Origin
Chicago, IL
Late night in Chicago on Tuesday
Local time
5:20 AM
CDT
Current temp
61°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Chicago, IL to Elk Grove, IL
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
37m
Distance
23 mi
37 km
Drive Score
8/10
Great drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$4
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 35m
★
6 AM
0h 38m
8 AM
0h 44m
10 AM
0h 40m
12 PM
0h 39m
3 PM
0h 40m
5 PM
0h 44m
8 PM
0h 36m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Chicago, IL
Otoniel Alvarado
Elk Grove, IL
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
Chicago, IL to Elk Grove, IL is 23 miles and takes about 37 minutes via Kennedy Expressway, with a fuel budget near $4 and enough daylight to finish in a day. This quick trip stays within the Midwest region, primarily within Illinois. The route offers a mix of highway cruising and local street driving, making it suitable for a short, straightforward hop. It's a very manageable distance, perfect for a quick errand or connecting to further destinations without a significant time commitment.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Kennedy Expressway | 8.2 mi | 11m |
| West Touhy Avenue | 7.8 mi | 14m |
| North Caldwell Avenue | 2.5 mi | 3m |
| Edens Expressway | 2.2 mi | 2m |
| Dan Ryan Expressway | 0.9 mi | 1m |
| West Cermak Road | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| South Canalport Avenue | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| South Halsted Street | 0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
Kennedy Expressway
— 8.2 mi, about 11m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Chicago, IL and Elk Grove, IL.
1
Start on this road
0.2 mi
·
1 min
·
this road
2
At end of road, turn right onto West Cermak Road
0.2 mi
·
26 sec
·
West Cermak Road
3
Turn left onto South Halsted Street
0.1 mi
·
17 sec
·
South Halsted Street
Use the left lane.
4
Turn right onto South Canalport Avenue
0.2 mi
·
22 sec
·
South Canalport Avenue
5
Turn left onto South Ruble Street
0.1 mi
·
22 sec
·
South Ruble Street
Use the left lane.
6
Take the ramp
0.3 mi
·
43 sec
Toward I 90 West, I 94 West
7
Merge onto I 90; I 94
0.9 mi
·
1 min
·
Dan Ryan Expressway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8
Continue on I 90; I 94
8.2 mi
·
11 min
·
Kennedy Expressway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
9
Continue on I 94
2.2 mi
·
2 min
·
Edens Expressway
Toward I 94 West: Milwaukee
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
10
Take the exit
0.2 mi
·
26 sec
Exit 41A
Toward US 14 West: Caldwell Avenue
Use the slight right lane.
11
Turn slight right onto US 14
2.5 mi
·
3 min
·
North Caldwell Avenue
12
Turn left onto West Touhy Avenue
7.8 mi
·
14 min
·
West Touhy Avenue
Use the left lane.
13
Turn left onto South Elmhurst Road
458 ft
·
19 sec
·
South Elmhurst Road
Use the left lane.
14
Arrive at destination
South Elmhurst Road
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 105 decision points cluster between mile 0.2 and 12.4 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
5
0.2 mi into trip
|
~1m in
|
West Cermak Road
At end of road, turn right onto West Cermak Road
Navigation decision point
6
0.4 mi into trip
|
~1m in
|
South Halsted Street
Turn left onto South Halsted Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
6
0.7 mi into trip
|
~2m in
|
South Ruble Street
Turn left onto South Ruble Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
5
1.1 mi into trip
|
~3m in
|
I 90; I 94 / Dan Ryan Expressway
Merge onto I 90; I 94 / Dan Ryan Expressway
Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
7
12.4 mi into trip
|
~18m in
Take the exit toward US 14 West: Caldwell Avenue
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here
Use the slight right lane.
Exit 41A
Toward US 14 West: Caldwell Avenue
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$3.60 one way
$7.19 round trip
$3.97/gal
25.4 MPG avg
8 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.36 | $3.95 | $7.90 |
| premium | $4.89 | $4.43 | $8.85 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $5.08 | $10.16 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$4
Estimated CO2 emission: 8 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $2 in charging · 0 stops · 63% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 6.9 | 0 | $2.41 | $1.10 |
| Efficient EV | 5.8 | 0 | $2.01 | $0.92 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 9.2 | 0 | $3.22 | $1.47 |
Gas CO2
8 kg
EV CO2
3 kg (63% 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
Elk Grove, IL
Late night in Elk Grove on Tuesday
Local time
5:20 AM
CDT
Current temp
63°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
37m 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?
About half of this 23-mile drive, 49%, is on highways. You'll spend the longest stretch, 8.2 miles, on the Kennedy Expressway. Expect to transition from highway speeds to surface streets as you approach your destination. The Kennedy Expressway is known for its urban merging and dense exit traffic, so be prepared for that before transitioning to West Touhy Avenue and North Caldwell Avenue.
49% highway, the rest on surface roads — varied driving throughout.
14 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 8.2 mi on Kennedy Expressway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
6/10
This route mixes highway mileage with some local-road sections near the start or finish. You will hit about 10 points where you need to pay attention to lane position or signs. The trickiest moment comes around 0.2 miles in near West Cermak Road.
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 23 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 0.2 miles (West Cermak Road): Navigation decision point; at 0.4 miles (South Halsted Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 0.7 miles (South Ruble Street): Lane positioning matters here.
About the Cities
Starting in Chicago, IL
Full guide →Chicago is the home of the blues and the truth of jazz, the heart of comedy and the idea of the skyscraper. Here, the age of railroads found its center, and airplanes followed suit. "Stormy, Husky, Brawling / City of Big Shoulders," Chicago is a Heartland boomtown, its ethos defined by urban planner Daniel Burnham's immortal vision: "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood." It is one of the world's great cities and the third largest city in the United States, behind only New York City and Los Angeles. As the hub of the Midwest, Chicago is easy to find — its picturesque skyline calls across the waters of Lake Michigan, a first impression that soon reveals world-class museums of art and science, miles of sandy beaches, huge parks and public art, and perhaps the finest downtown collection of modern architecture in the world.
Top landmarks
- • Willis Tower — skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois
- • Art Institute of Chicago — art museum and school in Chicago, United States
- • Wrigley Field — baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, USA; home venue of the Chicago Cubs
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 37m. Total distance: 23 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
37m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (49%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 8.2 miles on Kennedy Expressway. 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 Elk Grove, IL 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 0.2 miles (West Cermak Road): Navigation decision point; at 0.4 miles (South Halsted Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 0.7 miles (South Ruble Street): Lane positioning matters here.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Elk Grove, IL 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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