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Trip from Elgin, IL to Lakewood, IL

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

Drive Time

32m

Distance

16.6 mi

27 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 8 min
4 AM
0h 30m ★
6 AM
0h 32m
8 AM
0h 38m
10 AM
0h 34m
12 PM
0h 34m
3 PM
0h 35m
5 PM
0h 38m
8 PM
0h 31m

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

Best Time Drive vs Fly
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city in Cook and Kane counties in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois

Elgin, IL

Wikimedia Commons

Downtown Lakewood, IL, IL

Lakewood, IL

Mike Tyurin

Trip Overview

The drive from Elgin, IL to Lakewood, IL covers 16.6 miles and takes about 32m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.

The route leans on Randall Road, North State Street, North Randall Road for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is turn-heavy local drive. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 6.5 miles on Randall Road. At current regular gas prices, budget about $2.60 one way before food or hotel costs.

Who Is This Route For?

Weekend Trip

Doable as a same-day drive at 32m. Total distance: 16.6 miles.

Family Friendly

Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.

Solo Traveler

32m drive, comfortable solo distance.

EV Driver

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

Scenic Drive

Turn-heavy local drive route profile.

Drive Character

Expect a 32m drive with frequent turns across 16.6 miles of local and secondary roads.

This route has more turning and local-road decision points than a simple highway run.
There are about 17 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
Randall Road is the longest continuous segment at about 6.5 miles.

How Hard Is This Drive?

Expect a hands-on drive with frequent turns and local roads rather than long highway stretches. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes early in the drive near Center Street.

Driving Effort 7/10

Focused - busy navigation packed into a short drive

Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.

This is a short but busy drive. With 13 decision points packed into just 16.6 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 32m.

Where does it get tricky?

The main spots that need attention: near the start (Center Street): Navigation decision point; at 0.4 miles (IL 31 / North State Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 5.1 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here.

Critical Maneuvers

5 of 13 key points

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

5
0 mi into trip | ~0m in | Center Street

Turn left onto Center Street

Navigation decision point

5
0.4 mi into trip | ~1m in | IL 31 / North State Street

Turn right onto IL 31 / North State Street

Lane positioning matters here

Use the straight / right lanes.
7
5.1 mi into trip | ~9m in

Take the exit toward Randall Road

Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here

Use the slight right lane. Exit 52 Toward Randall Road
8
5.4 mi into trip | ~9m in

Keep slight right at fork toward Crystal Lake, Gilberts, Airport

Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one

Use the right lane. Toward Crystal Lake, Gilberts, Airport
6
14.1 mi into trip | ~24m in | McHenry Avenue

Turn left onto McHenry Avenue

Lane positioning matters here

Use the left lane.

Towns Mentioned on Route Signs

Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.

Between Elgin, IL and Lakewood, IL, road signs point toward Crystal Lake, Gilberts and Airport.

Crystal Lake

5.4 mi in | ~9m

Gilberts

5.4 mi in | ~9m

Airport

5.4 mi in | ~9m

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
Randall Road 6.5 mi 10m
North State Street 2.2 mi 4m
North Randall Road 2.2 mi 3m
Jane Addams Memorial Tollway 2.2 mi 2m
McHenry Avenue 1.2 mi 2m
Broadway Avenue 0.5 mi 2m
Nash Road 0.4 mi 1m
East Highland Avenue 0.4 mi <1m
Longest stretch: Randall Road — 6.5 mi, about 10m

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Elgin, IL and Lakewood, IL.

1

Start on East Chicago Street

34 ft · 8 sec · East Chicago Street
2

Turn left onto Center Street

329 ft · 12 sec · Center Street
3

Turn left onto East Highland Avenue

0.4 mi · 50 sec · East Highland Avenue
4

Turn right onto IL 31

2.2 mi · 4 min · North State Street
Use the straight / right lanes.
5

Take the ramp

0.3 mi · 1 min
Toward I 90 Toll West: Wisconsin Use the right lane.
6

Merge onto I 90

2.2 mi · 2 min · Jane Addams Memorial Tollway
7

Take the exit

0.3 mi · 42 sec
Exit 52 Toward Randall Road Use the slight right lane.
8

Keep slight right at fork

254 ft · 6 sec
Toward Crystal Lake, Gilberts, Airport Use the right lane.
9

Turn straight onto CR 34

6.5 mi · 10 min · Randall Road
Use the straight lane.
10

Continue on V29

2.2 mi · 3 min · North Randall Road
Use the left lane.
11

Turn left onto McHenry Avenue

1.2 mi · 2 min · McHenry Avenue
Use the left lane.
12

Turn left onto Nash Road

285 ft · 12 sec · Nash Road
13

Continue on Nash Road

0.4 mi · 1 min · Nash Road
14

Turn left onto Golf Road

0.2 mi · 58 sec · Golf Road
15

At end of road, turn right onto Country Club Road

0.1 mi · 29 sec · Country Club Road
16

Turn left onto Broadway Avenue

0.5 mi · 2 min · Broadway Avenue
17

Arrive at destination

Broadway Avenue

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$2.60 one way

$5.19 round trip

$3.97/gal 25.4 MPG avg 6 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $4.36 $2.85 $5.70
premium $4.89 $3.19 $6.39
diesel $5.61 $3.67 $7.33

Estimated Tolls: $0.15

Jane Addams Memorial Tollway (2.2 mi) $0.15

Toll estimates based on average 2024-2025 rates. EZ-Pass/SunPass discounts may lower the actual cost.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$3

Tolls

$0

Total

$3

Estimated CO2 emission: 5.8 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 0 $1.74 $0.80
Efficient EV 4.2 0 $1.45 $0.66
EV Truck/SUV 6.6 0 $2.32 $1.06

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 16, 2026

Origin

Elgin, IL

Morning in Elgin on Friday

Local time

9:12 AM

CDT

Current temp

70°F

Scattered Showers And Thunderstorms

NW 10 mph 34% chance Live forecast

Flood Warning

Flood Warning issued April 16 at 12:33PM CDT until April 18 at 7:00PM CDT by NWS Chicago IL

Flood Watch

Flood Watch issued April 16 at 12:29PM CDT by NWS Chicago IL

Destination

Lakewood, IL

Morning in Lakewood on Friday

Local time

9:12 AM

CDT

Current temp

68°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

32m 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 Elgin, IL to Lakewood, IL covers 16.6 miles and takes about 32m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.

The main roads are Randall Road, North State Street, North Randall Road. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.

This is a comfortable same-day trip.

The midpoint is about 8.3 miles from Elgin, IL. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.

At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $2.60 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 short but busy drive. With 13 decision points packed into just 16.6 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 32m.

The main spots that need attention: near the start (Center Street): Navigation decision point; at 0.4 miles (IL 31 / North State Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 5.1 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here.

Between Elgin, IL and Lakewood, IL, road signs point toward Crystal Lake, Gilberts and Airport.

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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