Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Santa Barbara, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Santa Barbara and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Santa Barbara
- 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 Santa Barbara:
- 34.421539, -119.701981
- 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 Santa Barbara
- 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 Santa Barbara 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
Curious and Interesting Names Near Santa Barbara ...
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
(3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hope Ranch
- Hope Ranch is located in Santa Barbara County
- Isla Vista
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- 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 <1>
- Mission
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the northwest) - Mission Canyon
(2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Mission Canyon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Mission Canyon
- Mission Canyon is located in Santa Barbara County
- Muscle Shoals
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Muscle Shoals have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Muscle Shoals
- Muscle Shoals is located in Ventura County
- Naples ‑ Historic
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Naples
- Naples is located in Santa Barbara County
- Sandyland
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east) - Sandyland Cove
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sandyland Cove have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sandyland Cove
- Sandyland Cove is located in Santa Barbara County
- Summerland
(5 miles [8 km] to the east)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Summerland
- Summerland is located in Santa Barbara County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Summerland <1>
How Far From Santa Barbara 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 Santa Barbara to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Santa Barbara and extending to:
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 303 miles [487.6 km]<3> to the north northwest (NNW). If you could drive a straight line from Santa Barbara to Sacramento, with an average speed<4>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take five to six hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 18 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 12 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,361 miles [3,799.7 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<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,576 miles [12,192.4 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 8,345 miles [13,430 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- 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).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Santa Barbara: www.ci.santa-barbara.ca.us/
The official website for Santa Barbara County: www.countyofsb.org/
The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | 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 drawn from Point A (ie- Santa Barbara) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Santa Barbara. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 34.4215, Longitude: -119.7020 |
| <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 Santa Barbara 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 337.508 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 337.711 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 326.49 degrees. |