Origin
San Rafael, CA
Morning in San Rafael on Saturday
Local time
11:44 AM
PDT
Current temp
59°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from San Rafael, CA to San Francisco, CA
Compiled and reviewed by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 18, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
31m
Distance
18.3 mi
30 km
Drive Score
6/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$4
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 29m
★
6 AM
0h 32m
8 AM
0h 37m
10 AM
0h 34m
12 PM
0h 33m
3 PM
0h 34m
5 PM
0h 37m
8 PM
0h 30m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
San Rafael, CA
David McElwee
San Francisco, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
The drive from San Rafael, CA to San Francisco, CA covers 18.3 miles and takes about 31m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.
The route leans on Redwood Highway, Golden Gate Bridge, Presidio Parkway for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is mostly surface roads. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 10.6 miles on Redwood Highway. At current regular gas prices, budget about $4.21 one way before food or hotel costs.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Redwood Highway | 10.6 mi | 14m |
| Golden Gate Bridge | 1.7 mi | 2m |
| Presidio Parkway | 1.6 mi | 3m |
| Webster Street | 1 mi | 2m |
| Divisadero Street | 0.8 mi | 1m |
| Fourth Street | 0.5 mi | 1m |
| California Street | 0.5 mi | 1m |
| Oak Street | 0.4 mi | 1m |
Longest stretch:
Redwood Highway
— 10.6 mi, about 14m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between San Rafael, CA and San Francisco, CA.
1
Start on Fourth Street
0.5 mi
·
1 min
·
Fourth Street
Use the straight / right lanes.
2
Turn right onto Hetherton Street
0.1 mi
·
17 sec
·
Hetherton Street
Use the right lane.
3
Take the ramp
0.3 mi
·
36 sec
Toward US 101 South: San Francisco, Oakland
Use the straight / left lanes.
4
Merge onto US 101
0.3 mi
·
28 sec
·
Redwood Highway
5
Keep slight left at fork onto US 101
10 mi
·
13 min
·
Redwood Highway
Toward US 101: San Francisco
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
6
Continue on US 101
1.7 mi
·
2 min
·
Golden Gate Bridge
7
Merge
34 ft
·
0 sec
8
Keep slight left at fork
130 ft
·
1 sec
9
Keep slight left at fork
0.1 mi
·
8 sec
10
Continue on US 101; CA 1
1.6 mi
·
3 min
·
Presidio Parkway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
11
Continue on US 101
0.2 mi
·
43 sec
·
Richardson Avenue
Use the straight / right lanes.
12
Continue on US 101
0.1 mi
·
25 sec
·
Lombard Street
13
Turn right onto Divisadero Street
0.8 mi
·
1 min
·
Divisadero Street
Use the right lane.
14
Turn left onto California Street
0.5 mi
·
1 min
·
California Street
15
Turn right onto Webster Street
1.0 mi
·
2 min
·
Webster Street
Use the straight lane.
16
Turn left onto Oak Street
0.4 mi
·
1 min
·
Oak Street
Use the left lane.
17
Turn right onto Gough Street
0.1 mi
·
24 sec
·
Gough Street
18
Turn slight left onto Market Street
183 ft
·
15 sec
·
Market Street
Use the slight left lane.
19
Keep slight right at fork onto Market Street
0.2 mi
·
35 sec
·
Market Street
20
Arrive at destination
Market Street
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 155 decision points cluster between mile 0.5 and 16.6 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
6
0.5 mi into trip
|
~1m in
|
Hetherton Street
Turn right onto Hetherton Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the right lane.
7
0.6 mi into trip
|
~1m in
Take the ramp toward US 101 South: San Francisco, Oakland
Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the straight / left lanes.
Toward US 101 South: San Francisco, Oakland
7
1.2 mi into trip
|
~2m in
|
US 101 / Redwood Highway
Keep slight left at fork onto US 101 / Redwood Highway toward US 101: San Francisco
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Toward US 101: San Francisco
6
15.4 mi into trip
|
~23m in
|
Divisadero Street
Turn right onto Divisadero Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the right lane.
6
16.6 mi into trip
|
~26m in
|
Webster Street
Turn right onto Webster Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight lane.
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$4.21 one way
$8.41 round trip
$5.84/gal
25.4 MPG avg
6 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $6.02 | $4.33 | $8.67 |
| premium | $6.18 | $4.45 | $8.90 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $4.04 | $8.08 |
Estimated Tolls: $9.00
Golden Gate Bridge
$9.00
Toll estimates based on average 2024-2025 rates. EZ-Pass/SunPass discounts may lower the actual cost.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$4
Tolls
$9
Total
$13
Estimated CO2 emission: 6.4 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 | 5.5 | 0 | $1.92 | $0.88 |
| Efficient EV | 4.6 | 0 | $1.60 | $0.73 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 7.3 | 0 | $2.56 | $1.17 |
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
San Francisco, CA
Morning in San Francisco on Saturday
Local time
11:44 AM
PDT
Current temp
44°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
31m 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.
What kind of drive is this?
18.3 mi in 31m across surface roads — expect steady turns and local traffic rather than long highway runs.
Only 9% highway — the rest is turn-by-turn surface driving.
20 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 10.6 mi on Redwood Highway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
10/10
Expect a hands-on drive with frequent turns and local roads rather than long highway stretches. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 0.5 miles in near Hetherton Street.
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 15 decision points packed into just 18.3 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 31m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.5 miles (Hetherton Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 0.6 miles: Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 1.2 miles (US 101 / Redwood Highway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
About the Cities
Starting in San Rafael, CA
Full guide →Historically home to one of California's original Spanish missions, San Rafael is now a mid-sized Bay Area commuter town with beautiful hills, peaceful nature, interesting architecture, and a bustling downtown area centered around 4th Street. San Rafael is the cultural and political center of Marin County, and offers its own set of attractions as well as easy access to other parts of the county.
Arriving in San Francisco, CA
Full guide →The centerpiece of the Bay Area, San Francisco is one of the most visited cities in the world, and with good reason. The cultural center of northern California, San Francisco is renowned for its mixture of scenic beauty and unique culture that makes it one of the most vibrant and desirable cities in the nation, if not the world. Sandwiched between the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean on a small square of land seven miles (11 km) on each side, San Francisco offers a wealth of treasures for the visitor, from the windswept and often foggy bay to the steep hills lined with Victorian homes that overlook the spectacular scenery of the city.
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 31m. Total distance: 18.3 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
31m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
Scenic Drive
Mostly surface roads route profile with national parks nearby.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 10.6 miles on Redwood Highway. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.
Expect about $9.00 in tolls one way, starting with Golden Gate Bridge. Most Northeast and Midwest toll agencies accept E-ZPass; in the West and Texas, transponders like TxTag or FasTrak apply. If you do not have a transponder, cashless tolling plates will mail a bill to the vehicle's registered address — usually with a surcharge, so a rental-car toll pass is often cheaper than paying by mail.
It helps. This route has a higher-than-average number of complex decision points, which get harder in the dark. If the last hour of the trip is on surface roads or mountain grades, aim to arrive at San Francisco, CA before sunset when you can. Check the Trip Plan for departure windows that land you in daylight.
Yes. At under 2 hours behind the wheel, this works well for families — plan one quick stop if you have younger kids.
The main spots that need attention: at 0.5 miles (Hetherton Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 0.6 miles: Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 1.2 miles (US 101 / Redwood Highway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
Yes — San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Muir Woods National Monument and Golden Gate National Recreation Area (6 total within detour distance). See the National Parks section for detour distances and tips on detours.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at San Francisco, CA before heading back.
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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