Origin
San Jose, CA
Late night in San Jose on Friday
Local time
3:18 AM
PDT
Current temp
44°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from San Jose, CA to Brookdale, CA
Compiled and reviewed by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 17, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
52m
Distance
29.1 mi
47 km
Drive Score
8/10
Great drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$7
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 48m
★
6 AM
0h 52m
8 AM
1h 1m
10 AM
0h 55m
12 PM
0h 55m
3 PM
0h 56m
5 PM
1h 1m
8 PM
0h 50m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
San Jose, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Brookdale, CA
Stephen Leonardi
Trip Overview
The drive from San Jose, CA to Brookdale, CA covers 29.1 miles and takes about 52m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.
The route leans on Bear Creek Road, CA 17, Central Avenue for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is mixed drive. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 12.9 miles on Bear Creek Road. At current regular gas prices, budget about $6.69 one way before food or hotel costs.
Who Is This Route For?
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 52m. Total distance: 29.1 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
52m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (41%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Drive Character
The drive from San Jose, CA to Brookdale, CA covers 29.1 miles and takes about 52m, 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 19 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
Bear Creek Road is the longest continuous segment at about 12.9 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 0.3 miles in.
Driving Effort
10/10
Focused - lots of decisions in a short distance, but it is over quickly
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This is a short but busy drive. With 17 decision points packed into just 29.1 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 52m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.3 miles: Lane positioning matters here; at 1 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 1.2 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
Critical Maneuvers
5 of 17 key pointsThese are the spots where you need to pay the most attention. Preview them before you drive.
6
0.3 mi into trip
|
~1m in
Take the ramp toward CA 87 South
Lane positioning matters here
Use the right lane.
Toward CA 87 South
8
1 mi into trip
|
~2m in
Take the exit toward I 280 South, I 280 North: San Francisco
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Exit 5
Toward I 280 South, I 280 North: San Francisco
7
1.2 mi into trip
|
~2m in
Keep slight right at fork toward I 280 North: San Francisco
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the slight right lane.
Toward I 280 North: San Francisco
8
3.7 mi into trip
|
~5m in
Take the exit toward CA 17 South, I 880 North: Santa Cruz, Oakland
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 5B
Toward CA 17 South, I 880 North: Santa Cruz, Oa...
7
3.9 mi into trip
|
~6m in
Keep slight left at fork toward CA 17 South: Santa Cruz
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the slight left / slight right lanes.
Toward CA 17 South: Santa Cruz
Towns Mentioned on Route Signs
Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.
On the drive from San Jose, CA to Brookdale, CA, road signs begin pointing toward Oakland along the way.
Oakland
3.7 mi in
|
~5m
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Bear Creek Road | 12.9 mi | 27m |
| CA 17 | 9.4 mi | 11m |
| Central Avenue | 2.1 mi | 5m |
| Sinclair Freeway | 2.1 mi | 2m |
| Guadalupe Freeway | 0.5 mi | <1m |
| West Saint James Street | 0.1 mi | <1m |
| West Julian Street | <0.1 mi | <1m |
| North San Pedro Street | <0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
Bear Creek Road
— 12.9 mi, about 27m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between San Jose, CA and Brookdale, CA.
1
Start on North Market Street
110 ft
·
5 sec
·
North Market Street
2
Turn right onto Devine Street
275 ft
·
17 sec
·
Devine Street
3
Turn left onto North San Pedro Street
306 ft
·
17 sec
·
North San Pedro Street
4
Turn right onto West Saint James Street
0.1 mi
·
16 sec
·
West Saint James Street
5
Continue on West Julian Street
356 ft
·
7 sec
·
West Julian Street
Use the straight lane.
6
Take the ramp
0.2 mi
·
31 sec
Toward CA 87 South
Use the right lane.
7
Merge onto CA 87
0.5 mi
·
33 sec
·
Guadalupe Freeway
8
Take the exit
0.2 mi
·
23 sec
Exit 5
Toward I 280 South, I 280 North: San Francisco
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
9
Keep slight right at fork
0.4 mi
·
53 sec
Toward I 280 North: San Francisco
Use the slight right lane.
10
Merge onto I 280
2.1 mi
·
2 min
·
Sinclair Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
11
Take the exit
0.2 mi
·
15 sec
Exit 5B
Toward CA 17 South, I 880 North: Santa Cruz, Oakland
Use the slight right lane.
12
Keep slight left at fork
0.6 mi
·
1 min
Toward CA 17 South: Santa Cruz
Use the slight left / slight right lanes.
13
Merge onto CA 17
9.4 mi
·
11 min
·
CA 17
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
14
Take the exit
0.1 mi
·
13 sec
Toward Bear Creek Road
15
Turn right
244 ft
·
12 sec
16
Turn left onto Bear Creek Road
13 mi
·
27 min
·
Bear Creek Road
17
At end of road, turn left onto CA 9
2.1 mi
·
5 min
·
Central Avenue
18
Turn left onto Larkspur Street
61 ft
·
2 sec
·
Larkspur Street
19
Arrive at destination
Larkspur Street
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$6.69 one way
$13.38 round trip
$5.84/gal
25.4 MPG avg
10 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $6.02 | $6.89 | $13.78 |
| premium | $6.18 | $7.08 | $14.15 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $6.42 | $12.85 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$7
Estimated CO2 emission: 10.2 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 | $3.06 | $1.40 |
| Efficient EV | 7.3 | 0 | $2.55 | $1.16 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 11.6 | 0 | $4.07 | $1.86 |
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
Brookdale, CA
Late night in Brookdale on Friday
Local time
3:18 AM
PDT
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
5 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
52m 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 San Jose, CA to Brookdale, CA covers 29.1 miles and takes about 52m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.
The main roads are Bear Creek Road, CA 17, Central Avenue. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.
This is a comfortable same-day trip.
The midpoint is about 14.6 miles from San Jose, CA. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.
At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $6.69 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 17 decision points packed into just 29.1 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 52m.
The main spots that need attention: at 0.3 miles: Lane positioning matters here; at 1 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 1.2 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
On the drive from San Jose, CA to Brookdale, CA, road signs begin pointing toward Oakland along the way.
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.
Was this helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
Your tip has been submitted. Thanks!
/500
Recent Tips
·
Explore More
Continue From Brookdale, CA
More trips to Brookdale, CA
Explore more options from San Jose, CA or browse trips ending in Brookdale, CA.
Looking for more statewide routes? Browse CA road trips.