Origin
Austin, TX
Late night in Austin on Sunday
Local time
2:43 AM
CDT
Current temp
63°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Austin, TX to Temple, TX
Compiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 19, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
1h 14m
Distance
67.7 mi
109 km
Drive Score
7/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$10
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
1h 9m
★
6 AM
1h 15m
8 AM
1h 27m
10 AM
1h 19m
12 PM
1h 18m
3 PM
1h 19m
5 PM
1h 26m
8 PM
1h 11m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Austin, TX
Wikimedia Commons
Temple, TX
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
Traveling from Austin to Temple covers 67.7 miles and typically takes about 1 hour and 14 minutes. Because of the manageable distance, this route is perfectly suited for a simple day trip, meaning you won't need to worry about booking an overnight stay. You can expect to spend roughly $10 on fuel for the journey. The path utilizes a combination of local streets like Red River Street and East 7th Street before connecting to Interstate 35. Since both cities are located within the Great Plains region, the landscape remains consistent throughout your transit. It is a straightforward, functional drive that gets you between these two Texas hubs efficiently.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Purple Heart Trail | 65.2 mi | 1h 9m |
| West Central Avenue | 1 mi | 1m |
| East 5th Street | 0.3 mi | <1m |
| North Interstate 35 | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| South General Bruce Drive | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| East 7th Street | 0.1 mi | <1m |
| Red River Street | 0.1 mi | <1m |
| North 3rd Street | <0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
Purple Heart Trail
— 65.2 mi, about 1h 9m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Austin, TX and Temple, TX.
1
Start on East 5th Street
0.3 mi
·
52 sec
·
East 5th Street
Use the straight / right lanes.
2
Turn left onto Red River Street
0.1 mi
·
20 sec
·
Red River Street
Use the left lane.
3
Turn right onto East 7th Street
0.1 mi
·
17 sec
·
East 7th Street
Use the right lane.
4
Turn left onto North Interstate 35
0.2 mi
·
26 sec
·
North Interstate 35
Use the left lane.
5
Take the ramp
0.2 mi
·
22 sec
Toward I 35 North, US 290 East
6
Merge onto I 35; US 290
0.6 mi
·
42 sec
·
Purple Heart Trail
7
Keep slight right at fork onto I 35; US 290
65 mi
·
1 hr 8 min
·
Purple Heart Trail
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8
Take the exit
0.2 mi
·
29 sec
Exit 301
Toward TX 53, FM 2305: Central Avenue, Adams Avenue
Use the slight right lane.
9
Turn straight onto South General Bruce Drive
0.2 mi
·
17 sec
·
South General Bruce Drive
Toward TX 53, FM 2305
10
Turn slight right
222 ft
·
8 sec
11
Turn slight right onto TX 53
1.0 mi
·
1 min
·
West Central Avenue
12
Turn left onto TX 53; Spur 290
396 ft
·
8 sec
·
North 3rd Street
13
Arrive at destination
Spur 290
Where to Stop
Rest stops, refuel points, and overnight suggestions along this route.
Mid-route town
Meal stop
34 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 15 miles helps settle the day before fatigue starts building.
Meal break
The midpoint is around 33.8 miles from Austin, TX, which is a good place for a longer meal and fuel stop.
Before the longest stretch
Fuel checkTop up before Purple Heart Trail if your tank is already low. That segment runs about 65.2 miles.
These stop ideas are pacing suggestions — the exact town or exit can change with traffic, hotel plans, and fuel range.
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 105 decision points cluster between mile 0.3 and 66.2 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
6
0.3 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
Red River Street
Turn left onto Red River Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
7
0.5 mi into trip
|
~1m in
|
East 7th Street
Turn right onto East 7th Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the right lane.
5
0.6 mi into trip
|
~1m in
|
North Interstate 35
Turn left onto North Interstate 35
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
6
1.5 mi into trip
|
~3m in
|
I 35; US 290 / Purple Heart Trail
Keep slight right at fork onto I 35; US 290 / Purple Heart Trail
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8
66.2 mi into trip
|
~1h 11m in
Take the exit toward TX 53, FM 2305: Central Avenue, Adams Avenue
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 301
Toward TX 53, FM 2305: Central Avenue, Adams Av...
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$10.23 one way
$20.46 round trip
$3.84/gal
25.4 MPG avg
24 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.20 | $11.20 | $22.39 |
| premium | $4.54 | $12.09 | $24.17 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $14.95 | $29.89 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$10
Estimated CO2 emission: 23.7 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $7 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 20.3 | 0 | $7.11 | $3.25 |
| Efficient EV | 16.9 | 0 | $5.92 | $2.71 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 27.1 | 0 | $9.48 | $4.33 |
Gas CO2
24 kg
EV CO2
8 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
Temple, TX
Late night in Temple on Sunday
Local time
2:43 AM
CDT
Current temp
60°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
73°F
Georgetown, TX
34 mi in
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
3 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
1h 14m 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?
Expect a turn-heavy local drive rather than a monotonous interstate cruise. You will begin by navigating city streets before transitioning onto the main highway flow. While the route relies on Interstate 35, the overall highway share is 0 percent, emphasizing the local nature of this trip. Because the drive is relatively short, there are no exceptionally long, uninterrupted stretches to contend with. You should be prepared for frequent turns and urban navigation, which keeps the experience active from start to finish.
Only 0% highway — the rest is turn-by-turn surface driving.
13 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 65.2 mi on Purple Heart Trail.
How Hard Is This Drive?
6/10
Expect a hands-on drive with frequent turns and local roads rather than long highway stretches. You will hit about 10 points where you need to pay attention to lane position or signs. The trickiest moment comes around 0.3 miles in near Red River Street.
Driving Effort
6/10
Moderate - straightforward overall, but long enough or busy enough to require pacing
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This drive requires moderate attention. Across 67.7 miles you will encounter 10 spots where lane choice or exit timing matters. Not difficult for experienced highway drivers, but worth previewing the tricky sections before you go.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.3 miles (Red River Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 0.5 miles (East 7th Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 0.6 miles (North Interstate 35): Lane positioning matters here.
About the Cities
Starting in Austin, TX
Full guide →“City of the Violet Crown” · Founded 1835
Austin is a city of about 1,054,000 (2026) surpassing Fort Worth to become the 4th most populous city in Texas. It is on the southeast edge of the Hill Country region of Texas, making it the fourth-largest city in the state and the 11th-largest in the country. It is the capital of Texas and a college town, and also a center of an alternative culture away from the major cities on the US coasts, though the city is rapidly gentrifying with its rising popularity. Austin's attitude is commonly emblazoned about town on T-shirts and bumper stickers that read: "Keep Austin Weird." Austin is also marketed as the Live Music Capital of the World due to the large number of venues.
Top landmarks
- • Texas State Capitol — capitol and seat of government of the U.S. state of Texas
- • Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum — presidential library and museum for U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson in Austin,...
- • Texas State Cemetery — historic cemetery in Austin, Texas, USA
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 1h 14m. Total distance: 67.7 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
1h 14m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
Scenic Drive
Mostly surface roads route profile.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 65.2 miles on Purple Heart Trail. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.
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 Temple, TX 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 0.3 miles (Red River Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 0.5 miles (East 7th Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 0.6 miles (North Interstate 35): Lane positioning matters here.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Temple, TX before heading back.
How this page is built
Compiled by the US Trip Planner 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.
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