Origin
Prairie Grove, IL
Morning in Prairie Grove on Saturday
Local time
10:04 AM
CDT
Current temp
68°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Prairie Grove, IL to Des Plaines, IL
Compiled and reviewed by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 18, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
49m
Distance
28.9 mi
46 km
Drive Score
6/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$5
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 45m
★
6 AM
0h 49m
8 AM
0h 57m
10 AM
0h 52m
12 PM
0h 51m
3 PM
0h 52m
5 PM
0h 57m
8 PM
0h 47m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Prairie Grove, IL
Andrew Patrick Photo
Des Plaines, IL
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
The drive from Prairie Grove, IL to Des Plaines, IL covers 28.9 miles and takes about 49m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.
The route leans on South Rand Road, North Rand Road, West State Road for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is turn-heavy local drive. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 10.1 miles on South Rand Road. At current regular gas prices, budget about $4.52 one way before food or hotel costs.
About the Cities
Arriving in Des Plaines, IL
Full guide →Founded 1852
Des Plaines is in Chicagoland. It is an inner-ring, northwest suburb of Chicago with two distinct portions: a suburban northern portion reminiscient of other, nearby northwest suburbs (including Niles, Park Ridge, and Mount Prospect), as well as a built-up southern portion with the businesses, hotels, and other amenities of the O'Hare Airport corridor (much like Rosemont, Chicago's O'Hare neighborhood, and Elk Grove Village).
Top landmarks
- • McDonald's #1 Store Museum — former McDonald's spot
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 49m. Total distance: 28.9 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
49m 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 with national parks nearby.
Drive Character
Expect a 49m drive with frequent turns across 28.9 miles of local and secondary roads.
This route has more turning and local-road decision points than a simple highway run.
There are about 12 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
South Rand Road is the longest continuous segment at about 10.1 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 around 0.2 miles in near Nish Road.
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 49m drive. You will face about 5 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.2 miles (Nish Road): Navigation decision point; at 2 miles (IL 176 / West State Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 6.5 miles: Lane positioning matters here.
Critical Maneuvers
5 of 5 key pointsThese are the spots where you need to pay the most attention. Preview them before you drive.
3
0.2 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
Nish Road
Turn left onto Nish Road
Navigation decision point
5
2 mi into trip
|
~5m in
|
IL 176 / West State Road
Turn left onto IL 176 / West State Road
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
5
6.5 mi into trip
|
~14m in
Take the ramp
Lane positioning matters here
Use the right lane.
5
6.8 mi into trip
|
~15m in
|
US 12; IL 59 / South Rand Road
Merge onto US 12; IL 59 / South Rand Road
Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
4
28.8 mi into trip
|
~48m in
|
Henry Avenue
Turn right onto Henry Avenue
Navigation decision point
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| South Rand Road | 10.1 mi | 13m |
| North Rand Road | 6.6 mi | 11m |
| West State Road | 4.1 mi | 7m |
| Rand Road | 2.2 mi | 3m |
| West Rand Road | 2 mi | 3m |
| Nish Road | 1.8 mi | 4m |
| South Des Plaines River Road | 1 mi | 2m |
| West Liberty Street | 0.4 mi | 1m |
Longest stretch:
South Rand Road
— 10.1 mi, about 13m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Prairie Grove, IL and Des Plaines, IL.
1
Start on Barreville Road
0.2 mi
·
45 sec
·
Barreville Road
2
Turn left onto Nish Road
1.8 mi
·
4 min
·
Nish Road
3
Turn left onto IL 176
4.1 mi
·
7 min
·
West State Road
Use the left lane.
4
Continue on IL 176
0.4 mi
·
1 min
·
West Liberty Street
Use the right lane.
5
Take the ramp
0.3 mi
·
47 sec
Use the right lane.
6
Merge onto US 12; IL 59
10 mi
·
13 min
·
South Rand Road
Use the left lane.
7
Continue on US 12
6.6 mi
·
11 min
·
North Rand Road
8
Continue on US 12
2.0 mi
·
3 min
·
West Rand Road
Use the straight / right lanes.
9
Continue on US 12
2.2 mi
·
3 min
·
Rand Road
10
Turn right onto US 12; US 45
1.0 mi
·
2 min
·
South Des Plaines River Road
11
Turn right onto Henry Avenue
0.1 mi
·
24 sec
·
Henry Avenue
12
Arrive at destination
Henry Avenue
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$4.52 one way
$9.04 round trip
$3.97/gal
25.4 MPG avg
10 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.36 | $4.96 | $9.92 |
| premium | $4.89 | $5.56 | $11.12 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $6.38 | $12.76 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$5
Estimated CO2 emission: 10.1 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $3 in charging · 0 stops · 70% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 8.7 | 0 | $3.03 | $1.39 |
| Efficient EV | 7.2 | 0 | $2.53 | $1.16 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 11.6 | 0 | $4.05 | $1.85 |
Gas CO2
10 kg
EV CO2
3 kg (70% 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
Des Plaines, IL
Morning in Des Plaines on Saturday
Local time
10:04 AM
CDT
Current temp
51°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 cooler at arrival
A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.
Road read
49m 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 Prairie Grove, IL to Des Plaines, IL covers 28.9 miles and takes about 49m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.
The main roads are South Rand Road, North Rand Road, West State Road. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.
This is a comfortable same-day trip.
The midpoint is about 14.4 miles from Prairie Grove, IL. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.
At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $4.52 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 49m drive. You will face about 5 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.
The main spots that need attention: at 0.2 miles (Nish Road): Navigation decision point; at 2 miles (IL 176 / West State Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 6.5 miles: Lane positioning matters here.
The route from Prairie Grove, IL to Des Plaines, IL does not surface many named destination signs beyond the main corridor.
Yes. Nearby national parks include Pullman National Historical Park.
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, EIA for fuel prices, and NPS for national parks. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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