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Trip from Arlington, VA to Falls Church, VA

Compiled and reviewed by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 18, 2026 · Editorial standards

Drive Time

9m

Distance

4.1 mi

7 km

Drive Score

8/10

Great drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$1

one way

EV Charging

Unknown

Best Time to Leave

4 AM
0h 9m ★
6 AM
0h 10m
8 AM
0h 11m
10 AM
0h 10m
12 PM
0h 10m
3 PM
0h 10m
5 PM
0h 11m
8 PM
0h 9m ★

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

Downtown Arlington, VA, VA

Arlington, VA

Dominik Gryzbon

Downtown Falls Church, VA, VA

Falls Church, VA

Pavan Sai .D

Trip Overview

The drive from Arlington, VA to Falls Church, VA covers 4.1 miles and takes about 9m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.

The route leans on Custis Memorial Parkway, Wilson Boulevard, North Washington Street for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is mixed drive. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 1.5 miles on Custis Memorial Parkway. At current regular gas prices, budget about $0.64 one way before food or hotel costs.

Who Is This Route For?

Weekend Trip

Doable as a same-day drive at 9m. Total distance: 4.1 miles.

Family Friendly

Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.

Solo Traveler

9m drive, comfortable solo distance.

EV Driver

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

First-Time Driver

Mostly highway driving (36%). Straightforward navigation.

Scenic Drive

Mixed drive route profile with national parks nearby.

Drive Character

The drive from Arlington, VA to Falls Church, VA covers 4.1 miles and takes about 9m, using a mix of highways and local roads.

Expect a mix of faster highway mileage and slower local approaches near the beginning or end.
There are about 11 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
Custis Memorial Parkway is the longest continuous segment at about 1.5 miles.

How Hard Is This Drive?

This route mixes highway mileage with some local-road sections near the start or finish. There are only a few real navigation decisions along the way. The trickiest moment comes around 0.5 miles in near VA 120 / North Glebe Road.

Driving Effort 4/10

Easy - simple navigation with a manageable amount of wheel time

Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.

This is a straightforward 9m drive. You will face about 7 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.

Where does it get tricky?

The main spots that need attention: at 0.5 miles (VA 120 / North Glebe Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 0.7 miles (Fairfax Drive): Lane positioning matters here; at 2.8 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.

Critical Maneuvers

5 of 7 key points

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

3
0.5 mi into trip | ~1m in | VA 120 / North Glebe Road

Turn slight right onto VA 120 / North Glebe Road

Lane positioning matters here

Use the right lane.
5
0.7 mi into trip | ~2m in | Fairfax Drive

Turn left onto Fairfax Drive

Lane positioning matters here

Use the left lane.
8
2.8 mi into trip | ~6m in

Take the exit toward Falls Church, Sycamore Street

Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one

Use the slight right lane. Exit 69 Toward Falls Church, Sycamore Street
7
3.2 mi into trip | ~6m in | VA 237 / Washington Boulevard

Turn left onto VA 237 / Washington Boulevard

Lane positioning matters here

Use the left lane.
6
3.4 mi into trip | ~7m in | US 29; VA 237 / Langston Boulevard

Turn left onto US 29; VA 237 / Langston Boulevard

Lane positioning matters here

Use the left lane.

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
Custis Memorial Parkway 1.5 mi 2m
Wilson Boulevard 0.5 mi 1m
North Washington Street 0.5 mi 1m
Washington Boulevard 0.3 mi <1m
North Glebe Road 0.2 mi <1m
Langston Boulevard 0.2 mi <1m
Fairfax Drive 0.1 mi <1m
North Sycamore Street 0.1 mi <1m
Longest stretch: Custis Memorial Parkway — 1.5 mi, about 2m

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Arlington, VA and Falls Church, VA.

1

Start on Wilson Boulevard

0.5 mi · 1 min · Wilson Boulevard
2

Turn slight right onto VA 120

0.2 mi · 30 sec · North Glebe Road
Use the right lane.
3

Turn left onto Fairfax Drive

0.1 mi · 27 sec · Fairfax Drive
Use the left lane.
4

Continue on this road

0.5 mi · 1 min · this road
Toward I 66 Toll West
5

Merge onto I 66

1.5 mi · 2 min · Custis Memorial Parkway
6

Take the exit

0.3 mi · 27 sec
Exit 69 Toward Falls Church, Sycamore Street Use the slight right lane.
7

Turn right onto North Sycamore Street

0.1 mi · 20 sec · North Sycamore Street
8

Turn left onto VA 237

0.3 mi · 48 sec · Washington Boulevard
Use the left lane.
9

Turn left onto US 29; VA 237

0.2 mi · 32 sec · Langston Boulevard
Use the left lane.
10

Continue on US 29; VA 237

0.5 mi · 1 min · North Washington Street
11

Arrive at destination

US 29; VA 237

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$0.64 one way

$1.28 round trip

$3.97/gal 25.4 MPG avg 1 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $4.34 $0.70 $1.40
premium $4.70 $0.76 $1.52
diesel $5.61 $0.91 $1.81

No toll roads detected on this route.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$1

Estimated CO2 emission: 1.4 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.

Driving Electric?

About $0 in charging · 0 stops · 100% less CO2

Vehicle Type kWh Stops DC Fast Home Charge
Average EV 1.2 0 $0.43 $0.20
Efficient EV 1 0 $0.36 $0.16
EV Truck/SUV 1.6 0 $0.57 $0.26

Gas CO2

1 kg

EV CO2

0 kg (100% 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 18, 2026

Origin

Arlington, VA

Late night in Arlington on Saturday

Local time

2:11 AM

EDT

Current temp

52°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Destination

Falls Church, VA

Late night in Falls Church on Saturday

Local time

2:11 AM

EDT

Current temp

61°F

Mostly Clear

NE 3 mph 0% chance 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

9 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

9m on the road

The weather snapshot is not static. If you are leaving later, give both cities one more quick forecast check before departure.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

The drive from Arlington, VA to Falls Church, VA covers 4.1 miles and takes about 9m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.

The main roads are Custis Memorial Parkway, Wilson Boulevard, North Washington Street. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.

This is a comfortable same-day trip.

The midpoint is about 2.1 miles from Arlington, VA. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.

At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $0.64 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 9m drive. You will face about 7 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.

The main spots that need attention: at 0.5 miles (VA 120 / North Glebe Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 0.7 miles (Fairfax Drive): Lane positioning matters here; at 2.8 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.

The route from Arlington, VA to Falls Church, VA does not surface many named destination signs beyond the main corridor.

Yes. Nearby national parks include Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail.

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, EIA for fuel prices, and NPS for national parks. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.

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