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Trip from Paterson, NJ to Metuchen, NJ

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

Drive Time

44m

Distance

30 mi

48 km

Drive Score

6/10

Good drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$5

one way

EV Charging

Unknown

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 11 min
4 AM
0h 41m ★
6 AM
0h 45m
8 AM
0h 52m
10 AM
0h 47m
12 PM
0h 47m
3 PM
0h 48m
5 PM
0h 52m
8 PM
0h 43m

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

city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States

Paterson, NJ

Wikimedia Commons

Downtown Metuchen, NJ, NJ

Metuchen, NJ

Wikimedia Commons

Trip Overview

The drive from Paterson, NJ to Metuchen, NJ covers 30 miles and takes about 44m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.

The route leans on Ellison Street, Memorial Drive, Ward Street for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is turn-heavy local drive. At current regular gas prices, budget about $4.97 one way before food or hotel costs.

Who Is This Route For?

Weekend Trip

Doable as a same-day drive at 44m. Total distance: 30 miles.

Family Friendly

Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.

Solo Traveler

44m 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 44m drive with frequent turns across 30 miles of local and secondary roads.

This route has more turning and local-road decision points than a simple highway run.
There are about 13 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
Ellison 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 Paterson, NJ to Metuchen, NJ is easy. At 44m 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 Paterson, NJ to Metuchen, NJ is straightforward, with well-signed roads and simple exits.

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
Ellison Street
Memorial Drive
Ward Street
Oliver Street
GSP South
Garden State Parkway
NJ 27
Lincoln Highway

Some road-level metrics are being recalculated.

Longest stretch: Ellison Street — detailed segment metrics are refreshing.

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Paterson, NJ and Metuchen, NJ.

1

Start on Colt Street

217 ft · 18 sec · Colt Street
2

Turn right onto Ellison Street

0.2 mi · 28 sec · Ellison Street
3

Turn right onto Memorial Drive

0.1 mi · 15 sec · Memorial Drive
4

Turn right

266 ft · 10 sec
5

Turn straight onto Ward Street

0.3 mi · 34 sec · Ward Street
6

Continue on Oliver Street

0.2 mi · 18 sec · Oliver Street
7

Turn slight left

2.0 mi · 2 min
8

Take the exit slight left toward GSP South

0.5 mi · 1 min · GSP South
9

Merge slight left onto Garden State Parkway

24 mi · 33 min · Garden State Parkway
10

Take the exit right toward NJ 27: Iselin, Metuchen

0.2 mi · 39 sec · NJ 27: Iselin, Metuchen
11

Turn right onto Lincoln Highway

1.4 mi · 2 min · Lincoln Highway
12

Continue on Middlesex Avenue

1.2 mi · 2 min · Middlesex Avenue
13

Arrive at your destination

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$4.97 one way

$9.95 round trip

$4.21/gal 25.4 MPG avg 11 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $4.61 $5.45 $10.89
premium $4.93 $5.82 $11.64
diesel $5.61 $6.62 $13.25

No toll roads detected on this route.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$5

Estimated CO2 emission: 10.5 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.

Driving Electric?

About $3 in charging · 0 stops · 60% less CO2

Vehicle Type kWh Stops DC Fast Home Charge
Average EV 9 0 $3.15 $1.44
Efficient EV 7.5 0 $2.63 $1.20
EV Truck/SUV 12 0 $4.20 $1.92

Gas CO2

10 kg

EV CO2

4 kg (60% 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

Paterson, NJ

Morning in Paterson on Friday

Local time

8:02 AM

EDT

Current temp

61°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Destination

Metuchen, NJ

Morning in Metuchen on Friday

Local time

8:02 AM

EDT

Current temp

46°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

15 degrees cooler at arrival

A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.

Road read

44m 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 Paterson, NJ to Metuchen, NJ covers 30 miles and takes about 44m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.

The main roads are Ellison Street, Memorial Drive, Ward Street. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.

This is a comfortable same-day trip.

The midpoint is about 15 miles from Paterson, NJ. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.

At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $4.97 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 Paterson, NJ to Metuchen, NJ is easy. At 44m 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 Paterson, NJ to Metuchen, NJ is straightforward, with well-signed roads and simple exits.

The route from Paterson, NJ to Metuchen, NJ 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 Paterson, NJ or browse trips ending in Metuchen, NJ.

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