Origin
Irving Park, IL
Evening in Irving Park on Friday
Local time
8:19 PM
CDT
Current temp
48°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Irving Park, IL to Des Plaines, IL
Compiled and reviewed by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 18, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
19m
Distance
10 mi
16 km
Drive Score
6/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$2
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 18m
★
6 AM
0h 19m
8 AM
0h 23m
10 AM
0h 20m
12 PM
0h 20m
3 PM
0h 21m
5 PM
0h 22m
8 PM
0h 18m
★
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Irving Park, IL
Willian Justen de Vasconcellos
Des Plaines, IL
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
The drive from Irving Park, IL to Des Plaines, IL covers 10 miles and takes about 19m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.
The route leans on North Northwest Highway, North Milwaukee Avenue, Busse Highway for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is turn-heavy local drive. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 4.1 miles on North Northwest Highway. At current regular gas prices, budget about $1.56 one way before food or hotel costs.
About the Cities
Arriving in Des Plaines, IL
Full guide →Des Plaines is in Chicagoland. It is an inner-ring, northwest suburb of Chicago with two distinct portions: a suburban northern portion reminiscient of other, nearby northwest suburbs (including Niles, Park Ridge, and Mount Prospect), as well as a built-up southern portion with the businesses, hotels, and other amenities of the O'Hare Airport corridor (much like Rosemont, Chicago's O'Hare neighborhood, and Elk Grove Village).
City content from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).
Who Is This Route For?
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 19m. Total distance: 10 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
19m 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 with national parks nearby.
Drive Character
Expect a 19m drive with frequent turns across 10 miles of local and secondary roads.
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.
North Northwest Highway is the longest continuous segment at about 4.1 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 2.3 miles in near North Northwest Highway.
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 19m 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 2.3 miles (North Northwest Highway): Navigation decision point; at 6.5 miles (West Touhy Avenue): Navigation decision point; at 8.2 miles (Oakton Street): Lane positioning matters here.
Critical Maneuvers
5 of 5 key pointsThese are the spots where you need to pay the most attention. Preview them before you drive.
4
2.3 mi into trip
|
~4m in
|
North Northwest Highway
Turn left onto North Northwest Highway
Navigation decision point
3
6.5 mi into trip
|
~12m in
|
West Touhy Avenue
Turn left onto West Touhy Avenue
Navigation decision point
3
8.2 mi into trip
|
~15m in
|
Oakton Street
Turn slight left onto Oakton Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
3
9.2 mi into trip
|
~17m in
|
South Des Plaines River Road
Turn right onto South Des Plaines River Road
Navigation decision point
3
9.9 mi into trip
|
~18m in
|
Henry Avenue
Turn left onto Henry Avenue
Navigation decision point
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| North Northwest Highway | 4.1 mi | 7m |
| North Milwaukee Avenue | 1.8 mi | 3m |
| Busse Highway | 1.5 mi | 2m |
| Oakton Street | 1.1 mi | 2m |
| South Des Plaines River Road | 0.7 mi | 1m |
| West Irving Park Road | 0.6 mi | <1m |
| West Touhy Avenue | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| Henry Avenue | 0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
North Northwest Highway
— 4.1 mi, about 7m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Irving Park, IL and Des Plaines, IL.
1
Start on IL 19
0.6 mi
·
57 sec
·
West Irving Park Road
2
Turn slight right onto North Milwaukee Avenue
1.8 mi
·
3 min
·
North Milwaukee Avenue
3
Turn left onto North Northwest Highway
67 ft
·
1 sec
·
North Northwest Highway
4
Continue on North Northwest Highway
4.1 mi
·
7 min
·
North Northwest Highway
5
Turn left onto West Touhy Avenue
0.2 mi
·
22 sec
·
West Touhy Avenue
6
Turn slight right onto Busse Highway
1.5 mi
·
2 min
·
Busse Highway
7
Turn slight left onto Oakton Street
1.1 mi
·
2 min
·
Oakton Street
Use the left lane.
8
Turn right onto South Des Plaines River Road
0.7 mi
·
1 min
·
South Des Plaines River Road
9
Turn left onto Henry Avenue
0.1 mi
·
24 sec
·
Henry Avenue
10
Arrive at destination
Henry Avenue
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$1.56 one way
$3.13 round trip
$3.97/gal
25.4 MPG avg
4 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.36 | $1.72 | $3.43 |
| premium | $4.89 | $1.92 | $3.85 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $2.21 | $4.42 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$2
Estimated CO2 emission: 3.5 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $1 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 3 | 0 | $1.05 | $0.48 |
| Efficient EV | 2.5 | 0 | $0.88 | $0.40 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 4 | 0 | $1.40 | $0.64 |
Gas CO2
3 kg
EV CO2
1 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.
Destination
Des Plaines, IL
Evening in Des Plaines on Friday
Local time
8:19 PM
CDT
Current temp
51°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
3 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
19m 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 Irving Park, IL to Des Plaines, IL covers 10 miles and takes about 19m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.
The main roads are North Northwest Highway, North Milwaukee Avenue, Busse Highway. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.
This is a comfortable same-day trip.
The midpoint is about 5 miles from Irving Park, IL. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.
At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $1.56 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 19m 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 2.3 miles (North Northwest Highway): Navigation decision point; at 6.5 miles (West Touhy Avenue): Navigation decision point; at 8.2 miles (Oakton Street): Lane positioning matters here.
The route from Irving Park, IL to Des Plaines, IL does not surface many named destination signs beyond the main corridor.
Yes. Nearby national parks include Pullman 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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