. |
| <5> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <6> | 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. |
| <7> | 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 Ballard to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 337.882 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 338.179 degrees. |
| <10> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 326.737 degrees. |