Origin
Long Beach, CA
Late night in Long Beach on Saturday
Local time
5:15 AM
PDT
Current temp
56°F
Unavailable
Compiled and reviewed by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 18, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
10h 58m
Distance
567.4 mi
913 km
Drive Score
7/10
Good drive
Same Day?
2-day trip
Fuel Cost
$130
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Long Beach, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Fort Bragg, CA
Wikimedia Commons
The drive from Long Beach, CA to Fort Bragg, CA covers 567.4 miles and takes about 10h 58m behind the wheel. It usually feels better as a 2-day road trip than as one long push.
The route leans on North Golden Avenue, I 710 North, Shoreline Drive for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is long-distance drive. At current regular gas prices, budget about $130.41 one way before food or hotel costs.
Trip Pace
Best split across 2 days
Treat the return leg as its own travel day rather than an afterthought.
Break Rhythm
3 planned breaks
Plan on a short reset every 3 to 4 hours to stay fresh behind the wheel.
Midpoint
283.7 miles from Long Beach, CA
A natural place for your longest stop of the day , about 5h 29m into the drive .
Founded 1888
Long Beach is a large port city in Los Angeles County in Southern California. Long Beach has some nice people-gathering amenities and genuine tourist attractions, such as a world-class aquarium and the Queen Mary floating museum/hotel. Special events are also held in the city like the annual Long Beach Grand Prix (a premier racing event held on city streets) and the annual Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride event. When compared to other areas like Hollywood, West Hollywood, Santa Monica and West L.A., Long Beach may not always be at the top of someone's tourist visit to the Los Angeles area, but the city draws its fair share of visitors and has proven it can definitely hold its own.
Top landmarks
For the fort in North Carolina, see Fayetteville (North Carolina). Fort Bragg is an isolated town of 7,000 people (2020) on California's North Coast. It serves as the economic hub of the area despite the demise of its historic logging and fishing industries at the end of the 20th century. Long regarded as the "Beast" to the neighboring village of Mendocino's "Belle," it has slowly been shedding its inhospitable, blue-collar reputation and begun to warm to the new reality of a tourism-based economy with art galleries, microbreweries and gastropubs of its own.
City content from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 3 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
10h 58m drive, plan rest stops for pacing.
Scenic Drive
Long-distance drive route profile.
At 567.4 miles and 10h 58m of driving, this is a route where fuel stops, weather, and timing matter more than any single turn. The main roads are North Golden Avenue and I 710 North.
At 10h 58m, this is a long-haul route where pacing matters more than any single turn. Navigation is simple, but the total wheel time makes endurance and break timing the real challenge.
Easy - simple navigation with a manageable amount of wheel time
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
Navigation is easy, but the length (10h 58m) means fatigue is the real challenge. The route is 0% highway with very few tricky spots, so this is more about pacing than navigation skill.
Where does it get tricky?
This route does not have any notably tricky sections. Most of the drive from Long Beach, CA to Fort Bragg, CA is straightforward, with well-signed roads and simple exits.
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| North Golden Avenue | — | — |
| I 710 North | — | — |
| Shoreline Drive | — | — |
| Seaside Freeway | — | — |
| Long Beach Freeway | — | — |
| I 405 North | — | — |
| San Diego Freeway | — | — |
| I 5 | — | — |
Some road-level metrics are being recalculated.
Step-by-step road directions between Long Beach, CA and Fort Bragg, CA.
Start on East Ocean Boulevard
Turn right onto North Golden Avenue
Keep slight left to continue on I 710 North
Merge slight left onto Shoreline Drive
Keep slight left to continue on I 710 North
Merge slight right onto Seaside Freeway
Continue on Long Beach Freeway
Take the exit slight right toward I 405 North, I 405 South: Santa Monica, San Diego
Keep slight left to continue on I 405 North, I 710: Long Beach Freeway North, Santa Monica
Keep slight right to continue on I 405 North: Santa Monica
Keep slight left to continue on I 405 North: Santa Monica
Keep slight left to continue on I 405 North
Merge slight left onto San Diego Freeway
Merge slight right
Keep slight right to continue on I 5 Truck North, CA 14 Truck
Keep slight left
Keep slight left to continue on Golden State Freeway
Keep slight right to continue on Westside Freeway
Keep slight left to continue on William Elton Brown Freeway
Keep slight right to continue on William Elton Brown Freeway
Merge slight left onto Arthur H. Breed Junior Freeway
Keep slight right to continue on Arthur H. Breed Junior Freeway
Take the exit slight right toward I 680 South, I 680 North: San Jose, Sacramento, Concord, Walnut Creek
Keep slight right to continue on I 680 North: Walnut Creek, Concord, Sacramento
Merge slight left onto Donald D Doyle Highway
Continue on Senator Daniel E Boatwright Highway
Keep slight left to continue on Senator Daniel E Boatwright Highway
Keep slight left to continue on Senator Daniel E Boatwright Highway
Keep slight right to continue on Senator Daniel E Boatwright Highway
Keep slight left to continue on I 780: Benicia
Take the exit slight right toward I 80 East: Sacramento
Keep slight left to continue on I 80 East: Sacramento
Merge slight left onto Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway
Take the exit slight right toward CA 37: Napa, Novato, Auto Mall, Columbus Parkway
Keep slight left to continue on CA 37: Napa
Continue on CA 37
Take the exit slight right toward CA 29: Napa, Sonoma Boulevard
Turn right onto Sonoma Boulevard
Continue on Broadway Street
Continue on Napa–Vallejo Highway
Continue on Saint Helena Highway
Continue on Main Street
Continue on Saint Helena Highway
Continue on Foothill Boulevard
Continue on Saint Helena Highway
Continue on Saint Helena Highway
At the end of the road, turn right onto Geyserville Avenue
Turn left onto Canyon Road
Take the exit right
Merge slight left onto Redwood Highway
Take the exit slight right
Turn left onto Redwood Highway
Continue on South Main Street
Turn left onto Fort Bragg Road
Continue on Fort Bragg-Willits Road
At the end of the road, turn right onto South Main Street
Turn right onto East Laurel Street
Turn left
Arrive at your destination
Morning Departure
Start early — leave by 6-7 AM to arrive at a reasonable hour.
Evening Departure
This is a long drive — plan for a morning departure or consider splitting it into two days.
Consider an overnight stop or starting very early.
Departure
Before you leave
Start with fuel, water, and navigation already sorted so the first hour feels easy.
First stop
Around 125 miles or 2h 25m in
Use this first pause for coffee, a restroom break, and a quick traffic check ahead.
Halfway reset
Around 283.7 miles or 5h 29m in
This is the best place for your longest stop, a real meal, and a full fuel check.
Overnight split
Day 1 wrap after about 283.7 miles or 5h 29m
Stop before fatigue turns the last few hours into a grind. You want day two to start fresh, not just resumed.
Final approach
Final hour starts around 9h 48m
Traffic, exits, and arrival timing usually matter more near Fort Bragg, CA than in the middle of the route.
Open the route before leaving Long Beach, CA 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.
Pick one backup stop option before the midpoint in case traffic changes your pacing.
Treat this as a 2-day road trip and book the overnight stop before the busiest arrival window.
Day 1
Settle into the route from Long Beach, CA
Aim for roughly 284 miles and 5.5 hours of wheel time on this day.
Day 2
Finish the approach into Fort Bragg, CA
Aim for roughly 284 miles and 5.5 hours of wheel time on this day.
Rest stops, refuel points, and overnight suggestions along this route.
Halfway Point
Midpoint
About 283.7 mi from Long Beach, CA · 5h 29m into the drive
First major stop
Coffee and fuel
187 mi into the route
Best for: Coffee, fuel, and an easy first stretch
This is a natural early stop once the first hours of the drive are behind you.
Second major stop
Overnight candidate
374 mi into the route
Best for: Hotel check-in, dinner, and a fresh start
This lines up well with a realistic day-end stop if you are breaking the drive into stages.
Find hotels in Windsor, CANight 1
284 mi · about 5.5h in
A practical overnight split lands near Napa, CA after about 284 miles or 5.5 hours of driving.
Find hotelsA short stop after about 125 miles helps settle the day before fatigue starts building.
The midpoint is around 283.7 miles from Long Beach, CA, which is a good place for a longer meal and fuel stop.
Overnight split
Hotel stopFor a steadier pace, wrap day one after about 284 miles or 5.5 hours on the road.
Final-third reset
Rest stopPlan one more short stretch-and-water break in the final third of the drive so the last arrival window feels easier.
The final approach into Fort Bragg, CA usually feels slower than the middle of the drive, so avoid planning your tightest schedule at the very end.
Try to arrive with enough fuel left to skip an immediate station stop unless you already know the area around Fort Bragg, CA.
On a multi-day trip, keep the last day a little lighter so you reach Fort Bragg, CA with some flexibility left in the schedule.
These stop ideas are pacing suggestions — the exact town or exit can change with traffic, hotel plans, and fuel range.
Regular Gas
$130.41 one way
$260.83 round trip
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $6.02 | $134.39 | $268.78 |
| premium | $6.18 | $137.99 | $275.97 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $125.27 | $250.55 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Estimated Trip Cost (one way, 1 person)
Fuel
$130
Hotel (1n)
$80–$140
Meals
$50–$100
Total
$260–$370
Rough estimate based on US averages. Hotel $80–$140/night, meals $25–$50/day.
Estimated CO2 emission: 198.5 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $60 in charging · 2 stops · 67% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 170.2 | 2 | $59.58 | $27.24 |
| Efficient EV | 141.9 | 1 | $49.65 | $22.70 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 227 | 2 | $79.44 | $36.31 |
Gas CO2
199 kg
EV CO2
66 kg (67% less)
Plan for 2 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.
Current conditions at both ends of the drive.
Origin
Late night in Long Beach on Saturday
Local time
5:15 AM
PDT
Current temp
56°F
Unavailable
Destination
Late night in Fort Bragg on Saturday
Local time
5:15 AM
PDT
Current temp
51°F
Unavailable
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.
For long drives, weather on day two can matter just as much as conditions at departure, so check the whole travel window rather than only the first day.
Time zone
Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.
Temperature spread
A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.
Road read
This is long enough that the arrival forecast matters almost as much as departure conditions. Recheck both ends before you roll.
Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.
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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