Origin
Santa Ana, CA
Morning in Santa Ana on Saturday
Local time
11:01 AM
PDT
Current temp
72°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Santa Ana, CA to San Rafael, CA
Compiled and reviewed by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 18, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
7h 54m
Distance
423.7 mi
682 km
Drive Score
8/10
Great drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$97
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
7h 45m
★
6 AM
7h 54m
8 AM
8h 12m
10 AM
8h 1m
12 PM
7h 59m
3 PM
8h 2m
5 PM
8h 11m
8 PM
7h 49m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Santa Ana, CA
Wikimedia Commons
San Rafael, CA
David McElwee
Trip Overview
The drive from Santa Ana, CA to San Rafael, CA covers 423.7 miles and takes about 7h 54m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.
The route leans on North Broadway, West Santa Clara Avenue, I 5 North for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is mostly surface roads. At current regular gas prices, budget about $97.38 one way before food or hotel costs.
Trip Pace
Same-day drive is realistic
A same-day return is possible, but it will make for a full day on the road.
Break Rhythm
2 planned breaks
Plan on a short reset every 3 to 4 hours to stay fresh behind the wheel.
Midpoint
211.8 miles from Santa Ana, CA
A natural place for your longest stop of the day , about 3h 57m into the drive .
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| North Broadway | — | — |
| West Santa Clara Avenue | — | — |
| I 5 North | — | — |
| Santa Ana Freeway | — | — |
| Golden State Freeway | — | — |
| I 5 | — | — |
| Westside Freeway | — | — |
| William Elton Brown Freeway | — | — |
Some road-level metrics are being recalculated.
Longest stretch:
North Broadway
— detailed segment metrics are refreshing.
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Santa Ana, CA and San Rafael, CA.
1
Start on West 1st Street
0.1 mi
·
16 sec
·
West 1st Street
2
Turn right onto North Broadway
1.5 mi
·
2 min
·
North Broadway
3
Turn right onto West Santa Clara Avenue
0.1 mi
·
14 sec
·
West Santa Clara Avenue
4
Continue on I 5 North: Los Angeles
0.3 mi
·
27 sec
·
I 5 North: Los Angeles
5
Merge slight left onto Santa Ana Freeway
8.9 mi
·
10 min
·
Santa Ana Freeway
6
Keep slight right to continue on Santa Ana Freeway
18 mi
·
20 min
·
Santa Ana Freeway
7
Keep slight right to continue on Golden State Freeway
25 mi
·
29 min
·
Golden State Freeway
8
Keep slight left to continue on Golden State Freeway
2.2 mi
·
2 min
·
Golden State Freeway
9
Keep slight right to continue on I 5 Truck North, CA 14 Truck
1.5 mi
·
1 min
·
I 5 Truck North, CA 14 Truck
10
Keep slight left
36 mi
·
41 min
11
Keep slight left to continue on Golden State Freeway
22 mi
·
25 min
·
Golden State Freeway
12
Keep slight right to continue on Westside Freeway
226 mi
·
4 hr 1 min
·
Westside Freeway
13
Keep slight left to continue on William Elton Brown Freeway
16 mi
·
17 min
·
William Elton Brown Freeway
14
Keep slight right to continue on William Elton Brown Freeway
1.1 mi
·
1 min
·
William Elton Brown Freeway
15
Merge slight left onto Arthur H. Breed Junior Freeway
18 mi
·
20 min
·
Arthur H. Breed Junior Freeway
16
Keep slight right to continue on Arthur H. Breed Junior Freeway
12 mi
·
13 min
·
Arthur H. Breed Junior Freeway
17
Keep slight right to continue on MacArthur Freeway
8.3 mi
·
9 min
·
MacArthur Freeway
18
Keep slight left to continue on MacArthur Freeway
8.3 mi
·
9 min
·
MacArthur Freeway
19
Continue on Eastshore Freeway
3.3 mi
·
4 min
·
Eastshore Freeway
20
Keep slight right to continue on John T. Knox Freeway
13 mi
·
17 min
·
John T. Knox Freeway
21
Keep slight left to continue on US 101 North: San Rafeal
0.7 mi
·
54 sec
·
US 101 North: San Rafeal
22
Merge slight left onto Redwood Highway
0.4 mi
·
33 sec
·
Redwood Highway
23
Take the exit slight right toward Central San Rafael
0.3 mi
·
39 sec
·
Central San Rafael
24
Continue on Irwin Street
0.1 mi
·
21 sec
·
Irwin Street
25
Turn left onto Fourth Street
0.6 mi
·
1 min
·
Fourth Street
26
Arrive at your destination
Trip Plan
Morning Departure
Start early — leave by 6-7 AM to arrive at a reasonable hour.
Evening Departure
This is a long drive — plan for a morning departure or consider splitting it into two days.
You can normally do this drive in one day.
Plan roughly 2 meaningful breaks for fuel, food, and rest.
The halfway point lands around 211.8 miles from Santa Ana, CA, or about 3h 57m into the drive.
This is a comfortable same-day trip.
Departure
Before you leave
Start with fuel, water, and navigation already sorted so the first hour feels easy.
First stop
Around 93 miles or 1h 44m in
Use this first pause for coffee, a restroom break, and a quick traffic check ahead.
Halfway reset
Around 211.8 miles or 3h 57m in
This is the best place for your longest stop, a real meal, and a full fuel check.
Final approach
Final hour starts around 6h 47m
Traffic, exits, and arrival timing usually matter more near San Rafael, CA than in the middle of the route.
Before You Leave
+
Open the route before leaving Santa Ana, CA so your first major turns are already loaded.
+
Leave with enough water and a charging cable within reach, not packed away.
+
Check your fuel range against the first long segment, especially if you are starting outside city service areas.
+
Pick one backup stop option before the midpoint in case traffic changes your pacing.
Day 1
Settle into the route from Santa Ana, CA
This is one driving day of about 423.7 miles and 7h 54m.
Your first comfortable stop window is around 93 miles from Santa Ana, CA.
This route can stay practical as a one-day drive if traffic stays reasonable.
Plan about 2 real breaks rather than only quick fuel stops.
Where to Stop
Rest stops, refuel points, and overnight suggestions along this route.
Mid-route town
Meal stop
212 mi into the route
Best for: Lunch, fuel, and a longer reset
This sits close to the middle of the route, so it works well for the longest stop of the day.
Pacing Suggestions
Fuel and coffee
A short stop after about 93 miles helps settle the day before fatigue starts building.
Meal break
The midpoint is around 211.8 miles from Santa Ana, CA, which is a good place for a longer meal and fuel stop.
These stop ideas are pacing suggestions — the exact town or exit can change with traffic, hotel plans, and fuel range.
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$97.38 one way
$194.77 round trip
$5.84/gal
25.4 MPG avg
148 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $6.02 | $100.35 | $200.71 |
| premium | $6.18 | $103.04 | $206.08 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $93.55 | $187.10 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Estimated Trip Cost (one way, 1 person)
Fuel
$97
Meals
$25–$50
Total
$122–$147
Rough estimate based on US averages. Hotel $80–$140/night, meals $25–$50/day.
Estimated CO2 emission: 148.2 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $44 in charging · 1 stop · 66% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 127.1 | 1 | $44.49 | $20.34 |
| Efficient EV | 105.9 | 1 | $37.07 | $16.95 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 169.5 | 2 | $59.32 | $27.12 |
Gas CO2
148 kg
EV CO2
50 kg (66% less)
Plan for 1 charging stop. A 30-minute DC fast charge mid-route should be enough to complete the trip comfortably.
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 Rafael, CA
Morning in San Rafael on Saturday
Local time
11:01 AM
PDT
Current temp
59°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Seasonal Notes
Summer travel usually means heavier construction, hotter rest stops, and busier weekend traffic around major cities.
Winter travel shortens daylight, so a route that looks manageable on paper can feel much longer after dark.
Holiday weekends tend to make both departure and arrival windows slower than the raw route time suggests.
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
13 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
7h 54m on the road
Start early — leave by 6-7 AM to arrive at a reasonable hour.
Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.
What kind of drive is this?
423.7 mi in 7h 54m across surface roads — expect steady turns and local traffic rather than long highway runs.
Only 0% highway — the rest is turn-by-turn surface driving.
26 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Main road: North Broadway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
4/10
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.
Driving Effort
4/10
Easy - simple navigation with a manageable amount of wheel time
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
The route itself is not hard, but at 7h 54m, endurance matters. Plan breaks every 2-3 hours. The 0 decision points are all manageable with basic attention.
Where does it get tricky?
This route does not have any notably tricky sections. Most of the drive from Santa Ana, CA to San Rafael, CA is straightforward, with well-signed roads and simple exits.
About the Cities
Starting in Santa Ana, CA
Full guide →Santa Ana is a city in Orange County, Southern California and is the county seat of that county.
Arriving 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.
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 7h 54m. Total distance: 423.7 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 2 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
7h 54m drive, plan rest stops for pacing.
Scenic Drive
Mostly surface roads route profile.
Frequently Asked Questions
We did not find dedicated rest areas on this route. For a drive this long, plan bathroom and stretch breaks around gas stations, fast-food stops, or small-town downtowns — check the Nearby Places section for options.
It helps. This is a long drive, so arriving tired and in the dark compounds. If the last hour of the trip is on surface roads or mountain grades, aim to arrive at San Rafael, CA before sunset when you can. Check the Trip Plan for departure windows that land you in daylight.
Only with planning. This is a long drive for kids — consider splitting it into two days rather than pushing through. Plan at least 2 meaningful breaks. Dedicated rest areas are limited, so plan gas or food stops as your bathroom breaks.
This route does not have any notably tricky sections. Most of the drive from Santa Ana, CA to San Rafael, CA is straightforward, with well-signed roads and simple exits.
Not recommended in a single day. At 7.9 hours each way, a round trip means 15.8 hours of driving — that is an unsafe level of fatigue for most drivers. Plan at least one night at San Rafael, CA before the return drive.
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, and EIA for fuel prices. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
Was this helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
Your tip has been submitted. Thanks!
/500
Recent Tips
·
Explore More
Continue From San Rafael, CA
More trips to San Rafael, CA
Explore more options from Santa Ana, CA or browse trips ending in San Rafael, CA.
Looking for more statewide routes? Browse CA road trips.