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Trip from Des Plaines, IL to Stickney, IL

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

Drive Time

36m

Distance

17.9 mi

29 km

Drive Score

6/10

Good drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$3

one way

EV Charging

Unknown

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 9 min
4 AM
0h 33m ★
6 AM
0h 36m
8 AM
0h 42m
10 AM
0h 38m
12 PM
0h 38m
3 PM
0h 38m
5 PM
0h 42m
8 PM
0h 34m

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

city in Cook County, Illinois, United States

Des Plaines, IL

Wikimedia Commons

Downtown Stickney, IL, IL

Stickney, IL

Mike Tyurin

Trip Overview

The drive from Des Plaines, IL to Stickney, IL covers 17.9 miles and takes about 36m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.

The route leans on North 1st Avenue, Des Plaines River Road, South Des Plaines River Road for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is turn-heavy local drive. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 4.5 miles on North 1st Avenue. At current regular gas prices, budget about $2.80 one way before food or hotel costs.

About the Cities

Starting in Des Plaines, IL

Full guide →

Des Plaines is in Chicagoland. It is an inner-ring, northwest suburb of Chicago with two distinct portions: a suburban northern portion reminiscient of other, nearby northwest suburbs (including Niles, Park Ridge, and Mount Prospect), as well as a built-up southern portion with the businesses, hotels, and other amenities of the O'Hare Airport corridor (much like Rosemont, Chicago's O'Hare neighborhood, and Elk Grove Village).

City content from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).

Who Is This Route For?

Weekend Trip

Doable as a same-day drive at 36m. Total distance: 17.9 miles.

Family Friendly

Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.

Solo Traveler

36m 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 with national parks nearby.

Drive Character

Expect a 36m drive with frequent turns across 17.9 miles of local and secondary roads.

This route has more turning and local-road decision points than a simple highway run.
There are about 11 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
North 1st Avenue is the longest continuous segment at about 4.5 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 around 0.1 miles in near South Des Plaines River 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 36m drive. You will face about 3 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.

Where does it get tricky?

The main spots that need attention: at 0.1 miles (South Des Plaines River Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 13.5 miles (Cermak Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 16.8 miles (Pershing Road): Lane positioning matters here.

Critical Maneuvers

3 of 3 key points

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

5
0.1 mi into trip | ~0m in | South Des Plaines River Road

Turn right onto South Des Plaines River Road

Lane positioning matters here

Use the left lane.
3
13.5 mi into trip | ~28m in | Cermak Road

Turn straight onto Cermak Road

Lane positioning matters here

Use the left lane.
6
16.8 mi into trip | ~34m in | Pershing Road

Turn left onto Pershing Road

Lane positioning matters here

Use the left lane.

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
North 1st Avenue 4.5 mi 9m
Des Plaines River Road 4.3 mi 8m
South Des Plaines River Road 2.8 mi 5m
South Harlem Avenue 2 mi 3m
North River Road 1.6 mi 3m
Cermak Road 1.3 mi 2m
Pershing Road 1 mi 1m
1st Avenue Cutoff 0.2 mi <1m
Longest stretch: North 1st Avenue — 4.5 mi, about 9m

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Des Plaines, IL and Stickney, IL.

1

Start on Henry Avenue

0.1 mi · 25 sec · Henry Avenue
2

Turn right onto South Des Plaines River Road

2.8 mi · 5 min · South Des Plaines River Road
Use the left lane.
3

Continue on North River Road

1.6 mi · 3 min · North River Road
Use the right lane.
4

Continue on Des Plaines River Road

4.3 mi · 8 min · Des Plaines River Road
Use the left lane.
5

Turn straight onto IL 171

4.5 mi · 9 min · North 1st Avenue
6

Turn left onto 1st Avenue Cutoff

0.2 mi · 31 sec · 1st Avenue Cutoff
7

Turn straight onto Cermak Road

1.3 mi · 2 min · Cermak Road
Use the left lane.
8

Turn right

221 ft · 9 sec
9

Turn slight right onto IL 43

2.0 mi · 3 min · South Harlem Avenue
10

Turn left onto Pershing Road

1.0 mi · 1 min · Pershing Road
Use the left lane.
11

Arrive at destination

Pershing Road

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$2.80 one way

$5.60 round trip

$3.97/gal 25.4 MPG avg 6 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $4.36 $3.07 $6.15
premium $4.89 $3.44 $6.89
diesel $5.61 $3.95 $7.90

No toll roads detected on this route.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$3

Estimated CO2 emission: 6.3 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.

Driving Electric?

About $2 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2

Vehicle Type kWh Stops DC Fast Home Charge
Average EV 5.4 0 $1.88 $0.86
Efficient EV 4.5 0 $1.57 $0.72
EV Truck/SUV 7.2 0 $2.51 $1.15

Gas CO2

6 kg

EV CO2

2 kg (67% 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

Des Plaines, IL

Late night in Des Plaines on Saturday

Local time

4:13 AM

CDT

Current temp

51°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Destination

Stickney, IL

Late night in Stickney on Saturday

Local time

4:13 AM

CDT

Current temp

49°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

2 degrees cooler at arrival

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

Road read

36m 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 Des Plaines, IL to Stickney, IL covers 17.9 miles and takes about 36m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.

The main roads are North 1st Avenue, Des Plaines River Road, South Des Plaines River Road. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.

This is a comfortable same-day trip.

The midpoint is about 8.9 miles from Des Plaines, IL. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.

At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $2.80 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 36m drive. You will face about 3 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.

The main spots that need attention: at 0.1 miles (South Des Plaines River Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 13.5 miles (Cermak Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 16.8 miles (Pershing Road): Lane positioning matters here.

The route from Des Plaines, IL to Stickney, IL does not surface many named destination signs beyond the main corridor.

Yes. Nearby national parks include Pullman National Historical Park.

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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