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Trip from Grundy Center, IA to Waterloo, IA

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

Drive Time

40m

Distance

30.5 mi

49 km

Drive Score

8/10

Great drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$5

one way

EV Charging

Fair

2 stations

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 10 min
4 AM
0h 37m ★
6 AM
0h 40m
8 AM
0h 47m
10 AM
0h 42m
12 PM
0h 42m
3 PM
0h 43m
5 PM
0h 46m
8 PM
0h 38m

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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Downtown Grundy Center, IA, IA

Grundy Center, IA

Ethan Bianco

city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States

Waterloo, IA

Wikimedia Commons

Trip Overview

The drive from Grundy Center, IA to Waterloo, IA covers 30.5 miles and takes about 40m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.

The route leans on US 20, N Avenue, Sergeant Road for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is mixed drive. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 18 miles on US 20. At current regular gas prices, budget about $4.77 one way before food or hotel costs.

Who Is This Route For?

Weekend Trip

Doable as a same-day drive at 40m. Total distance: 30.5 miles.

Family Friendly

Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.

Solo Traveler

40m drive, comfortable solo distance.

EV Driver

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

First-Time Driver

Mostly highway driving (60%). Straightforward navigation.

Drive Character

The drive from Grundy Center, IA to Waterloo, IA covers 30.5 miles and takes about 40m, using a mix of highways and local roads.

Most of the miles stay on highways, which makes pacing and fuel planning easier than turn-by-turn city driving.
There are about 14 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
US 20 is the longest continuous segment at about 18 miles.

How Hard Is This Drive?

This route mixes highway mileage with some local-road sections near the start or finish. There are only a few real navigation decisions along the way. The trickiest moment comes early in the drive near IA 14 / 4th Street.

Driving Effort 4/10

Easy - simple navigation with a manageable amount of wheel time

Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.

This is a straightforward 40m drive. You will face about 8 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.

Where does it get tricky?

The main spots that need attention: near the start (IA 14 / 4th Street): Navigation decision point; at 6.9 miles: Navigation decision point; at 7.4 miles (US 20): Merge point - match speed before joining.

Critical Maneuvers

5 of 8 key points

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

4
0 mi into trip | ~0m in | IA 14 / 4th Street

Turn left onto IA 14 / 4th Street

Navigation decision point

4
6.9 mi into trip | ~9m in

Take the ramp toward US 20 East: Waterloo

Navigation decision point

Toward US 20 East: Waterloo
3
7.4 mi into trip | ~10m in | US 20

Merge onto US 20

Merge point - match speed before joining

4
25.4 mi into trip | ~31m in

Take the exit toward US 63: Sergeant Road

Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early

Toward US 63: Sergeant Road
5
30.5 mi into trip | ~40m in | West 4th Street

Turn right onto West 4th Street

Navigation decision point

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
US 20 18 mi 20m
N Avenue 6.2 mi 8m
Sergeant Road 3.8 mi 5m
4th Street 0.8 mi 1m
US 63 0.3 mi <1m
Washington Street 0.2 mi <1m
University Avenue <0.1 mi <1m
West 4th Street <0.1 mi <1m
Longest stretch: US 20 — 18 mi, about 20m

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Grundy Center, IA and Waterloo, IA.

1

Start on IA 14; IA 175

66 ft · 6 sec · G Avenue
2

Turn left onto IA 14

0.8 mi · 1 min · 4th Street
3

Continue on IA 14

6.2 mi · 8 min · N Avenue
4

Take the ramp

0.5 mi · 58 sec
Toward US 20 East: Waterloo
5

Merge onto US 20

18 mi · 20 min · US 20
6

Take the exit

0.6 mi · 1 min
Toward US 63: Sergeant Road
7

Turn slight right

120 ft · 6 sec
8

Turn straight onto US 63

3.8 mi · 5 min · Sergeant Road
Use the left lane.
9

Turn right onto US 63

388 ft · 9 sec · University Avenue
10

Turn straight onto US 63

0.3 mi · 45 sec · US 63
11

Turn right

0.1 mi · 10 sec
12

Continue on Washington Street

0.2 mi · 26 sec · Washington Street
13

Turn right onto West 4th Street

76 ft · 2 sec · West 4th Street
14

Arrive at destination

West 4th Street

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$4.77 one way

$9.54 round trip

$3.97/gal 25.4 MPG avg 11 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $4.36 $5.24 $10.47
premium $4.89 $5.87 $11.74
diesel $5.61 $6.73 $13.47

No toll roads detected on this route.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$5

Estimated CO2 emission: 10.7 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.

Driving Electric?

About $3 in charging · 0 stops · 64% less CO2

Vehicle Type kWh Stops DC Fast Home Charge
Average EV 9.2 0 $3.20 $1.46
Efficient EV 7.6 0 $2.67 $1.22
EV Truck/SUV 12.2 0 $4.27 $1.95

Gas CO2

11 kg

EV CO2

4 kg (64% 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 18, 2026

Origin

Grundy Center, IA

Morning in Grundy Center on Saturday

Local time

7:55 AM

CDT

Current temp

33°F

Isolated Showers And Thunderstorms then Mostly Cloudy

NW 20 mph 8% chance Live forecast

Flood Warning

Flood Warning issued April 17 at 10:05PM CDT until April 21 at 7:48AM CDT by NWS Quad Cities IA IL

Flood Warning

Flood Warning issued April 17 at 10:05PM CDT until April 22 at 9:00AM CDT by NWS Quad Cities IA IL

Destination

Waterloo, IA

Morning in Waterloo on Saturday

Local time

7:55 AM

CDT

Current temp

34°F

Isolated Showers And Thunderstorms then Mostly Cloudy

NW 17 mph 10% chance Live forecast

Flood Warning

Flood Warning issued April 17 at 10:05PM CDT until April 21 at 7:48AM CDT by NWS Quad Cities IA IL

Flood Warning

Flood Warning issued April 17 at 10:05PM CDT until April 22 at 9:00AM CDT by NWS Quad Cities IA IL

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

1 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

40m 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 Grundy Center, IA to Waterloo, IA covers 30.5 miles and takes about 40m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.

The main roads are US 20, N Avenue, Sergeant Road. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.

This is a comfortable same-day trip.

The midpoint is about 15.3 miles from Grundy Center, IA. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.

At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $4.77 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 40m drive. You will face about 8 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.

The main spots that need attention: near the start (IA 14 / 4th Street): Navigation decision point; at 6.9 miles: Navigation decision point; at 7.4 miles (US 20): Merge point - match speed before joining.

The route from Grundy Center, IA to Waterloo, IA does not surface many named destination signs beyond the main corridor.

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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