The drive from Le Mars, IA to Waterloo, IA covers 221.9 miles and takes about 4h 30m behind the wheel.
This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.
The route leans on 220th Street, Highway 20, United States Highway 20 for much of the mileage,
and the overall profile is turn-heavy local drive.
The longest uninterrupted segment is about 154.8 miles on 220th Street.
At current regular gas prices, budget about $34.69 one way before food or hotel costs.
Trip Pace
Same-day drive is realistic
A same-day return is possible, but it will make for a full day on the road.
Break Rhythm
1 planned break
Plan on a short reset every 3 to 4 hours to stay fresh behind the wheel.
Midpoint
111 miles from Le Mars, IA
A natural place for your longest stop of the day
, about 2h 19m into the drive
.
Who Is This Route For?
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 4h 30m. Total distance: 221.9 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 1 natural rest stops along the way.
Turn-heavy local drive route profile with national parks nearby.
Drive Character
Expect a 4h 30m drive with frequent turns across 221.9 miles of local and secondary roads.
This route has more turning and local-road decision points than a simple highway run.
There are about 27 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
220th Street is the longest continuous segment at about 154.8 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 0.3 miles in near IA 3 / 5th Avenue Northeast.
Driving Effort3/10
Easy - simple navigation with a manageable amount of wheel time
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This is a straightforward 4h 30m drive. You will face about 12 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.3 miles (IA 3 / 5th Avenue Northeast): Navigation decision point; at 19.9 miles (County Road C66): Navigation decision point; at 24.7 miles (East 3rd Street): Navigation decision point.
Critical Maneuvers
5 of 12 key points
These are the spots where you need to pay the most attention. Preview them before you drive.
4
0.3 mi into trip|~1m in|IA 3 / 5th Avenue Northeast
Turn left onto IA 3 / 5th Avenue Northeast
Navigation decision point
4
19.9 mi into trip|~28m in|County Road C66
Turn right onto County Road C66
Navigation decision point
4
24.7 mi into trip|~35m in|East 3rd Street
Turn left onto East 3rd Street
Navigation decision point
6
34.7 mi into trip|~49m in|US 20 / Highway 20
Turn left onto US 20 / Highway 20
Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight lane.
5
221.9 mi into trip|~4h 29m in|West 4th Street
Turn right onto West 4th Street
Navigation decision point
Main Roads
Road
Distance
Duration
220th Street
154.8 mi
2h 58m
Highway 20
19 mi
22m
United States Highway 20
8.3 mi
10m
Oyens Avenue
7 mi
9m
Lee Avenue
5.4 mi
7m
County Road K64
5 mi
6m
State Highway 3
4.7 mi
6m
Sergeant Road
3.8 mi
5m
Longest stretch:
220th Street
— 154.8 mi, about 2h 58m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Le Mars, IA and Waterloo, IA.
1
Start on 1st Street Northeast
0.3 mi·1 min·1st Street Northeast
2
Turn left onto IA 3
0.1 mi·16 sec·5th Avenue Northeast
3
Continue on IA 3
0.7 mi·1 min·Lincoln Street Northeast
4
Continue on IA 3
4.7 mi·6 min·State Highway 3
5
Turn right onto County Road K64
5.0 mi·6 min·County Road K64
6
Continue on Oyens Avenue
7.0 mi·9 min·Oyens Avenue
7
Turn left onto CR C60
2.0 mi·2 min·C 60
8
Turn right onto County Road C66
2.4 mi·3 min·County Road C66
9
Continue on 310th Street
1.4 mi·1 min·310th Street
10
Turn straight onto County Highway C66
0.8 mi·1 min·County Highway C66
11
Continue on Main Street
0.2 mi·52 sec·Main Street
12
Turn left onto East 3rd Street
0.5 mi·1 min·East 3rd Street
13
Continue on C66
2.0 mi·2 min·320th Street
14
Turn right onto Shamrock Avenue
2.0 mi·2 min·Shamrock Avenue
15
Continue on L21
5.4 mi·7 min·Lee Avenue
16
Turn left onto US 20
19 mi·22 min·Highway 20
Use the straight lane.
17
Continue on US 20
8.3 mi·10 min·United States Highway 20
18
Continue on US 20
155 mi·2 hr 58 min·220th Street
19
Take the exit
0.6 mi·1 min
Toward US 63: Sergeant Road
20
Turn slight right
120 ft·6 sec
21
Turn straight onto US 63
3.8 mi·5 min·Sergeant Road
Use the left lane.
22
Turn right onto US 63
388 ft·9 sec·University Avenue
23
Turn straight onto US 63
0.3 mi·45 sec·US 63
24
Turn right
0.1 mi·10 sec
25
Continue on Washington Street
0.2 mi·26 sec·Washington Street
26
Turn right onto West 4th Street
76 ft·2 sec·West 4th Street
27
Arrive at destination
West 4th Street
Trip Plan
Morning Departure
An early start around 7-8 AM gets you there with plenty of daylight left.
Evening Departure
A late afternoon start means arriving after dark. Morning is better.
You can normally do this drive in one day.
Plan roughly 1 meaningful break for fuel, food, and rest.
The halfway point lands around 111 miles from Le Mars, IA, or about 2h 19m into the drive.
The longest continuous stretch on this route runs about 154.8 miles.
This is a comfortable same-day trip.
Departure
Before you leave
Start with fuel, water, and navigation already sorted so the first hour feels easy.
First stop
Around 49 miles or 1h 6m in
Use this first pause for coffee, a restroom break, and a quick traffic check ahead.
Halfway reset
Around 111 miles or 2h 19m in
This is the best place for your longest stop, a real meal, and a full fuel check.
Final approach
Final hour starts around 3h 41m
Traffic, exits, and arrival timing usually matter more near Waterloo, IA than in the middle of the route.
Before You Leave
+
Open the route before leaving Le Mars, IA so your first major turns are already loaded.
+
Leave with enough water and a charging cable within reach, not packed away.
+
Check your fuel range against the first long segment, especially if you are starting outside city service areas.
Day 1
Settle into the route from Le Mars, IA
This is one driving day of about 221.9 miles and 4h 30m.
Your first comfortable stop window is around 49 miles from Le Mars, IA.
This route can stay practical as a one-day drive if traffic stays reasonable.
Plan about 1 real break rather than only quick fuel stops.
The longest stretch is on 220th Street for about 154.8 miles.
Where to Stop
Rest stops, refuel points, and overnight suggestions along this route.
Halfway Point
Midpoint
About 111 mi from Le Mars, IA
· 2h 19m into the drive
Station data from NREL Alternative Fuel Stations database.
Driving Electric?
About $23 in charging
· 0 stops
· 67% less CO2
Vehicle Type
kWh
Stops
DC Fast
Home Charge
Average EV
66.6
0
$23.30
$10.65
Efficient EV
55.5
0
$19.42
$8.88
EV Truck/SUV
88.8
1
$31.07
$14.20
Gas CO2
78 kg
EV CO2
26 kg (67% less)
Plan for 0 charging stops, roughly every 270 miles. Allow 25-40 minutes per stop at a DC fast charger.
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
Le Mars, IA
Late night
in Le Mars on Friday
Local time
3:03 AM
CDT
Current temp
50°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Destination
Waterloo, IA
Late night
in Waterloo on Friday
Local time
3:03 AM
CDT
Current temp
68°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Seasonal Notes
Summer travel usually means heavier construction, hotter rest stops, and busier weekend traffic around major cities.
Winter travel shortens daylight, so a route that looks manageable on paper can feel much longer after dark.
Holiday weekends tend to make both departure and arrival windows slower than the raw route time suggests.
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
18 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
4h 30m on the road
An early start around 7-8 AM gets you there with plenty of daylight left.
Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.
Frequently Asked Questions
The drive from Le Mars, IA to Waterloo, IA covers 221.9 miles and takes about 4h 30m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.
The main roads are 220th Street, Highway 20, United States Highway 20. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.
This is a comfortable same-day trip.
The midpoint is about 111 miles from Le Mars, IA. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.
At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $34.69 one way. This estimate uses 25.4 MPG — your actual cost will vary with your vehicle's fuel efficiency and current gas prices.
An early start around 7-8 AM gets you there with plenty of daylight left. A late afternoon start means arriving after dark. Morning is better.
Plan about 1 meaningful break for fuel, food, or rest. Plan on a short reset every 3 to 4 hours to stay fresh behind the wheel.
This is a straightforward 4h 30m drive. You will face about 12 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.
The main spots that need attention: at 0.3 miles (IA 3 / 5th Avenue Northeast): Navigation decision point; at 19.9 miles (County Road C66): Navigation decision point; at 24.7 miles (East 3rd Street): Navigation decision point.
The route from Le Mars, IA to Waterloo, IA 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.
EV charging comes from the
NREL Alternative Fuels
dataset.
National park proximity is from the
NPS API.
Pages are published only after passing our data-quality checks; our
methodology page
documents refresh cadence, editorial standards, and known limitations.
