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Trip from Arlington Heights, IL to Buffalo Grove, IL

Compiled and reviewed by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 17, 2026 · Editorial standards

Drive Time

11m

Distance

5.4 mi

9 km

Drive Score

6/10

Good drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$1

one way

EV Charging

Unknown

Best Time to Leave

4 AM
0h 11m ★
6 AM
0h 12m
8 AM
0h 14m
10 AM
0h 13m
12 PM
0h 12m
3 PM
0h 13m
5 PM
0h 14m
8 PM
0h 11m ★

Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.

village in Cook County, Illinois, United States; suburb of Chicago, Illinois

Arlington Heights, IL

Wikimedia Commons

village in Cook and Lake counties, Illinois, United States

Buffalo Grove, IL

Wikimedia Commons

Trip Overview

The drive from Arlington Heights, IL to Buffalo Grove, IL covers 5.4 miles and takes about 11m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.

The route leans on North Arlington Heights Road, North Buffalo Grove Road, East Hintz Road for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is turn-heavy local drive. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 2.5 miles on North Arlington Heights Road. At current regular gas prices, budget about $0.84 one way before food or hotel costs.

Who Is This Route For?

Weekend Trip

Doable as a same-day drive at 11m. Total distance: 5.4 miles.

Family Friendly

Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.

Solo Traveler

11m drive, comfortable solo distance.

EV Driver

0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.

First-Time Driver

Mostly highway driving (0%). Straightforward navigation.

Scenic Drive

Turn-heavy local drive route profile.

Drive Character

Expect a 11m drive with frequent turns across 5.4 miles of local and secondary roads.

This route has more turning and local-road decision points than a simple highway run.
There are about 6 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
North Arlington Heights Road is the longest continuous segment at about 2.5 miles.

How Hard Is This Drive?

Expect a hands-on drive with frequent turns and local roads rather than long highway stretches. There are only a few real navigation decisions along the way. The trickiest moment comes early in the drive near North Arlington Heights Road.

Driving Effort 3/10

Easy - simple navigation with a manageable amount of wheel time

Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.

This is a straightforward 11m drive. You will face about 4 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.

Where does it get tricky?

The main spots that need attention: near the start (North Arlington Heights Road): Navigation decision point; at 2.5 miles (East Hintz Road): Navigation decision point; at 3.3 miles (North Buffalo Grove Road): Lane positioning matters here.

Critical Maneuvers

4 of 4 key points

These are the spots where you need to pay the most attention. Preview them before you drive.

4
0 mi into trip | ~0m in | North Arlington Heights Road

Turn left onto North Arlington Heights Road

Navigation decision point

3
2.5 mi into trip | ~6m in | East Hintz Road

Turn right onto East Hintz Road

Navigation decision point

4
3.3 mi into trip | ~7m in | North Buffalo Grove Road

Turn left onto North Buffalo Grove Road

Lane positioning matters here

Use the left lane.
4
5.4 mi into trip | ~11m in | Aptakisic Road

Turn right onto Aptakisic Road

Navigation decision point

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
North Arlington Heights Road 2.5 mi 5m
North Buffalo Grove Road 2.1 mi 4m
East Hintz Road 0.7 mi 1m
Aptakisic Road <0.1 mi <1m
East Euclid Avenue <0.1 mi <1m
Longest stretch: North Arlington Heights Road — 2.5 mi, about 5m

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Arlington Heights, IL and Buffalo Grove, IL.

1

Start on East Euclid Avenue

48 ft · 9 sec · East Euclid Avenue
2

Turn left onto North Arlington Heights Road

2.5 mi · 5 min · North Arlington Heights Road
3

Turn right onto East Hintz Road

0.7 mi · 1 min · East Hintz Road
4

Turn left onto North Buffalo Grove Road

2.1 mi · 4 min · North Buffalo Grove Road
Use the left lane.
5

Turn right onto Aptakisic Road

60 ft · 2 sec · Aptakisic Road
6

Arrive at destination

Aptakisic Road

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$0.84 one way

$1.69 round trip

$3.97/gal 25.4 MPG avg 2 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $4.36 $0.93 $1.85
premium $4.89 $1.04 $2.08
diesel $5.61 $1.19 $2.38

No toll roads detected on this route.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$1

Estimated CO2 emission: 1.9 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.

Driving Electric?

About $1 in charging · 0 stops · 50% less CO2

Vehicle Type kWh Stops DC Fast Home Charge
Average EV 1.6 0 $0.57 $0.26
Efficient EV 1.4 0 $0.47 $0.22
EV Truck/SUV 2.2 0 $0.76 $0.35

Gas CO2

2 kg

EV CO2

1 kg (50% less)

This trip is well within single-charge range for most EVs. No charging stops needed if you start fully charged.

DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.

Travel Intel

Current conditions at both ends of the drive.

Forecast as of Apr 15, 2026

Origin

Arlington Heights, IL

Afternoon in Arlington Heights on Friday

Local time

1:48 PM

CDT

Current temp

51°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Destination

Buffalo Grove, IL

Afternoon in Buffalo Grove on Friday

Local time

1:48 PM

CDT

Current temp

66°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Time zone

Same local time

Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.

Temperature spread

15 degrees warmer at arrival

A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.

Road read

11m on the road

Use the two city cards together: check the sky where you start, then compare it with the local time and temperature at arrival.

Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.

Frequently Asked Questions

The drive from Arlington Heights, IL to Buffalo Grove, IL covers 5.4 miles and takes about 11m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.

The main roads are North Arlington Heights Road, North Buffalo Grove Road, East Hintz Road. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.

This is a comfortable same-day trip.

The midpoint is about 2.7 miles from Arlington Heights, IL. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.

At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $0.84 one way. This estimate uses 25.4 MPG — your actual cost will vary with your vehicle's fuel efficiency and current gas prices.

Leave by 9 AM and you'll arrive before lunch. Even a 4 PM departure gets you there before dark in summer.

This is a straightforward 11m drive. You will face about 4 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.

The main spots that need attention: near the start (North Arlington Heights Road): Navigation decision point; at 2.5 miles (East Hintz Road): Navigation decision point; at 3.3 miles (North Buffalo Grove Road): Lane positioning matters here.

The route from Arlington Heights, IL to Buffalo Grove, IL does not surface many named destination signs beyond the main corridor.

How this page is built

Compiled by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy from open government datasets — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for geometry, and EIA for fuel prices. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.

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