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Trip from Rowan, NC to Mount Olive, NC

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

Drive Time

46m

Distance

28.9 mi

47 km

Drive Score

8/10

Great drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$5

one way

EV Charging

Unknown

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 12 min
4 AM
0h 43m ★
6 AM
0h 47m
8 AM
0h 55m
10 AM
0h 50m
12 PM
0h 49m
3 PM
0h 50m
5 PM
0h 54m
8 PM
0h 44m

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

Downtown Rowan, NC, NC

Rowan, NC

Lisa from Pexels

town in North Carolina, United States

Mount Olive, NC

Wikimedia Commons

Trip Overview

The drive from Rowan, NC to Mount Olive, NC covers 28.9 miles and takes about 46m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.

The route leans on Lisbon Road, NC 53, Rosindale Road for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is mixed drive. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 6.3 miles on Lisbon Road. At current regular gas prices, budget about $4.52 one way before food or hotel costs.

Who Is This Route For?

Weekend Trip

Doable as a same-day drive at 46m. Total distance: 28.9 miles.

Family Friendly

Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.

Solo Traveler

46m drive, comfortable solo distance.

EV Driver

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

First-Time Driver

Mostly highway driving (46%). Straightforward navigation.

Scenic Drive

Mixed drive route profile with national parks nearby.

Drive Character

The drive from Rowan, NC to Mount Olive, NC covers 28.9 miles and takes about 46m, using a mix of highways and local roads.

Expect a mix of faster highway mileage and slower local approaches near the beginning or end.
There are about 11 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
Lisbon Road is the longest continuous segment at about 6.3 miles.

How Hard Is This Drive?

This route mixes highway mileage with some local-road sections near the start or finish. There are only a few real navigation decisions along the way. The trickiest moment comes around 3.9 miles in near NC 53.

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 46m drive. You will face about 7 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.

Where does it get tricky?

The main spots that need attention: at 3.9 miles (NC 53): Navigation decision point; at 8.9 miles (Elwell Ferry Road): Navigation decision point; at 12.9 miles (NC 87): Navigation decision point.

Critical Maneuvers

5 of 7 key points

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

4
3.9 mi into trip | ~6m in | NC 53

At end of road, turn right onto NC 53

Navigation decision point

4
8.9 mi into trip | ~13m in | Elwell Ferry Road

Turn left onto Elwell Ferry Road

Navigation decision point

3
12.9 mi into trip | ~24m in | NC 87

Turn right onto NC 87

Navigation decision point

3
17.2 mi into trip | ~30m in | Lisbon Road

Turn left onto Lisbon Road

Navigation decision point

4
28 mi into trip | ~45m in | Mercer Mill Brown Marsh Road

At end of road, turn right onto Mercer Mill Brown Marsh Road

Navigation decision point

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
Lisbon Road 6.3 mi 8m
NC 53 5 mi 6m
Rosindale Road 4.5 mi 6m
NC 87 4.4 mi 5m
NC 210 3.9 mi 6m
Elwell Ferry Road 3.8 mi 9m
Mercer Mill Brown Marsh Road 0.9 mi 1m
Elwell Ferry <0.1 mi 1m
Longest stretch: Lisbon Road — 6.3 mi, about 8m

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Rowan, NC and Mount Olive, NC.

1

Start on NC 210

3.9 mi · 6 min · NC 210
2

At end of road, turn right onto NC 53

5.0 mi · 6 min · NC 53
3

Turn left onto Elwell Ferry Road

1.2 mi · 2 min · Elwell Ferry Road
4

Continue on Elwell Ferry

416 ft · 1 min · Elwell Ferry
5

Continue on SR 1730

2.7 mi · 6 min · Elwell Ferry Road
6

Turn right onto NC 87

4.4 mi · 5 min · NC 87
7

Turn left onto Lisbon Road

6.3 mi · 8 min · Lisbon Road
8

Turn right onto Rosindale Road

4.5 mi · 6 min · Rosindale Road
9

At end of road, turn right onto Mercer Mill Brown Marsh Road

0.9 mi · 1 min · Mercer Mill Brown Marsh Road
10

Turn right onto Mount Olive Road

317 ft · 13 sec · Mount Olive Road
11

Arrive at destination

Mount Olive Road

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 $4.34 $4.94 $9.88
premium $4.70 $5.35 $10.70
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.

Forecast as of Apr 12, 2026

Origin

Rowan, NC

Late night in Rowan on Friday

Local time

5:58 AM

EDT

Current temp

64°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Destination

Mount Olive, NC

Late night in Mount Olive on Friday

Local time

5:58 AM

EDT

Current temp

49°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

46m 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 Rowan, NC to Mount Olive, NC covers 28.9 miles and takes about 46m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.

The main roads are Lisbon Road, NC 53, Rosindale Road. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.

This is a comfortable same-day trip.

The midpoint is about 14.5 miles from Rowan, NC. 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 46m drive. You will face about 7 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.

The main spots that need attention: at 3.9 miles (NC 53): Navigation decision point; at 8.9 miles (Elwell Ferry Road): Navigation decision point; at 12.9 miles (NC 87): Navigation decision point.

The route from Rowan, NC to Mount Olive, NC does not surface many named destination signs beyond the main corridor.

Yes. Nearby national parks include Moores Creek National Battlefield.

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. National park proximity is from the NPS API. 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

Return Trip

Mount Olive, NC to Rowan, NC

Plan the drive back the other way.

28.9 mi 46m

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