Origin
Silver Lake, NC
Morning in Silver Lake on Saturday
Local time
6:04 AM
EDT
Current temp
54°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Silver Lake, NC to Wilmington, NC
Compiled and reviewed by the Trip.ovh planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 18, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
13m
Distance
6 mi
10 km
Drive Score
6/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$1
one way
EV Charging
Good
8 stations
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 12m
★
6 AM
0h 13m
8 AM
0h 16m
10 AM
0h 14m
12 PM
0h 14m
3 PM
0h 14m
5 PM
0h 15m
8 PM
0h 13m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Silver Lake, NC
Michael Ken
Trip Overview
The drive from Silver Lake, NC to Wilmington, NC covers 6 miles and takes about 13m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.
The route leans on Carolina Beach Road, South 3rd Street, Silver Terra Drive for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is turn-heavy local drive. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 4.3 miles on Carolina Beach Road. At current regular gas prices, budget about $0.94 one way before food or hotel costs.
Who Is This Route For?
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 13m. Total distance: 6 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
13m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (0%). Straightforward navigation.
Scenic Drive
Turn-heavy local drive route profile.
Drive Character
Expect a 13m drive with frequent turns across 6 miles of local and secondary roads.
This route has more turning and local-road decision points than a simple highway run.
There are about 10 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
Carolina Beach Road is the longest continuous segment at about 4.3 miles.
How Hard Is This Drive?
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. The trickiest moment comes early in the drive near Cornus Drive.
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 13m 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: near the start (Cornus Drive): Navigation decision point; at 0.2 miles (Carya Drive): Navigation decision point; at 0.3 miles (Ilex Drive): Navigation decision point.
Critical Maneuvers
5 of 7 key pointsThese are the spots where you need to pay the most attention. Preview them before you drive.
4
0 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
Cornus Drive
Turn left onto Cornus Drive
Navigation decision point
5
0.2 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
Carya Drive
Turn left onto Carya Drive
Navigation decision point
4
0.3 mi into trip
|
~1m in
|
Ilex Drive
Turn right onto Ilex Drive
Navigation decision point
4
0.4 mi into trip
|
~1m in
|
Silver Terra Drive
Turn left onto Silver Terra Drive
Navigation decision point
4
0.7 mi into trip
|
~2m in
|
US 421 / Carolina Beach Road
Turn left onto US 421 / Carolina Beach Road
Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight lane.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Carolina Beach Road | 4.3 mi | 8m |
| South 3rd Street | 0.7 mi | 1m |
| Silver Terra Drive | 0.3 mi | 1m |
| Burnett Boulevard | 0.3 mi | <1m |
| Cornus Drive | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| Ilex Drive | <0.1 mi | <1m |
| Carya Drive | <0.1 mi | <1m |
| Yulan Drive | <0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
Carolina Beach Road
— 4.3 mi, about 8m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Silver Lake, NC and Wilmington, NC.
1
Start on Yulan Drive
33 ft
·
6 sec
·
Yulan Drive
2
Turn left onto Cornus Drive
0.2 mi
·
50 sec
·
Cornus Drive
3
Turn left onto Carya Drive
439 ft
·
20 sec
·
Carya Drive
4
Turn right onto Ilex Drive
513 ft
·
27 sec
·
Ilex Drive
5
Turn left onto Silver Terra Drive
0.3 mi
·
1 min
·
Silver Terra Drive
6
Turn left onto US 421
4.3 mi
·
8 min
·
Carolina Beach Road
Use the straight lane.
7
Take the exit
488 ft
·
11 sec
8
Merge onto US 421
0.3 mi
·
33 sec
·
Burnett Boulevard
9
Continue on US 421
0.7 mi
·
1 min
·
South 3rd Street
10
Arrive at destination
US 17 Business
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$0.94 one way
$1.87 round trip
$3.96/gal
25.4 MPG avg
2 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.43 | $1.05 | $2.09 |
| premium | $4.78 | $1.13 | $2.26 |
| diesel | $5.62 | $1.33 | $2.66 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$1
Estimated CO2 emission: 2.1 kg one way.
Driving Electric?
About $1 in charging · 0 stops · 50% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 1.8 | 0 | $0.63 | $0.29 |
| Efficient EV | 1.5 | 0 | $0.52 | $0.24 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 2.4 | 0 | $0.84 | $0.38 |
Gas CO2
2 kg
EV CO2
1 kg (50% 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
Wilmington, NC
Morning in Wilmington on Saturday
Local time
6:04 AM
EDT
Current temp
52°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
2 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
13m 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 Silver Lake, NC to Wilmington, NC covers 6 miles and takes about 13m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.
The main roads are Carolina Beach Road, South 3rd Street, Silver Terra Drive. Expect a mix of highway and local road driving.
This is a comfortable same-day trip.
The midpoint is about 3 miles from Silver Lake, NC. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.
At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $0.94 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 13m drive. You will face about 7 decision points, but nothing that requires special attention if you follow navigation.
The main spots that need attention: near the start (Cornus Drive): Navigation decision point; at 0.2 miles (Carya Drive): Navigation decision point; at 0.3 miles (Ilex Drive): Navigation decision point.
The route from Silver Lake, NC to Wilmington, NC does not surface many named destination signs beyond the main corridor.
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. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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