Origin
Colfax, CA
Late night in Colfax on Tuesday
Local time
3:25 AM
PDT
Current temp
61°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Colfax, CA to Sacramento, CA
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
57m
Distance
49 mi
79 km
Drive Score
6/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$11
one way
EV Charging
Good
8 stations
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 53m
★
6 AM
0h 58m
8 AM
1h 7m
10 AM
1h 1m
12 PM
1h 0m
3 PM
1h 2m
5 PM
1h 7m
8 PM
0h 55m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Colfax, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Sacramento, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
This easy 49-mile drive from Colfax to Sacramento, California, will take you about 57 minutes to complete. It's a perfect candidate for a day trip, with no need to break it up or plan an overnight stay. You'll be spending most of your time on major freeways, making for a straightforward journey. Expect to spend around $11 on fuel for this trip. Both Colfax and Sacramento are located within the Pacific Coast region, so you won't be crossing any major geographical boundaries.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Alan S. Hart Freeway | 32.3 mi | 37m |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway | 7.1 mi | 8m |
| Capital City Freeway | 4.9 mi | 5m |
| North Sacramento Freeway | 2.6 mi | 2m |
| 12th Street | 0.6 mi | 1m |
| North 12th Street | 0.6 mi | <1m |
| South Auburn Avenue | 0.3 mi | <1m |
| I Street | 0.2 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
Alan S. Hart Freeway
— 32.3 mi, about 37m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Colfax, CA and Sacramento, CA.
1
Start on this road
33 ft
·
7 sec
·
this road
2
Turn left onto US 40 Hist
130 ft
·
11 sec
·
South Main Street
3
Turn left onto US 40 Hist
498 ft
·
13 sec
·
Grassvalley Street
4
Turn right onto US 40 Hist
0.3 mi
·
41 sec
·
South Auburn Avenue
5
Continue on CA 174
460 ft
·
10 sec
·
South Auburn Street
6
Enter roundabout
155 ft
·
3 sec
Toward I 80 West
7
Continue
492 ft
·
12 sec
Toward I 80 West
8
Merge onto I 80
32 mi
·
37 min
·
Alan S. Hart Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
9
Continue on I 80
7.1 mi
·
8 min
·
Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
10
Keep slight right at fork onto I 80 Business
4.9 mi
·
5 min
·
Capital City Freeway
Exit 95
Toward I 80 Business West: Sacramento
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
11
Keep slight right at fork onto CA 160
2.6 mi
·
2 min
·
North Sacramento Freeway
Toward CA 160 West: Downtown Sacramento
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
12
Continue on CA 160; US 40 Historic
0.6 mi
·
56 sec
·
North 12th Street
Use the straight / left lanes.
13
Keep slight left at fork onto CA 160; US 40 Historic
0.6 mi
·
1 min
·
12th Street
Use the straight / left / right lanes.
14
Turn right onto I Street
0.2 mi
·
31 sec
·
I Street
Use the straight / right lanes.
15
Turn left onto 9th Street
71 ft
·
1 sec
·
9th Street
16
Arrive at destination
9th Street
Where to Stop
Rest stops, refuel points, and overnight suggestions along this route.
Mid-route town
Meal stop
25 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 11 miles helps settle the day before fatigue starts building.
Meal break
The midpoint is around 24.5 miles from Colfax, 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.
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 115 decision points cluster between mile 0.5 and 48.8 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
6
0.5 mi into trip
|
~1m in
Enter roundabout toward I 80 West
Roundabout - know your exit number before entering
Toward I 80 West
8
40 mi into trip
|
~47m in
|
I 80 Business / Capital City Freeway
Keep slight right at fork onto I 80 Business / Capital City Freeway toward I 80 Business West: Sacramento
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Exit 95
Toward I 80 Business West: Sacramento
7
44.9 mi into trip
|
~52m in
|
CA 160 / North Sacramento Freeway
Keep slight right at fork onto CA 160 / North Sacramento Freeway toward CA 160 West: Downtown Sacramento
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Toward CA 160 West: Downtown Sacramento
6
48.2 mi into trip
|
~56m in
|
CA 160; US 40 Historic / 12th Street
Keep slight left at fork onto CA 160; US 40 Historic / 12th Street
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / left / right lanes.
6
48.8 mi into trip
|
~57m in
|
I Street
Turn right onto I Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / right lanes.
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$11.26 one way
$22.52 round trip
$5.84/gal
25.4 MPG avg
17 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $6.02 | $11.61 | $23.21 |
| premium | $6.18 | $11.92 | $23.83 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $10.82 | $21.64 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$11
Estimated CO2 emission: 17.1 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $5 in charging · 0 stops · 65% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 14.7 | 0 | $5.15 | $2.35 |
| Efficient EV | 12.3 | 0 | $4.29 | $1.96 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 19.6 | 0 | $6.86 | $3.14 |
Gas CO2
17 kg
EV CO2
6 kg (65% 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
Sacramento, CA
Late night in Sacramento on Tuesday
Local time
3:25 AM
PDT
Current temp
51°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
65°F
Auburn, CA
25 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
10 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
57m 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?
This route is predominantly a highway-focused drive, with 81% of the journey taking place on major roadways like the Alan S. Hart Freeway, Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway, and Capital City Freeway. You'll encounter one significant stretch of uninterrupted driving that lasts 32.3 miles on the Alan S. Hart Freeway. The character of the road is consistently that of a freeway, designed for efficient travel rather than scenic meandering.
81% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
16 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 32.3 mi on Alan S. Hart Freeway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
8/10
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on Alan S. Hart Freeway and Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 0.5 miles in.
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 11 decision points packed into just 49 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 57m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.5 miles: Roundabout - know your exit number before entering; at 40 miles (I 80 Business / Capital City Freeway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 44.9 miles (CA 160 / North Sacramento Freeway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
About the Cities
Starting in Colfax, CA
Full guide →Founded 1910
Colfax is a town in Placer County, California.
Top landmarks
- • Colfax station — railway station in Colfax, California, United States
Arriving in Sacramento, CA
Full guide →Founded 1849
Sacramento is the state capital of California in the United States. It is the regional center for the Greater Sacramento metropolitan area, which dominates much of the surrounding Sacramento Valley and stretches into parts of Gold Country. Sacramento is the oldest incorporated city in California, settled between the confluences of the Sacramento and American rivers. The city has been the site of many important historic events that have shaped California and U.S. history, most notably the California Gold Rush and location of the original terminus of the First Transcontinental Railroad. Much of this historical legacy has been preserved, especially in the historic Old Sacramento district, where buildings and railroads from that era continue to attract visitors. However, Sacramento is not a city that is stuck in the past. As the capital of the most populous U.S.
Top landmarks
- • California State Capitol — state capitol building of the U.S. state of California
- • Crocker Art Museum — art museum in Sacramento, California
- • Sacramento Valley Station — main railroad and light rail station in Sacramento, California
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 57m. Total distance: 49 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
57m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (81%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 32.3 miles on Alan S. Hart Freeway. 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 Sacramento, CA 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 0.5 miles: Roundabout - know your exit number before entering; at 40 miles (I 80 Business / Capital City Freeway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 44.9 miles (CA 160 / North Sacramento Freeway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Sacramento, CA 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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