Origin
Gainesville, FL
Morning in Gainesville on Friday
Local time
7:02 AM
EDT
Current temp
81°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Gainesville, FL to Alachua, FL
Compiled and reviewed by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 17, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
23m
Distance
12.1 mi
19 km
Drive Score
6/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$2
one way
EV Charging
Good
8 stations
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 21m
★
6 AM
0h 23m
8 AM
0h 28m
10 AM
0h 25m
12 PM
0h 24m
3 PM
0h 25m
5 PM
0h 27m
8 PM
0h 22m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Alachua, FL
Larry Milligan
Trip Overview
The drive from Gainesville, FL to Alachua, FL covers 12.1 miles and takes about 23m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.
The route leans on ML King Memorial Highway, North Main Street, Northwest 6th Street for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is turn-heavy local drive. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 6.3 miles on ML King Memorial Highway. At current regular gas prices, budget about $1.93 one way before food or hotel costs.
Who Is This Route For?
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 23m. Total distance: 12.1 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
23m 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 23m drive with frequent turns across 12.1 miles of local and secondary roads.
This route has more turning and local-road decision points than a simple highway run.
There are about 14 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
ML King Memorial Highway is the longest continuous segment at about 6.3 miles.
How Hard Is This Drive?
Expect a hands-on drive with frequent turns and local roads rather than long highway stretches. You will hit about 8 points where you need to pay attention to lane position or signs. The trickiest moment comes around 0.8 miles in near CR 329 / North Main Street.
Driving Effort
6/10
Moderate - straightforward overall, but long enough or busy enough to require pacing
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This drive requires moderate attention. Across 12.1 miles you will encounter 8 spots where lane choice or exit timing matters. Not difficult for experienced highway drivers, but worth previewing the tricky sections before you go.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.8 miles (CR 329 / North Main Street): Highway fork - watch signs carefully; at 3.3 miles (FL 20 / Northwest 6th Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 10.5 miles (Turkey Creek Boulevard): Lane positioning matters here.
Critical Maneuvers
5 of 8 key pointsThese are the spots where you need to pay the most attention. Preview them before you drive.
4
0.8 mi into trip
|
~2m in
|
CR 329 / North Main Street
Keep slight left at fork onto CR 329 / North Main Street
Highway fork - watch signs carefully
5
3.3 mi into trip
|
~6m in
|
FL 20 / Northwest 6th Street
Turn right onto FL 20 / Northwest 6th Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the right lane.
5
10.5 mi into trip
|
~17m in
|
Turkey Creek Boulevard
Turn left onto Turkey Creek Boulevard
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
5
10.7 mi into trip
|
~17m in
|
Palmetto Boulevard
Turn right onto Palmetto Boulevard
Navigation decision point
6
12 mi into trip
|
~23m in
|
Palmetto Boulevard
At end of road, turn left onto Palmetto Boulevard
Complex interchange - multiple decisions in a short stretch
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| ML King Memorial Highway | 6.3 mi | 8m |
| North Main Street | 1.8 mi | 3m |
| Northwest 6th Street | 0.9 mi | 1m |
| South Main Street | 0.8 mi | 1m |
| Palmetto Boulevard | 0.7 mi | 2m |
| Northeast 39th Avenue | 0.4 mi | <1m |
| Creek Drive West | 0.4 mi | 1m |
| Northwest 39th Avenue | 0.3 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
ML King Memorial Highway
— 6.3 mi, about 8m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Gainesville, FL and Alachua, FL.
1
Start on CR 329
0.8 mi
·
1 min
·
South Main Street
2
Keep slight left at fork onto CR 329
1.8 mi
·
3 min
·
North Main Street
3
Turn left onto FL 222
0.4 mi
·
50 sec
·
Northeast 39th Avenue
Use the straight lane.
4
Continue on FL 222
0.3 mi
·
32 sec
·
Northwest 39th Avenue
5
Turn right onto FL 20
0.9 mi
·
1 min
·
Northwest 6th Street
Use the right lane.
6
Continue on US 441
6.3 mi
·
8 min
·
ML King Memorial Highway
7
Turn left onto Turkey Creek Boulevard
101 ft
·
5 sec
·
Turkey Creek Boulevard
Use the left lane.
8
Continue on Turkey Creek Boulevard
0.1 mi
·
32 sec
·
Turkey Creek Boulevard
9
Turn right onto Palmetto Boulevard
0.3 mi
·
1 min
·
Palmetto Boulevard
10
Continue on Palmetto Boulevard
0.3 mi
·
1 min
·
Palmetto Boulevard
11
Turn left onto Creek Drive West
0.4 mi
·
1 min
·
Creek Drive West
12
Turn right onto Northwest 105th Avenue
0.3 mi
·
1 min
·
Northwest 105th Avenue
13
At end of road, turn left onto Palmetto Boulevard
461 ft
·
20 sec
·
Palmetto Boulevard
14
Arrive at destination
Palmetto Boulevard
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$1.93 one way
$3.85 round trip
$4.04/gal
25.4 MPG avg
4 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.40 | $2.10 | $4.19 |
| premium | $4.72 | $2.25 | $4.50 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $2.67 | $5.34 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$2
Estimated CO2 emission: 4.2 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $1 in charging · 0 stops · 75% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 3.6 | 0 | $1.27 | $0.58 |
| Efficient EV | 3 | 0 | $1.06 | $0.48 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 4.8 | 0 | $1.69 | $0.77 |
Gas CO2
4 kg
EV CO2
1 kg (75% 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
Alachua, FL
Morning in Alachua on Friday
Local time
7:02 AM
EDT
Current temp
57°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
24 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
23m 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 Gainesville, FL to Alachua, FL covers 12.1 miles and takes about 23m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.
The main roads are ML King Memorial Highway, North Main Street, Northwest 6th Street. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.
This is a comfortable same-day trip.
The midpoint is about 6 miles from Gainesville, FL. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.
At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $1.93 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 drive requires moderate attention. Across 12.1 miles you will encounter 8 spots where lane choice or exit timing matters. Not difficult for experienced highway drivers, but worth previewing the tricky sections before you go.
The main spots that need attention: at 0.8 miles (CR 329 / North Main Street): Highway fork - watch signs carefully; at 3.3 miles (FL 20 / Northwest 6th Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 10.5 miles (Turkey Creek Boulevard): Lane positioning matters here.
The route from Gainesville, FL to Alachua, FL 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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