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Trip from Buffalo Grove, IL to Palatine, 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

6.6 mi

11 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 12m
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 and Lake counties, Illinois, United States

Buffalo Grove, IL

Wikimedia Commons

village in Cook County, Illinois, United States

Palatine, IL

Wikimedia Commons

Trip Overview

The drive from Buffalo Grove, IL to Palatine, IL covers 6.6 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 Palatine Road, South Buffalo Grove Road, North Arlington Heights Road for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is turn-heavy local drive. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 2.8 miles on Palatine Road. At current regular gas prices, budget about $1.03 one way before food or hotel costs.

Who Is This Route For?

Weekend Trip

Doable as a same-day drive at 11m. Total distance: 6.6 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 6.6 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.
Palatine Road is the longest continuous segment at about 2.8 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 South Buffalo Grove 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 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 (South Buffalo Grove Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 2.1 miles (East Hintz Road): Navigation decision point; at 2.8 miles (North Arlington Heights 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 | South Buffalo Grove Road

Turn left onto South Buffalo Grove Road

Lane positioning matters here

Use the left lane.
3
2.1 mi into trip | ~4m in | East Hintz Road

Turn right onto East Hintz Road

Navigation decision point

5
2.8 mi into trip | ~5m in | North Arlington Heights Road

Turn left onto North Arlington Heights Road

Lane positioning matters here

Use the left lane.
5
3.8 mi into trip | ~7m in | Palatine Road

Turn right onto Palatine Road

Lane positioning matters here

Use the right lane.

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
Palatine Road 2.8 mi 4m
South Buffalo Grove Road 2.1 mi 4m
North Arlington Heights Road 1 mi 1m
East Hintz Road 0.7 mi 1m
Aptakisic Road <0.1 mi <1m
East Palatine Road

Some road-level metrics are being recalculated.

Longest stretch: Palatine Road — 2.8 mi, about 4m

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

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

1

Start on Aptakisic Road

60 ft · 4 sec · Aptakisic Road
2

Turn left onto South Buffalo Grove Road

2.1 mi · 4 min · South Buffalo Grove Road
Use the left lane.
3

Turn right onto East Hintz Road

0.7 mi · 1 min · East Hintz Road
4

Turn left onto North Arlington Heights Road

1.0 mi · 1 min · North Arlington Heights Road
Use the left lane.
5

Turn right onto Palatine Road

2.8 mi · 4 min · Palatine Road
Use the right lane.
6

Arrive at destination

East Palatine Road

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$1.03 one way

$2.06 round trip

$3.97/gal 25.4 MPG avg 2 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $4.36 $1.13 $2.27
premium $4.89 $1.27 $2.54
diesel $5.61 $1.46 $2.91

No toll roads detected on this route.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$1

Estimated CO2 emission: 2.3 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 2 0 $0.69 $0.32
Efficient EV 1.7 0 $0.58 $0.26
EV Truck/SUV 2.6 0 $0.92 $0.42

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 16, 2026

Origin

Buffalo Grove, IL

Morning in Buffalo Grove on Friday

Local time

10:08 AM

CDT

Current temp

66°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Destination

Palatine, IL

Morning in Palatine on Friday

Local time

10:08 AM

CDT

Current temp

69°F

Scattered Showers And Thunderstorms

W 10 mph 38% chance Live forecast

Flood Warning

Flood Warning issued April 16 at 11:30AM CDT by NWS Quad Cities IA IL

Flood Warning

Flood Warning issued April 16 at 11:30AM CDT by NWS Quad Cities IA IL

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

3 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

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 Buffalo Grove, IL to Palatine, IL covers 6.6 miles and takes about 11m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.

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

This is a comfortable same-day trip.

The midpoint is about 3.3 miles from Buffalo Grove, IL. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.

At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $1.03 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 (South Buffalo Grove Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 2.1 miles (East Hintz Road): Navigation decision point; at 2.8 miles (North Arlington Heights Road): Lane positioning matters here.

The route from Buffalo Grove, IL to Palatine, 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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