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Trip from Glenarden, MD to Fort Washington, MD

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

Drive Time

37m

Distance

23.5 mi

38 km

Drive Score

6/10

Good drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$4

one way

EV Charging

Unknown

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 10 min
4 AM
0h 34m ★
6 AM
0h 37m
8 AM
0h 44m
10 AM
0h 40m
12 PM
0h 39m
3 PM
0h 40m
5 PM
0h 43m
8 PM
0h 36m

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

Downtown Glenarden, MD, MD

Glenarden, MD

Jonathan Borba

unincorporated community in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States

Fort Washington, MD

Wikimedia Commons

Trip Overview

The drive from Glenarden, MD to Fort Washington, MD covers 23.5 miles and takes about 37m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.

The route leans on Capital Beltway, Indian Head Highway, Old Fort Road for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is turn-heavy local drive. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 12.2 miles on Capital Beltway. At current regular gas prices, budget about $3.90 one way before food or hotel costs.

Who Is This Route For?

Weekend Trip

Doable as a same-day drive at 37m. Total distance: 23.5 miles.

Family Friendly

Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.

Solo Traveler

37m drive, comfortable solo distance.

EV Driver

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

Scenic Drive

Turn-heavy local drive route profile with national parks nearby.

Drive Character

Expect a 37m drive with frequent turns across 23.5 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.
Capital Beltway is the longest continuous segment at about 12.2 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 around 2 miles in near I 95; I 495 / Capital Beltway.

Driving Effort 8/10

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 23.5 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 37m.

Where does it get tricky?

The main spots that need attention: at 2 miles (I 95; I 495 / Capital Beltway): Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here; at 14.2 miles (I 95; I 495 / Capital Beltway (Local)): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 14.7 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.

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
2 mi into trip | ~4m in | I 95; I 495 / Capital Beltway

Merge onto I 95; I 495 / Capital Beltway

Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here

Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8
14.2 mi into trip | ~21m in | I 95; I 495 / Capital Beltway (Local)

Keep slight right at fork onto I 95; I 495 / Capital Beltway (Local) toward I 95 Local, I 495 Local

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

Use the slight right lane. Toward I 95 Local, I 495 Local
8
14.7 mi into trip | ~22m in

Take the exit toward MD 210: Indian Head, Forest Heights

Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one

Use the slight right lane. Exit 3 Toward MD 210: Indian Head, Forest Heights
6
14.8 mi into trip | ~22m in

Continue toward MD 210: Indian Head, Forest Heights

Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one

Use the straight / slight left / slight right lanes. Exit 3 Toward MD 210: Indian Head, Forest Heights
6
14.9 mi into trip | ~22m in

Keep slight left at fork toward MD 210 South: Indian Head

Highway fork - watch signs carefully

Toward MD 210 South: Indian Head

Towns Mentioned on Route Signs

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

On the drive from Glenarden, MD to Fort Washington, MD, road signs begin pointing toward Forest Heights along the way.

Forest Heights

14.7 mi in | ~22m

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
Capital Beltway 12.2 mi 16m
Indian Head Highway 6.5 mi 9m
Old Fort Road 1.4 mi 2m
Brightseat Road 0.8 mi 1m
Capital Beltway (Local) 0.5 mi <1m
Landover Road 0.3 mi <1m
Washington Drive 0.2 mi <1m
Diggers Lane 0.2 mi <1m
Longest stretch: Capital Beltway — 12.2 mi, about 16m

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Glenarden, MD and Fort Washington, MD.

1

Start on McLain Avenue

0.1 mi · 23 sec · McLain Avenue
2

Turn right onto Brightseat Road

0.8 mi · 1 min · Brightseat Road
3

Turn left onto MD 202

0.3 mi · 30 sec · Landover Road
4

Take the ramp

0.6 mi · 1 min
Toward I 95 South, I 495 South: Andrews Air Force Base, Richmond Virginia
5

Keep slight left at fork

0.2 mi · 31 sec
6

Merge onto I 95; I 495

12 mi · 16 min · Capital Beltway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
7

Keep slight right at fork onto I 95; I 495

0.5 mi · 44 sec · Capital Beltway (Local)
Toward I 95 Local, I 495 Local Use the slight right lane.
8

Take the exit

411 ft · 10 sec
Exit 3 Toward MD 210: Indian Head, Forest Heights Use the slight right lane.
9

Continue on this road

0.1 mi · 15 sec · this road
Exit 3 Toward MD 210: Indian Head, Forest Heights Use the straight / slight left / slight right lanes.
10

Keep slight left at fork

447 ft · 15 sec
Toward MD 210 South: Indian Head
11

Turn left onto MD 210

6.5 mi · 9 min · Indian Head Highway
Use the left lane.
12

Turn right onto Old Fort Road

1.4 mi · 2 min · Old Fort Road
13

Turn left onto Washington Drive

0.2 mi · 46 sec · Washington Drive
14

Continue on Diggers Lane

0.2 mi · 48 sec · Diggers Lane
15

At end of road, turn left onto Reid Lane

314 ft · 17 sec · Reid Lane
16

Turn right onto Warburton Drive

0.1 mi · 32 sec · Warburton Drive
17

Arrive at destination

Warburton Drive

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$3.90 one way

$7.79 round trip

$4.21/gal 25.4 MPG avg 8 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $4.61 $4.27 $8.53
premium $4.93 $4.56 $9.12
diesel $5.61 $5.19 $10.38

No toll roads detected on this route.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$4

Estimated CO2 emission: 8.2 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.

Driving Electric?

About $2 in charging · 0 stops · 63% less CO2

Vehicle Type kWh Stops DC Fast Home Charge
Average EV 7.1 0 $2.47 $1.13
Efficient EV 5.9 0 $2.06 $0.94
EV Truck/SUV 9.4 0 $3.29 $1.50

Gas CO2

8 kg

EV CO2

3 kg (63% 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 17, 2026

Origin

Glenarden, MD

Afternoon in Glenarden on Friday

Local time

1:05 PM

EDT

Current temp

75°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Destination

Fort Washington, MD

Afternoon in Fort Washington on Friday

Local time

1:05 PM

EDT

Current temp

79°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

37m 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 Glenarden, MD to Fort Washington, MD covers 23.5 miles and takes about 37m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.

The main roads are Capital Beltway, Indian Head Highway, Old Fort Road. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.

This is a comfortable same-day trip.

The midpoint is about 11.7 miles from Glenarden, MD. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.

At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $3.90 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 23.5 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 37m.

The main spots that need attention: at 2 miles (I 95; I 495 / Capital Beltway): Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here; at 14.2 miles (I 95; I 495 / Capital Beltway (Local)): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 14.7 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.

On the drive from Glenarden, MD to Fort Washington, MD, road signs begin pointing toward Forest Heights along the way.

Yes. Nearby national parks include Chesapeake & Ohio Canal 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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