Origin
Palatine, IL
Late night in Palatine on Saturday
Local time
4:50 AM
CDT
Current temp
50°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Palatine, IL to Buffalo Grove, IL
Compiled and reviewed by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 18, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
11m
Distance
6.7 mi
11 km
Drive Score
6/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$1
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 11m
★
6 AM
0h 12m
8 AM
0h 14m
10 AM
0h 13m
12 PM
0h 12m
3 PM
0h 13m
5 PM
0h 14m
8 PM
0h 11m
★
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Palatine, IL
Wikimedia Commons
Buffalo Grove, IL
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
The drive from Palatine, IL to Buffalo Grove, IL covers 6.7 miles and takes about 11m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.
The route leans on Lake Cook Road, North Hicks Road, East Northwest Highway for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is turn-heavy local drive. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 3.5 miles on Lake Cook Road. At current regular gas prices, budget about $0.99 one way before food or hotel costs.
About the Cities
Arriving in Buffalo Grove, IL
Full guide →Buffalo Grove is a village in Chicagoland, in both Lake and Cook counties, around 30 miles northwest of downtown Chicago.
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 11m. Total distance: 6.7 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
11m 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 11m drive with frequent turns across 6.7 miles of local and secondary roads.
This route has more turning and local-road decision points than a simple highway run.
There are about 9 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
Lake Cook Road is the longest continuous segment at about 3.5 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 early in the drive near US 14 / East 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 11m drive. You will face about 4 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: near the start (US 14 / East Northwest Highway): Lane positioning matters here; at 3.1 miles (Lake Cook Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 6.6 miles (South Buffalo Grove Road): Navigation decision point.
Critical Maneuvers
4 of 4 key pointsThese are the spots where you need to pay the most attention. Preview them before you drive.
6
0 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
US 14 / East Northwest Highway
Turn left onto US 14 / East Northwest Highway
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
5
3.1 mi into trip
|
~5m in
|
Lake Cook Road
Turn right onto Lake Cook Road
Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
3
6.6 mi into trip
|
~11m in
|
South Buffalo Grove Road
Turn right onto South Buffalo Grove Road
Navigation decision point
4
6.7 mi into trip
|
~11m in
|
Aptakisic Road
Turn left onto Aptakisic Road
Navigation decision point
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Cook Road | 3.5 mi | 5m |
| North Hicks Road | 2.5 mi | 4m |
| East Northwest Highway | 0.5 mi | <1m |
| South Buffalo Grove Road | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| Aptakisic Road | <0.1 mi | <1m |
| East Palatine Road | <0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
Lake Cook Road
— 3.5 mi, about 5m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Palatine, IL and Buffalo Grove, IL.
1
Start on East Palatine Road
73 ft
·
8 sec
·
East Palatine Road
2
Turn left onto US 14
0.5 mi
·
49 sec
·
East Northwest Highway
Use the left lane.
3
Turn straight
223 ft
·
8 sec
4
Turn straight onto North Hicks Road
2.5 mi
·
4 min
·
North Hicks Road
5
Turn right onto Lake Cook Road
0.4 mi
·
43 sec
·
Lake Cook Road
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
6
Continue on Lake Cook Road
3.1 mi
·
5 min
·
Lake Cook Road
7
Turn right onto South Buffalo Grove Road
0.2 mi
·
19 sec
·
South Buffalo Grove Road
8
Turn left onto Aptakisic Road
103 ft
·
4 sec
·
Aptakisic Road
9
Arrive at destination
Aptakisic Road
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$0.99 one way
$1.99 round trip
$3.77/gal
25.4 MPG avg
2 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.25 | $1.12 | $2.24 |
| premium | $4.65 | $1.23 | $2.46 |
| diesel | $5.30 | $1.40 | $2.80 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$1
Estimated CO2 emission: 2.3 kg one way.
Driving Electric?
About $1 in charging · 0 stops · 50% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 2 | 0 | $0.70 | $0.32 |
| Efficient EV | 1.7 | 0 | $0.59 | $0.27 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 2.7 | 0 | $0.94 | $0.43 |
Gas CO2
2 kg
EV CO2
1 kg (50% 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
Buffalo Grove, IL
Late night in Buffalo Grove on Saturday
Local time
4:50 AM
CDT
Current temp
66°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
16 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
11m 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 Palatine, IL to Buffalo Grove, IL covers 6.7 miles and takes about 11m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.
The main roads are Lake Cook Road, North Hicks Road, East Northwest Highway. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.
This is a comfortable same-day trip.
The midpoint is about 3.4 miles from Palatine, IL. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.
At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $0.99 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 11m drive. You will face about 4 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.
The main spots that need attention: near the start (US 14 / East Northwest Highway): Lane positioning matters here; at 3.1 miles (Lake Cook Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 6.6 miles (South Buffalo Grove Road): Navigation decision point.
The route from Palatine, IL to Buffalo Grove, IL does not surface many named destination signs beyond the main corridor.
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. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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