Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in El Cajon, we use the following websites to find information relevant to El Cajon and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for El Cajon
- 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 El Cajon:
- 32.802906, -116.962315
- 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 El Cajon
- 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 Diego County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for San Diego 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 El Cajon ...
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.
- Crest
(5 miles [8 km] to the east) - Eucalyptus Hills
(5 miles [8 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Eucalyptus Hills
- Eucalyptus Hills is located in San Diego County
- Glenview
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glenview
- Glenview is located in San Diego County
- Granite Hills
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Granite Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granite Hills
- Granite Hills is located in San Diego County
- Homelands
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the south) - Johnstown
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Lakeview
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Lemon Grove
(5 miles [8 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lemon Grove
- Lemon Grove is located in San Diego County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 26,528 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Lemon Grove <2>
- Mount Helix
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mount Helix have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mount Helix
- Mount Helix is located in San Diego County
- Riverview
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast) - Spring Valley
(4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spring Valley
- Spring Valley is located in San Diego County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spring Valley <2>
- Winter Gardens
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Winter Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Winter Gardens
- Winter Gardens is located in San Diego County
How Far From El Cajon 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 El Cajon to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in El Cajon and extending to:
- San Diego, which is the Seat of San Diego County, lies 12 miles [19.3 km]<3> to the west southwest. If you could walk a straight line from El Cajon to San Diego, 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 472 miles [759.6 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take most of a day, a buggy would take 19 days and walking would take 27 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,255 miles [3,629.1 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 88 days and walking would take 129 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,615 miles [12,255.2 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 8,383 miles [13,491.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,354 miles [10,225.8 km] and it lies to the northeast (NE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for El Cajon: www.ci.el-cajon.ca.us/
The official website for San Diego County: www.sdcounty.ca.gov/
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- El Cajon) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in El Cajon. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 32.8029, Longitude: -116.9623 |
| <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 El Cajon 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 334.993 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 334.537 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 324.875 degrees. |