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Trip from McLean, VA to Newington, VA

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

Drive Time

28m

Distance

17.8 mi

29 km

Drive Score

6/10

Good drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$3

one way

EV Charging

Unknown

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 7 min
4 AM
0h 26m ★
6 AM
0h 28m
8 AM
0h 33m
10 AM
0h 30m
12 PM
0h 29m
3 PM
0h 30m
5 PM
0h 33m
8 PM
0h 27m

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

census-designated place and unincorporated community in Virginia, United States

McLean, VA

Wikimedia Commons

census designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States

Newington, VA

Wikimedia Commons

Trip Overview

The drive from McLean, VA to Newington, VA covers 17.8 miles and takes about 28m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.

The route leans on Capital Beltway, Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway, Dolley Madison Boulevard for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is turn-heavy local drive. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 9.7 miles on Capital Beltway. At current regular gas prices, budget about $2.78 one way before food or hotel costs.

Who Is This Route For?

Weekend Trip

Doable as a same-day drive at 28m. Total distance: 17.8 miles.

Family Friendly

Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.

Solo Traveler

28m drive, comfortable solo distance.

EV Driver

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

Scenic Drive

Turn-heavy local drive route profile.

Drive Character

Expect a 28m drive with frequent turns across 17.8 miles of local and secondary roads.

This route has more turning and local-road decision points than a simple highway run.
There are about 17 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
Capital Beltway is the longest continuous segment at about 9.7 miles.

How Hard Is This Drive?

Expect a hands-on drive with frequent turns and local roads rather than long highway stretches. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 0.1 miles in near Beverly Road.

Driving Effort 9/10

Focused - lots of decisions in a short distance, but it is over quickly

Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.

This is a short but busy drive. With 15 decision points packed into just 17.8 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 28m.

Where does it get tricky?

The main spots that need attention: at 0.1 miles (Beverly Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 12.6 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here; at 13.1 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.

Critical Maneuvers

5 of 15 key points

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

7
0.1 mi into trip | ~0m in | Beverly Road

Turn left onto Beverly Road

Lane positioning matters here

Use the left lane.
7
12.6 mi into trip | ~19m in

Take the exit toward I 95 South: Richmond

Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here

Use the straight / slight right lanes. Exit 57A Toward I 95 South: Richmond
8
13.1 mi into trip | ~20m in

Keep slight left at fork toward I 95 South, SR 644 East: Richmond, Franconia

Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one

Use the straight / slight right lanes. Toward I 95 South, SR 644 East: Richmond, Franc...
8
17 mi into trip | ~25m in

Take the exit toward VA 286 South: Fairfax County Parkway, Newington, Fort Belvoir

Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one

Use the right lane. Exit 166A Toward VA 286 South: Fairfax County Parkway, Ne...
7
17.5 mi into trip | ~26m in | SR 877 / Loisdale Road

Turn left onto SR 877 / Loisdale Road

Lane positioning matters here

Use the left lane.

Towns Mentioned on Route Signs

Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.

On the drive from McLean, VA to Newington, VA, road signs begin pointing toward Franconia along the way.

Franconia

13.1 mi in | ~20m

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
Capital Beltway 9.7 mi 12m
Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway 3.2 mi 3m
Dolley Madison Boulevard 2 mi 4m
Old Dominion Drive 0.3 mi <1m
Newington Road 0.2 mi <1m
Fairfax County Parkway 0.2 mi <1m
Loisdale Road 0.1 mi <1m
Elm Street 0.1 mi <1m
Longest stretch: Capital Beltway — 9.7 mi, about 12m

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between McLean, VA and Newington, VA.

1

Start on Elm Street

0.1 mi · 23 sec · Elm Street
2

Turn left onto Beverly Road

365 ft · 15 sec · Beverly Road
Use the left lane.
3

Turn right onto VA 309

0.3 mi · 48 sec · Old Dominion Drive
Use the straight / right lanes.
4

Turn left onto VA 123

2.0 mi · 4 min · Dolley Madison Boulevard
Use the left lane.
5

Take the ramp

0.3 mi · 41 sec
Toward I 495 South
6

Merge onto I 495

9.7 mi · 12 min · Capital Beltway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
7

Take the exit

0.5 mi · 1 min
Exit 57A Toward I 95 South: Richmond Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8

Keep slight left at fork

0.3 mi · 39 sec
Toward I 95 South, SR 644 East: Richmond, Franconia Use the straight / slight right lanes.
9

Keep slight left at fork

0.4 mi · 33 sec
Toward I 95 South: Richmond
10

Merge onto I 395

3.2 mi · 3 min · Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway
Use the straight / slight left lanes.
11

Take the exit

0.3 mi · 56 sec
Exit 166A Toward VA 286 South: Fairfax County Parkway, Newington, Fort Belvoir Use the right lane.
12

Merge onto VA 286

0.2 mi · 27 sec · Fairfax County Parkway
13

Turn left onto SR 877

0.1 mi · 17 sec · Loisdale Road
Use the left lane.
14

Turn right onto SR 877

0.2 mi · 37 sec · Newington Road
Use the right lane.
15

Turn right

89 ft · 9 sec
16

Turn right

139 ft · 11 sec
17

Arrive at destination

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$2.78 one way

$5.57 round trip

$3.97/gal 25.4 MPG avg 6 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $4.34 $3.04 $6.09
premium $4.70 $3.29 $6.59
diesel $5.61 $3.93 $7.86

No toll roads detected on this route.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$3

Estimated CO2 emission: 6.2 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 5.3 0 $1.87 $0.85
Efficient EV 4.5 0 $1.56 $0.71
EV Truck/SUV 7.1 0 $2.49 $1.14

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 16, 2026

Origin

McLean, VA

Late night in McLean on Friday

Local time

5:56 AM

EDT

Current temp

75°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Destination

Newington, VA

Late night in Newington on Friday

Local time

5:56 AM

EDT

Current temp

85°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

10 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

28m 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 McLean, VA to Newington, VA covers 17.8 miles and takes about 28m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.

The main roads are Capital Beltway, Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway, Dolley Madison Boulevard. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.

This is a comfortable same-day trip.

The midpoint is about 8.9 miles from McLean, VA. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.

At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $2.78 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 short but busy drive. With 15 decision points packed into just 17.8 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 28m.

The main spots that need attention: at 0.1 miles (Beverly Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 12.6 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here; at 13.1 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.

On the drive from McLean, VA to Newington, VA, road signs begin pointing toward Franconia along the way.

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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