Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in San Marcos, we use the following websites to find information relevant to San Marcos and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for San Marcos
- 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 San Marcos:
- 34.594991, -119.835417
- 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 San Marcos
- 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 San Marcos is near Ventura County, we have provided a link to its eBird sighting report:
- eBird sighting report for Ventura 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 San Marcos ...
We found three communities that share the name San Marcos.
There is one other community in California which is also named San Marcos.
Beyond California, we know of another two communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Located In California ...
- San Diego County
- This San Marcos is located in San Diego County and lies 183 miles [294.5 km]<1> to the east southeast of the San Marcos that is located in Santa Barbara County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the San Diego County community of San Marcos.
- San Diego County
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- Wakulla County
- This community is historic<2> and we have very little information. For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the Florida community of San Marcos [Wakulla County].
- Texas
- Hays County
- This San Marcos is located in Hays County and lies 1,316 miles [2,117.9 km]<1> to the east of the San Marcos that is located in Santa Barbara County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Hays County community of San Marcos.
- Florida
Curious and Interesting Names Near San Marcos ...
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.
- Hope Ranch
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope Ranch
- Hope Ranch is located in Santa Barbara County
- Isla Vista
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- 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 <3>
- Junction Camp
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)- 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
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southeast) - Mission Canyon
(12 miles [19.3 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
- Naples ‑ Historic
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
- Naples is located in Santa Barbara County
- Sandyland
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the southeast) - Sandyland Cove
(22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandyland Cove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandyland Cove
- Sandyland Cove is located in Santa Barbara County
- Summerland
(18 miles [29 km] to the southeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerland
- Summerland is located in Santa Barbara County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Summerland <3>
How Far From San Marcos 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 San Marcos to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in San Marcos and extending to:
- Santa Barbara, which is the Seat of Santa Barbara County, lies 14 miles [22.5 km]<1> to the south southeast. If you could walk a straight line from San Marcos to Santa Barbara, with an average speed<5> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take most of a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take four to five hours.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 290 miles [466.7 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 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,364 miles [3,804.5 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 93 days and walking would take 135 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,568 miles [12,179.5 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,337 miles [13,417.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,345 miles [10,211.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for San Marcos. 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> | 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- San Marcos) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in San Marcos. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.5950, Longitude: -119.8354 In this case, the coordinates for San Marcos have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <2> | 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 San Marcos, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy. |
| <3> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <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 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. |
| <6> | 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 San Marcos to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 337.643 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 337.886 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 326.572 degrees. |