Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in San Mateo, we use the following websites to find information relevant to San Mateo and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for San Mateo
- 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 Mateo:
- 37.563031, -122.325983
- 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 Mateo
- 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 San Mateo is near San Francisco County and also Alameda County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for San Francisco 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
Communities Also Named San Mateo ...
We found five communities that share the name San Mateo.
Within California, the name San Mateo is unique.
Beyond California, we know of another five communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- Duval County
- This San Mateo is located in Duval County and lies 2,361 miles [3,799.7 km]<1> to the east of the San Mateo that is located in San Mateo County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Duval County community of San Mateo.
- Putnam County
- This San Mateo is located in Putnam County and lies 2,387 miles [3,841.5 km] to the east of the San Mateo that is located in San Mateo County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Putnam County community of San Mateo.
- New Mexico
- Cibola County
- This San Mateo is located in Cibola County and lies 829 miles [1,334.1 km]<1> to the east of the San Mateo that is located in San Mateo County.
- For more information, please visit our profile page for the Cibola County community of San Mateo.
- Valencia County
- We found mention of this community, but have little information.<2> For the information that we do have, please visit our profile page for the New Mexico community of San Mateo [Valencia County].
- South Carolina
- Florida
Curious and Interesting Names Near San Mateo ...
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.
- Brisbane
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Brisbane
- Brisbane is located in San Mateo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 4,576 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Brisbane <3>
- Emerald Lake
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emerald Lake have been provided by the GNIS.<4> 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
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Emerald Lake Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> 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
- Fair Oaks
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast) - Farm Hills
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Farm Hills have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Farm Hills
- Farm Hills is located in San Mateo County
- Grabtown
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the south) - Half Moon Bay
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Half Moon Bay
- Half Moon Bay is located in San Mateo County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 12,513 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Half Moon Bay <3>
- Park Forest
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Park Forest have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Park Forest
- Park Forest is located in San Mateo County
- Rockaway Beach
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rockaway Beach have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rockaway Beach
- Rockaway Beach is located in San Mateo County
- Seal Cove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west) - Sharp Park
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sharp Park have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sharp Park
- Sharp Park is located in San Mateo County
- Shelter Cove
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shelter Cove have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shelter Cove
- Shelter Cove is located in San Mateo County
- Woodside
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the southeast)- 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 <3>
- Woodside Glens
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Woodside Glens have been provided by the GNIS.<4> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Woodside Glens
- Woodside Glens is located in San Mateo County
How Far From San Mateo 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 city such as San Mateo to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in San Mateo and extending to:
- Redwood City, which is the Seat of San Mateo County, lies just to the Southeast.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 83 miles [133.6 km]<1> to the north northeast (NNE). If you could drive a straight line from San Mateo to Sacramento, with an average speed<5>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 5 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 2,432 miles [3,913.9 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<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,427 miles [11,952.6 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 8,194 miles [13,187 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,247 miles [10,053.6 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for San Mateo: www.cityofsanmateo.org/
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> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- San Mateo) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in San Mateo. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.5630, Longitude: -122.3260 |
| <2> | 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 Mile's to see Pete ... Mile's 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 San Mateo 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. |
| <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 Mateo 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 340.102 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 341.024 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 328.107 degrees. |