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Trip from Roxbury, NY to Hempstead, NY

Compiled and reviewed by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 18, 2026 · Editorial standards

Drive Time

39m

Distance

23.6 mi

38 km

Drive Score

6/10

Good drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$4

one way

EV Charging

Unknown

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 10 min
4 AM
0h 36m ★
6 AM
0h 39m
8 AM
0h 46m
10 AM
0h 42m
12 PM
0h 41m
3 PM
0h 42m
5 PM
0h 46m
8 PM
0h 37m

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

town in Delaware County, New York

Roxbury, NY

Wikimedia Commons

Trip Overview

Roxbury to Hempstead is 23.6 miles and takes about 39 minutes via Belt Parkway and Southern State Parkway, with a fuel budget near $4 and enough daylight to finish in a day. This drive stays within New York, moving from the Northeast region to the Northeast region. It's a straightforward, largely highway-focused trip perfect for a quick commute or a short hop. Expect to spend most of your time on well-maintained parkways, making it an efficient way to cover the distance. Consider this route when you need to get from point A to point B quickly and easily.

About the Cities

Starting in Roxbury, NY

Full guide →

Founded 1799

Roxbury (New York) is a town at the eastern end of Delaware County, New York.

Top landmarks

  • Woodchuck Lodge — historic house in New York, United States

Arriving in Hempstead, NY

Full guide →

Hempstead is the most populous town in America, with a whopping 700,000 residents, located on the South Shore of Nassau County, New York. The town is highly urbanized and fragmented, containing 22 semi-autonomous villages within its boundaries, and forty other neighborhoods. Garden City, encompassing the "Nassau Hub" region, has its own article. The other prominent communities in Hempstead include Floral Park, Hempstead Village, Valley Stream, Rockville Centre, Freeport, Merrick, and the Five Towns area.

Top landmarks

  • Mitchel Air Force Base — US Air Force base in Long Island, New York

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 39m. Total distance: 23.6 miles.

Family Friendly

Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.

Solo Traveler

39m drive, comfortable solo distance.

EV Driver

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

First-Time Driver

Mostly highway driving (81%). Some complex stretches to watch for.

Drive Character

This route is predominantly a highway-focused drive, with 81% of the journey taking place on parkways. You'll experience a significant stretch of 12.7 miles on the Belt Parkway, offering a consistent pace. The transition to the Southern State Parkway maintains this highway character, making for a smooth, uninterrupted drive for the most part. While not a winding scenic road, the parkway system provides a pleasant and efficient way to travel, characterized by well-maintained surfaces and clear signage.

Most of the miles stay on highways, which makes pacing and fuel planning easier than turn-by-turn city driving.
There are about 14 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
Belt Parkway is the longest continuous segment at about 12.7 miles.

How Hard Is This Drive?

This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on Belt Parkway and Southern State Parkway. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 0.1 miles in near Beach 181st Street.

Driving Effort 7/10

Focused - busy navigation packed into a short drive

Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.

This is a short but busy drive. With 10 decision points packed into just 23.6 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 39m.

Where does it get tricky?

The main spots that need attention: at 0.1 miles (Beach 181st Street): Navigation decision point; at 0.7 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 3.6 miles (BP / Belt Parkway): Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here.

Critical Maneuvers

5 of 10 key points

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

5
0.1 mi into trip | ~0m in | Beach 181st Street

Turn left onto Beach 181st Street

Navigation decision point

8
0.7 mi into trip | ~3m in

Keep slight left at fork toward Marine Parkway Bridge, Brooklyn

Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one

Use the straight lane. Toward Marine Parkway Bridge, Brooklyn
5
3.6 mi into trip | ~9m in | BP / Belt Parkway

Merge onto BP / Belt Parkway

Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here

Use the straight / slight right lanes.
9
16.3 mi into trip | ~28m in | SO / Southern State Parkway

Keep slight left at fork onto SO / Southern State Parkway toward Southern State Parkway, Eastern Long Island

Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one

Use the slight left / slight right lanes. Exit 25A Toward Southern State Parkway, Eastern Long Isl...
8
21.8 mi into trip | ~35m in

Take the exit toward Peninsula Boulevard South, Rockville Centre

Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one

Use the slight right lane. Exit 19S Toward Peninsula Boulevard South, Rockville Cen...

Towns Mentioned on Route Signs

Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.

Between Roxbury, NY and Hempstead, NY, road signs point toward Belt Parkway East, Eastern Long Island, Kennedy Airport, Peninsula Boulevard South and Rockville Centre.

Belt Parkway East

3.2 mi in | ~8m

Eastern Long Island

3.2 mi in | ~8m

Kennedy Airport

3.2 mi in | ~8m

Peninsula Boulevard South

21.8 mi in | ~35m

Rockville Centre

21.8 mi in | ~35m

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
Belt Parkway 12.7 mi 18m
Southern State Parkway 5.4 mi 7m
Peninsula Boulevard 1.6 mi 2m
Flatbush Avenue 1.4 mi 3m
Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge 0.9 mi 1m
Rockaway Point Boulevard 0.5 mi 1m
Beach 181st Street <0.1 mi <1m
Longest stretch: Belt Parkway — 12.7 mi, about 18m

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Roxbury, NY and Hempstead, NY.

1

Start on this road

270 ft · 24 sec · this road
2

Turn left

218 ft · 23 sec
3

Turn left onto Beach 181st Street

376 ft · 31 sec · Beach 181st Street
4

At end of road, turn left onto Rockaway Point Boulevard

0.5 mi · 1 min · Rockaway Point Boulevard
5

Keep slight left at fork

0.3 mi · 48 sec
Toward Marine Parkway Bridge, Brooklyn Use the straight lane.
6

Turn straight onto Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge

0.9 mi · 1 min · Marine Parkway–Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge
7

Continue on Flatbush Avenue

1.4 mi · 3 min · Flatbush Avenue
8

Take the ramp

0.4 mi · 47 sec
Toward Belt Parkway East, Eastern Long Island, Kennedy Airport
9

Merge onto BP

13 mi · 18 min · Belt Parkway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
10

Keep slight left at fork onto SO

5.4 mi · 7 min · Southern State Parkway
Exit 25A Toward Southern State Parkway, Eastern Long Island Use the slight left / slight right lanes.
11

Take the exit

0.2 mi · 34 sec
Exit 19S Toward Peninsula Boulevard South, Rockville Centre Use the slight right lane.
12

Turn left

24 ft · 3 sec
13

Turn left onto Peninsula Boulevard

1.6 mi · 2 min · Peninsula Boulevard
Use the straight lane.
14

Arrive at destination

Peninsula Boulevard

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$3.88 one way

$7.77 round trip

$4.18/gal 25.4 MPG avg 8 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $4.52 $4.20 $8.40
premium $4.92 $4.57 $9.15
diesel $5.61 $5.21 $10.42

No toll roads detected on this route.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$4

Estimated CO2 emission: 8.3 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.

Driving Electric?

About $2 in charging · 0 stops · 63% less CO2

Vehicle Type kWh Stops DC Fast Home Charge
Average EV 7.1 0 $2.48 $1.13
Efficient EV 5.9 0 $2.07 $0.94
EV Truck/SUV 9.4 0 $3.30 $1.51

Gas CO2

8 kg

EV CO2

3 kg (63% 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 18, 2026

Origin

Roxbury, NY

Morning in Roxbury on Saturday

Local time

6:51 AM

EDT

Current temp

49°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Destination

Hempstead, NY

Morning in Hempstead on Saturday

Local time

6:51 AM

EDT

Current temp

53°F

Partly Cloudy

NE 5 mph 0% chance Live forecast

Wind Advisory

Wind Advisory issued April 18 at 2:37AM EDT until April 19 at 12:00AM EDT by NWS Burlington VT

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

4 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

39m on the road

The weather snapshot is not static. If you are leaving later, give both cities one more quick forecast check before departure.

Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.

Frequently Asked Questions

The drive from Roxbury, NY to Hempstead, NY covers 23.6 miles and takes about 39m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.

The main roads are Belt Parkway, Southern State Parkway, Peninsula Boulevard. Most of the drive stays on highways, so watch for ramps and exits.

This is a comfortable same-day trip.

The midpoint is about 11.8 miles from Roxbury, NY. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.

At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $3.88 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 10 decision points packed into just 23.6 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 39m.

The main spots that need attention: at 0.1 miles (Beach 181st Street): Navigation decision point; at 0.7 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 3.6 miles (BP / Belt Parkway): Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here.

Between Roxbury, NY and Hempstead, NY, road signs point toward Belt Parkway East, Eastern Long Island, Kennedy Airport, Peninsula Boulevard South and Rockville Centre.

Yes. Nearby national parks include Gateway National Recreation Area, African Burial Ground National Monument and Castle Clinton National Monument. There are 6 parks within detour distance of this route.

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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Explore More

Return Trip

Hempstead, NY to Roxbury, NY

Plan the drive back the other way.

23.5 mi 38m

Explore more options from Roxbury, NY or browse trips ending in Hempstead, NY.

Looking for more statewide routes? Browse NY road trips.