Origin
Boston, MA
Late night in Boston on Tuesday
Local time
4:06 AM
EDT
Current temp
60°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Boston, MA to Melrose, MA
Pin this tripCompiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 21, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
16m
Distance
8 mi
13 km
Drive Score
6/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$1
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 15m
★
6 AM
0h 17m
8 AM
0h 20m
10 AM
0h 18m
12 PM
0h 18m
3 PM
0h 18m
5 PM
0h 20m
8 PM
0h 16m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Boston, MA
Wikimedia Commons
Melrose, MA
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
This short 8-mile trip from Boston to Melrose, Massachusetts, will take you about 16 minutes to complete. It's a local drive primarily on Main Street and Broadway, with a brief section through the Sullivan Square Underpass. With no highway driving involved, you can expect a direct, turn-heavy experience. This short distance makes it an easy addition to any day, requiring just one recommended day for the entire journey. The estimated fuel cost is a minimal $1, making it a very budget-friendly excursion within the Northeast region.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Main Street | 4 mi | 7m |
| Sullivan Square Underpass | 0.7 mi | 1m |
| Broadway | 0.7 mi | 1m |
| New Rutherford Avenue | 0.6 mi | <1m |
| Alford Street | 0.5 mi | 1m |
| North Washington Street | 0.3 mi | 1m |
| Causeway Street | 0.3 mi | 1m |
| Staniford Street | 0.2 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
Main Street
— 4 mi, about 7m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Boston, MA and Melrose, MA.
1
Start on Tremont Street
230 ft
·
11 sec
·
Tremont Street
2
Turn right onto Beacon Street
302 ft
·
11 sec
·
Beacon Street
Use the straight / right lanes.
3
Turn right onto Somerset Street
340 ft
·
13 sec
·
Somerset Street
4
Turn left onto Ashburton Place
210 ft
·
7 sec
·
Ashburton Place
5
Keep slight right at fork onto Ashburton Place
253 ft
·
8 sec
·
Ashburton Place
6
Turn straight onto Bowdoin Street
0.1 mi
·
21 sec
·
Bowdoin Street
7
Turn left onto Cambridge Street
287 ft
·
19 sec
·
Cambridge Street
Use the left lane.
8
Turn right onto Staniford Street
0.2 mi
·
42 sec
·
Staniford Street
Use the right lane.
9
Turn right onto Causeway Street
0.3 mi
·
1 min
·
Causeway Street
10
Turn left onto North Washington Street
0.3 mi
·
1 min
·
North Washington Street
11
Continue on MA 99
0.6 mi
·
54 sec
·
New Rutherford Avenue
12
Continue on MA 99
363 ft
·
6 sec
·
Rutherford Avenue
13
Keep slight left at fork onto MA 99
0.7 mi
·
1 min
·
Sullivan Square Underpass
14
Turn straight onto MA 99
0.5 mi
·
1 min
·
Alford Street
15
Continue on MA 99
0.7 mi
·
1 min
·
Broadway
Use the straight / left / right lanes.
16
Enter roundabout onto Main Street
472 ft
·
8 sec
·
Main Street
17
Continue on Main Street
1.7 mi
·
3 min
·
Main Street
Use the left / straight lanes.
18
Continue on Main Street
2.2 mi
·
3 min
·
Main Street
Use the left lane.
19
Turn left onto Winthrop Street
0.1 mi
·
32 sec
·
Winthrop Street
20
Turn right onto Myrtle Street
143 ft
·
6 sec
·
Myrtle Street
21
Arrive at destination
Myrtle Street
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 145 decision points cluster between mile 0 and 0.4 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
6
0 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
Beacon Street
Turn right onto Beacon Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / right lanes.
4
0.1 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
Somerset Street
Turn right onto Somerset Street
Navigation decision point
5
0.2 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
Ashburton Place
Keep slight right at fork onto Ashburton Place
Highway fork - watch signs carefully
5
0.4 mi into trip
|
~1m in
|
Cambridge Street
Turn left onto Cambridge Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
6
0.4 mi into trip
|
~1m in
|
Staniford Street
Turn right onto Staniford Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the right lane.
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$1.28 one way
$2.56 round trip
$4.07/gal
25.4 MPG avg
3 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.43 | $1.40 | $2.79 |
| premium | $4.82 | $1.52 | $3.04 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $1.77 | $3.53 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$1
Estimated CO2 emission: 2.8 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $1 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 2.4 | 0 | $0.84 | $0.38 |
| Efficient EV | 2 | 0 | $0.70 | $0.32 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 3.2 | 0 | $1.12 | $0.51 |
Gas CO2
3 kg
EV CO2
1 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
Melrose, MA
Late night in Melrose on Tuesday
Local time
4:06 AM
EDT
Current temp
62°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 warmer at arrival
A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.
Road read
16m 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 for this entire 8-mile journey. With a 0% highway share, you'll be navigating city streets for the duration. The longest uninterrupted stretch you'll encounter is about 4 miles along Main Street. This route is characterized by frequent turns and local traffic, so be prepared for a dynamic driving experience rather than a monotonous highway cruise. The road personality remains consistent as a local, surface-street-focused path.
Only 0% highway — the rest is turn-by-turn surface driving.
21 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 4 mi on Main Street.
How Hard Is This Drive?
8/10
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 early in the drive near Beacon Street.
Driving Effort
8/10
Focused - busy navigation packed into a short drive
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This is a short but busy drive. With 14 decision points packed into just 8 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 16m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: near the start (Beacon Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 0.1 miles (Somerset Street): Navigation decision point; at 0.2 miles (Ashburton Place): Highway fork - watch signs carefully.
About the Cities
Starting in Boston, MA
Full guide →A city of history and tradition, Boston offers a proud legacy of culture, education, and numerous sporting championships. The "shining city on a hill"s independent spirit has been displayed to the world ever since colonists were angry over a British tax on their beloved tea and dumped shiploads of it into the harbor in protest. In the early 1600s, the peninsula in Massachusetts that would become known as Boston was controlled by Native Americans until John Smith (English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, Admiral of New England, and author) named the area New England to attract European settlers. Boston was founded in 1630 by John Winthrop, making it one of the oldest cities in the U.S. No other American city has made more of an effort to preserve its history, and you'll find buildings that pre-date the republic dotted throughout the region.
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 16m. Total distance: 8 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
16m 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 4 miles on Main Street. 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 Melrose, MA 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: near the start (Beacon Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 0.1 miles (Somerset Street): Navigation decision point; at 0.2 miles (Ashburton Place): Highway fork - watch signs carefully.
Yes — Boston National Historical Park, Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area and Adams National Historical Park (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 Melrose, MA 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, EIA for fuel prices, and NPS for national parks. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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