Origin
El Mirage, AZ
Late night in El Mirage on Friday
Local time
3:35 AM
MST
Current temp
89°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from El Mirage, AZ to Phoenix, AZ
Compiled and reviewed by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 17, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
36m
Distance
19.5 mi
31 km
Drive Score
6/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$4
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 33m
★
6 AM
0h 36m
8 AM
0h 42m
10 AM
0h 38m
12 PM
0h 38m
3 PM
0h 39m
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.
El Mirage, AZ
Wikimedia Commons
Phoenix, AZ
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
This short 19.5-mile drive from El Mirage to Phoenix, Arizona, is easily manageable in about 36 minutes, making it a perfect day trip. You'll primarily navigate Grand Avenue, West Thunderbird Road, and West Van Buren Street, with no highway driving involved. The estimated fuel cost for this journey is around $4. Given its brevity and local road nature, this route is best suited for a single, straightforward trip rather than an overnight split. It offers a practical way to transition within the Desert Southwest region.
Who Is This Route For?
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 36m. Total distance: 19.5 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.
Drive Character
Expect a turn-heavy local drive on this route, with a highway share of 0%. The longest uninterrupted stretch you'll encounter is 17.6 miles along Grand Avenue. This journey is characterized by its engagement with local thoroughfares rather than high-speed highway cruising. You'll likely experience frequent intersections and varying speed limits as you make your way through the urban and suburban landscape of the Phoenix metropolitan area.
This route has more turning and local-road decision points than a simple highway run.
There are about 10 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
Grand Avenue is the longest continuous segment at about 17.6 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 0.9 miles in near US 60 / Grand Avenue.
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 5 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.9 miles (US 60 / Grand Avenue): Lane positioning matters here; at 18.6 miles (US 80 Hist / West Van Buren Street): Navigation decision point; at 19.1 miles (West Adams Street): Navigation decision point.
Critical Maneuvers
5 of 5 key pointsThese are the spots where you need to pay the most attention. Preview them before you drive.
6
0.9 mi into trip
|
~2m in
|
US 60 / Grand Avenue
Turn right onto US 60 / Grand Avenue
Lane positioning matters here
Use the right lane.
3
18.6 mi into trip
|
~33m in
|
US 80 Hist / West Van Buren Street
Turn left onto US 80 Hist / West Van Buren Street
Navigation decision point
4
19.1 mi into trip
|
~34m in
|
West Adams Street
Turn left onto West Adams Street
Navigation decision point
5
19.3 mi into trip
|
~35m in
|
North 1st Street
Turn right onto North 1st Street
Navigation decision point
4
19.4 mi into trip
|
~35m in
|
East Washington Street
Turn right onto East Washington Street
Navigation decision point
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Grand Avenue | 17.6 mi | 31m |
| West Thunderbird Road | 0.7 mi | 1m |
| West Van Buren Street | 0.4 mi | 1m |
| North El Mirage Road | 0.3 mi | <1m |
| North 1st Avenue | 0.1 mi | <1m |
| West Adams Street | 0.1 mi | <1m |
| East Washington Street | <0.1 mi | <1m |
| North 1st Street | <0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
Grand Avenue
— 17.6 mi, about 31m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between El Mirage, AZ and Phoenix, AZ.
1
Start on North El Mirage Road
0.3 mi
·
52 sec
·
North El Mirage Road
2
Turn left onto West Thunderbird Road
0.7 mi
·
1 min
·
West Thunderbird Road
3
Turn right onto US 60
14 mi
·
24 min
·
Grand Avenue
Use the right lane.
4
Continue on Grand Avenue
3.3 mi
·
6 min
·
Grand Avenue
Use the left / right / straight lanes.
5
Turn left onto US 80 Hist
0.4 mi
·
1 min
·
West Van Buren Street
6
Turn slight right onto North 1st Avenue
0.1 mi
·
22 sec
·
North 1st Avenue
7
Turn left onto West Adams Street
0.1 mi
·
40 sec
·
West Adams Street
8
Turn right onto North 1st Street
408 ft
·
18 sec
·
North 1st Street
9
Turn right onto East Washington Street
453 ft
·
15 sec
·
East Washington Street
10
Arrive at destination
West Washington Street
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$3.88 one way
$7.77 round trip
$5.06/gal
25.4 MPG avg
7 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $5.36 | $4.11 | $8.22 |
| premium | $5.59 | $4.29 | $8.58 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $4.31 | $8.61 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$4
Estimated CO2 emission: 6.8 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $2 in charging · 0 stops · 71% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 5.9 | 0 | $2.05 | $0.94 |
| Efficient EV | 4.9 | 0 | $1.71 | $0.78 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 7.8 | 0 | $2.73 | $1.25 |
Gas CO2
7 kg
EV CO2
2 kg (71% 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.
Destination
Phoenix, AZ
Late night in Phoenix on Friday
Local time
3:35 AM
MST
Current temp
93°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
4 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
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 El Mirage, AZ to Phoenix, AZ covers 19.5 miles and takes about 36m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.
The main roads are Grand Avenue, West Thunderbird Road, West Van Buren Street. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.
This is a comfortable same-day trip.
The midpoint is about 9.7 miles from El Mirage, AZ. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.
At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $3.88 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 5 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.
The main spots that need attention: at 0.9 miles (US 60 / Grand Avenue): Lane positioning matters here; at 18.6 miles (US 80 Hist / West Van Buren Street): Navigation decision point; at 19.1 miles (West Adams Street): Navigation decision point.
The route from El Mirage, AZ to Phoenix, AZ does not surface many named destination signs beyond the main corridor.
How this page is built
Compiled and maintained by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy (Helsinki). Each route is built from authoritative open government and mapping datasets rather than crowdsourced reviews. Distances and geometry come from OSRM over OpenStreetMap. Fuel cost uses EIA weekly regional averages. Pages are published only after passing our data-quality checks; our methodology page documents refresh cadence, editorial standards, and known limitations.
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