Origin
Pleasant Hill, IA
Late night in Pleasant Hill on Saturday
Local time
1:07 AM
CDT
Current temp
53°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Pleasant Hill, IA to Ankeny, IA
Compiled and reviewed by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 18, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
26m
Distance
16.8 mi
27 km
Drive Score
8/10
Great drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$3
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 24m
★
6 AM
0h 26m
8 AM
0h 30m
10 AM
0h 28m
12 PM
0h 27m
3 PM
0h 28m
5 PM
0h 30m
8 PM
0h 25m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Pleasant Hill, IA
Tom Fisk
Ankeny, IA
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
This quick 16.8-mile drive from Pleasant Hill to Ankeny in Iowa is easily manageable as a day trip, taking about 26 minutes to complete. You'll primarily navigate via I-35 and Military Order of the Purple Heart Highway, with some time on East 1st Street. With a projected fuel cost of only $3, this route is very budget-friendly. The mixed drive profile suggests a blend of highway speeds and potentially some local road segments. Given its short distance and minimal fuel expense, this trip offers a lot of flexibility for when you want to depart and how you manage your time.
Who Is This Route For?
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 26m. Total distance: 16.8 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
26m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (33%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Scenic Drive
Mixed drive route profile.
Drive Character
Expect a mixed drive on this short Iowa journey, with about 33% of your travel on highways. The longest uninterrupted stretch you'll encounter is 4.7 miles on I-35, offering a chance to settle into a steady pace. As you transition between main roads like Military Order of the Purple Heart Highway and East 1st Street, you'll notice the character of the drive change, likely moving from faster highway speeds to more local road conditions. This blend makes for a dynamic, albeit brief, driving experience.
Expect a mix of faster highway mileage and slower local approaches near the beginning or end.
There are about 19 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
I 35 is the longest continuous segment at about 4.7 miles.
How Hard Is This Drive?
This route mixes highway mileage with some local-road sections near the start or finish. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 1.2 miles in near North Hickory Boulevard.
Driving Effort
8/10
Focused - busy navigation packed into a short drive
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This is a short but busy drive. With 12 decision points packed into just 16.8 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 26m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 1.2 miles (North Hickory Boulevard): Navigation decision point; at 6.6 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early; at 8.7 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here.
Critical Maneuvers
5 of 12 key pointsThese are the spots where you need to pay the most attention. Preview them before you drive.
5
1.2 mi into trip
|
~2m in
|
North Hickory Boulevard
Turn left onto North Hickory Boulevard
Navigation decision point
5
6.6 mi into trip
|
~10m in
Take the exit toward I 80 West: Council Bluffs
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early
Exit 84
Toward I 80 West: Council Bluffs
7
8.7 mi into trip
|
~12m in
Take the exit toward I-35 north: Minneapolis
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Exit 137B
Toward I-35 north: Minneapolis
6
10 mi into trip
|
~15m in
|
I 35
Merge onto I 35 toward I 35 North: Minneapolis
Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Toward I 35 North: Minneapolis
8
15 mi into trip
|
~21m in
Keep slight left at fork toward High Trestle Trail
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
Toward High Trestle Trail
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| I 35 | 4.7 mi | 5m |
| Military Order of the Purple Heart Highway | 3.8 mi | 4m |
| East 1st Street | 1.5 mi | 3m |
| East University Avenue | 1.1 mi | 2m |
| South Pleasant Hill Boulevard | 1 mi | 2m |
| I 80 | 0.9 mi | 1m |
| Maple Drive | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| Southwest Walnut Street | 0.2 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
I 35
— 4.7 mi, about 5m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Pleasant Hill, IA and Ankeny, IA.
1
Start on Doanes Park Road
62 ft
·
6 sec
·
Doanes Park Road
2
Turn right onto South Pleasant Hill Boulevard
1.0 mi
·
2 min
·
South Pleasant Hill Boulevard
3
Turn right onto Maple Drive
0.2 mi
·
39 sec
·
Maple Drive
4
Turn left onto North Hickory Boulevard
367 ft
·
7 sec
·
North Hickory Boulevard
5
Turn right onto IA 163
1.1 mi
·
2 min
·
East University Avenue
6
Turn left
0.4 mi
·
55 sec
7
Merge onto US 65
3.8 mi
·
4 min
·
Military Order of the Purple Heart Highway
8
Take the exit
1.2 mi
·
1 min
Exit 84
Toward I 80 West: Council Bluffs
9
Merge onto I 80
0.9 mi
·
1 min
·
I 80
10
Take the exit
0.5 mi
·
1 min
Exit 137B
Toward I-35 north: Minneapolis
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
11
Continue on this road
0.3 mi
·
42 sec
·
this road
Exit 137B
Toward I-35 north: Minneapolis
12
Continue on this road
0.5 mi
·
52 sec
·
this road
Exit 137B
Toward I-35 North: Minneapolis
13
Merge onto I 35
4.7 mi
·
5 min
·
I 35
Toward I 35 North: Minneapolis
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
14
Take the exit
0.3 mi
·
39 sec
Toward 1st Street
15
Keep slight left at fork
256 ft
·
8 sec
Toward High Trestle Trail
Use the left lane.
16
Turn straight onto East 1st Street
1.5 mi
·
3 min
·
East 1st Street
17
Turn left onto Southwest Walnut Street
0.2 mi
·
40 sec
·
Southwest Walnut Street
18
Turn left onto Southwest 3rd Street
48 ft
·
2 sec
·
Southwest 3rd Street
19
Arrive at destination
Southwest 3rd Street
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$2.63 one way
$5.25 round trip
$3.97/gal
25.4 MPG avg
6 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.36 | $2.88 | $5.77 |
| premium | $4.89 | $3.23 | $6.47 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $3.71 | $7.42 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$3
Estimated CO2 emission: 5.9 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 | 0 | $1.76 | $0.81 |
| Efficient EV | 4.2 | 0 | $1.47 | $0.67 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 6.7 | 0 | $2.35 | $1.08 |
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.
Destination
Ankeny, IA
Late night in Ankeny on Saturday
Local time
1:07 AM
CDT
Current temp
70°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
17 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
26m 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 Pleasant Hill, IA to Ankeny, IA covers 16.8 miles and takes about 26m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.
The main roads are I 35, Military Order of the Purple Heart Highway, East 1st Street. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.
This is a comfortable same-day trip.
The midpoint is about 8.4 miles from Pleasant Hill, IA. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.
At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $2.63 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 12 decision points packed into just 16.8 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 26m.
The main spots that need attention: at 1.2 miles (North Hickory Boulevard): Navigation decision point; at 6.6 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early; at 8.7 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here.
The route from Pleasant Hill, IA to Ankeny, IA 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, and EIA for fuel prices. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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