Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Pinnacles, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Pinnacles and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Pinnacles
- 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 Pinnacles:
- 36.531280, -121.145649
- 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 Pinnacles
- 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 Benito County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for San Benito County
- Since Pinnacles is near Monterey County and also Fresno County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Monterey County
- eBird sighting report for Fresno 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 Pinnacles ...
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.
- Bitterwater
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bitterwater
- Bitterwater is located in San Benito County
- Cottage Corners
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cottage Corners have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cottage Corners
- Cottage Corners is located in San Benito County
- Dean
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west) - Greenfield
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Greenfield
- Greenfield is located in Monterey County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 17,644 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Greenfield <2>
- Harlem
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southwest) - Jamesburg
(27 miles [43.5 km] to the southwest) - King City
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for King City
- King City is located in Monterey County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 13,968 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for King City <2>
- Morse
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest) - Natividad
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the northwest) - Spreckels
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spreckels
- Spreckels is located in Monterey County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Spreckels <2>
- Spreckels Junction
(28 miles [45.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Spreckels Junction have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Spreckels Junction
- Spreckels Junction is located in Monterey County
- Sycamore Flat
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sycamore Flat have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sycamore Flat
- Sycamore Flat is located in Monterey County
- Vineyard ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the northwest)
How Far From Pinnacles 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 Pinnacles to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Pinnacles and extending to:
- Hollister, which is the Seat of San Benito County, lies 25 miles [40.2 km]<3> to the north northwest. If you could walk a straight line from Pinnacles to Hollister, with an average speed<4> 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 most of a day.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 142 miles [228.5 km] to the north (N). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than three hours, a buggy would take 6 days and walking would take 8 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,391 miles [3,847.9 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 94 days and walking would take 136 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,471 miles [12,023.4 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 8,239 miles [13,259.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,273 miles [10,095.4 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Pinnacles. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for San Benito County: www.san-benito.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' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Pinnacles) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Pinnacles. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 36.5313, Longitude: -121.1456 In this case, the coordinates for Pinnacles have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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 Pinnacles 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 338.99 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 339.628 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.381 degrees. |