Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Skytop, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Skytop and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Skytop
- 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 Skytop:
- 35.701344, -117.498949
- 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 Skytop
- 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 Bernardino County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for San Bernardino County
- Since Skytop is near Kern County and also Inyo County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Kern County
- eBird sighting report for Inyo 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 Skytop ...
We found three communities that share the name Skytop.
Within California, the name Skytop is unique.
Beyond California, we know of another three communities that are located throughout in the United States.
- Communities Elsewhere In North America ...
- Florida
- New York
- Pennsylvania
Curious and Interesting Names Near Skytop ...
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.
- Bradys
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west) - Brown ‑ Historic
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the west) - China Lake
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for China Lake
- China Lake is located in Kern County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for China Lake <3>
- Indian Wells
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Indian Wells have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Indian Wells
- Indian Wells is located in Kern County
- Pinnacle ‑ Historic
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the east) - Pioneer Point
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pioneer Point have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pioneer Point
- Pioneer Point is located in San Bernardino County
- Spangler ‑ Historic
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the south) - Valley Wells
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the northeast)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Valley Wells
- Valley Wells is located in Inyo County
How Far From Skytop 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 community such as Skytop to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance beginning in Skytop and extending to:
- San Bernardino, which is the Seat of San Bernardino County, lies 110 miles [177 km]<1> to the south. If you could drive a straight line from Skytop to San Bernardino, with an average speed<5>of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, it would take about two hours to make the trip. A comfortable walk of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour would take 7 days. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take 5 days.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 296 miles [476.4 km] to the northwest (NW). Driving would take four to five hours, a buggy would take 12 days and walking would take 17 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,215 miles [3,564.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 87 days and walking would take 126 days.
- The shortest distance<6> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,446 miles [11,983.2 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 8,215 miles [13,220.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,208 miles [9,990.8 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<9>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Skytop. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for San Bernardino County: www.sbcounty.gov/
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 drawn from Point A (ie- Skytop) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Skytop. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 35.7013, Longitude: -117.4989 In this case, the coordinates for Skytop have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <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> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <4> | An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace. |
| <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 Skytop 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 335.851 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 335.782 degrees. |
| <9> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 325.211 degrees. |