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Trip from Lincolnton, NC to Gastonia, NC

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

Drive Time

20m

Distance

17.2 mi

28 km

Drive Score

5/10

Practical drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$3

one way

EV Charging

Unknown

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 6 min
4 AM
0h 19m ★
6 AM
0h 21m
8 AM
0h 25m
10 AM
0h 22m
12 PM
0h 22m
3 PM
0h 22m
5 PM
0h 24m
8 PM
0h 20m

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

city in North Carolina, United States

Lincolnton, NC

Wikimedia Commons

city in North Carolina, United States

Gastonia, NC

Wikimedia Commons

Trip Overview

The drive from Lincolnton, NC to Gastonia, NC covers 17.2 miles and takes about 20m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.

The route leans on North Laurel Street, East Main Street, West Franklin Boulevard for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is turn-heavy local drive. At current regular gas prices, budget about $2.69 one way before food or hotel costs.

Who Is This Route For?

Weekend Trip

Doable as a same-day drive at 20m. Total distance: 17.2 miles.

Family Friendly

Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.

Solo Traveler

20m 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.

Drive Character

Expect a 20m drive with frequent turns across 17.2 miles of local and secondary roads.

This route has more turning and local-road decision points than a simple highway run.
There are about 7 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
North Laurel Street is one of the defining roads on this drive.

How Hard Is This Drive?

Expect a hands-on drive with frequent turns and local roads rather than long highway stretches. Navigation is very simple - set it and forget it for most of the drive.

Driving Effort 1/10

Very easy - short and simple to drive

Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.

The drive from Lincolnton, NC to Gastonia, NC is easy. At 20m with 0% highway, most drivers will find it relaxed and low-stress.

Where does it get tricky?

This route does not have any notably tricky sections. Most of the drive from Lincolnton, NC to Gastonia, NC is straightforward, with well-signed roads and simple exits.

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
North Laurel Street
East Main Street
West Franklin Boulevard

Some road-level metrics are being recalculated.

Longest stretch: North Laurel Street — detailed segment metrics are refreshing.

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Lincolnton, NC and Gastonia, NC.

1

Start on East Pine Street

0.2 mi · 28 sec · East Pine Street
2

Turn right onto North Laurel Street

0.1 mi · 26 sec · North Laurel Street
3

Turn left onto East Main Street

1.1 mi · 2 min · East Main Street
4

Take the exit left

0.2 mi · 23 sec
5

Merge slight left

15 mi · 19 min
6

Turn right onto West Franklin Boulevard

62 ft · 1 sec · West Franklin Boulevard
7

Arrive at your destination

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$2.69 one way

$5.38 round trip

$3.97/gal 25.4 MPG avg 6 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $4.34 $2.94 $5.88
premium $4.70 $3.18 $6.37
diesel $5.61 $3.80 $7.60

No toll roads detected on this route.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$3

Estimated CO2 emission: 6 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.

Driving Electric?

About $2 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2

Vehicle Type kWh Stops DC Fast Home Charge
Average EV 5.2 0 $1.81 $0.83
Efficient EV 4.3 0 $1.51 $0.69
EV Truck/SUV 6.9 0 $2.41 $1.10

Gas CO2

6 kg

EV CO2

2 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.

Forecast as of Apr 15, 2026

Origin

Lincolnton, NC

Morning in Lincolnton on Friday

Local time

6:37 AM

EDT

Current temp

46°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Destination

Gastonia, NC

Morning in Gastonia on Friday

Local time

6:37 AM

EDT

Current temp

74°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

28 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

20m 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 Lincolnton, NC to Gastonia, NC covers 17.2 miles and takes about 20m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.

The main roads are North Laurel Street, East Main Street, West Franklin Boulevard. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.

This is a comfortable same-day trip.

The midpoint is about 8.6 miles from Lincolnton, NC. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.

At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $2.69 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.

The drive from Lincolnton, NC to Gastonia, NC is easy. At 20m with 0% highway, most drivers will find it relaxed and low-stress.

This route does not have any notably tricky sections. Most of the drive from Lincolnton, NC to Gastonia, NC is straightforward, with well-signed roads and simple exits.

The route from Lincolnton, NC to Gastonia, NC 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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Explore more options from Lincolnton, NC or browse trips ending in Gastonia, NC.

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