Origin
Corona, CA
Late night in Corona on Tuesday
Local time
5:15 AM
PDT
Current temp
69°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Corona, CA to Santa Ana, 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
32m
Distance
25.7 mi
41 km
Drive Score
6/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$6
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 30m
★
6 AM
0h 33m
8 AM
0h 38m
10 AM
0h 35m
12 PM
0h 34m
3 PM
0h 35m
5 PM
0h 38m
8 PM
0h 31m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Corona, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Santa Ana, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
Corona, CA to Santa Ana, CA is 25.7 miles and takes about 32 minutes via Riverside Freeway and Costa Mesa Freeway, with a fuel budget near $6 and enough daylight to finish in a day. This quick drive connects two points within the Pacific Coast region of California. Expect a straightforward trip that primarily uses major freeways. It's a short enough distance that you won't need to worry about overnight stays, making it ideal for a quick transit or a brief leg of a larger adventure.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Riverside Freeway | 15.4 mi | 17m |
| Costa Mesa Freeway | 6.9 mi | 7m |
| East 1st Street | 1.4 mi | 2m |
| East 4th Street | 0.6 mi | 1m |
| South Main Street | 0.4 mi | 1m |
| Mabury Street | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| East 6th Street | 0.1 mi | <1m |
| West 1st Street | — | — |
Some road-level metrics are being recalculated.
Longest stretch:
Riverside Freeway
— 15.4 mi, about 17m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Corona, CA and Santa Ana, CA.
1
Start on East 6th Street
44 ft
·
1 sec
·
East 6th Street
2
Continue on East 6th Street
0.1 mi
·
29 sec
·
East 6th Street
3
Turn right onto South Main Street
0.4 mi
·
1 min
·
South Main Street
4
Turn left
0.1 mi
·
7 sec
Toward CA 91 West: Beach Cities
Use the left lane.
5
Continue on this road
0.4 mi
·
29 sec
·
this road
Toward CA 91 West: Beach Cities
6
Merge onto CA 91
15 mi
·
17 min
·
Riverside Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
7
Keep slight left at fork onto CA 55
6.9 mi
·
7 min
·
Costa Mesa Freeway
Exit 34
Toward CA 55 South: Newport Beach
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8
Take the exit
0.3 mi
·
36 sec
Exit 11B
Toward Fourth Street, Irvine Boulevard
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
9
Turn right onto East 4th Street
0.6 mi
·
1 min
·
East 4th Street
10
Turn left onto Mabury Street
0.2 mi
·
22 sec
·
Mabury Street
Use the left lane.
11
Turn right onto East 1st Street
1.4 mi
·
2 min
·
East 1st Street
Use the straight / left / right lanes.
12
Arrive at destination
West 1st Street
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 85 decision points cluster between mile 0.5 and 24.3 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
7
0.5 mi into trip
|
~1m in
Turn left toward CA 91 West: Beach Cities
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
Toward CA 91 West: Beach Cities
8
16.4 mi into trip
|
~19m in
|
CA 55 / Costa Mesa Freeway
Keep slight left at fork onto CA 55 / Costa Mesa Freeway toward CA 55 South: Newport Beach
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Exit 34
Toward CA 55 South: Newport Beach
8
23.2 mi into trip
|
~27m in
Take the exit toward Fourth Street, Irvine Boulevard
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Exit 11B
Toward Fourth Street, Irvine Boulevard
6
24.2 mi into trip
|
~29m in
|
Mabury Street
Turn left onto Mabury Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
6
24.3 mi into trip
|
~30m in
|
East 1st Street
Turn right onto East 1st Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / left / right lanes.
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$5.91 one way
$11.81 round trip
$5.84/gal
25.4 MPG avg
9 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $6.02 | $6.09 | $12.17 |
| premium | $6.18 | $6.25 | $12.50 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $5.67 | $11.35 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$6
Estimated CO2 emission: 9 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $3 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 7.7 | 0 | $2.70 | $1.23 |
| Efficient EV | 6.4 | 0 | $2.25 | $1.03 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 10.3 | 0 | $3.60 | $1.64 |
Gas CO2
9 kg
EV CO2
3 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
Santa Ana, CA
Late night in Santa Ana on Tuesday
Local time
5:15 AM
PDT
Current temp
55°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
14 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
32m 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 highway driving, with 86% of the 25.7 miles on freeways like the Riverside Freeway and Costa Mesa Freeway. You'll experience a solid stretch of 15.4 miles on the Riverside Freeway before transitioning. The latter part of the drive will involve surface streets, indicated by the shift away from freeway use, likely with more frequent exits and local traffic as you approach Santa Ana.
86% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
12 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 15.4 mi on Riverside Freeway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
7/10
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on Riverside Freeway and Costa Mesa Freeway. 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
7/10
Focused - busy navigation packed into a short drive
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This is a short but busy drive. With 8 decision points packed into just 25.7 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 32m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.5 miles: Lane positioning matters here; at 16.4 miles (CA 55 / Costa Mesa Freeway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 23.2 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
About the Cities
Starting in Corona, CA
Full guide →Corona is a city in Riverside County in Southern California. It is a diverse city with different types of people, and is generally considered a "privileged suburb" of Los Angeles.
Arriving in Santa Ana, CA
Full guide →Founded 1869
Santa Ana is a city in Orange County, Southern California and is the county seat of that county.
Top landmarks
- • Yost Theater — historic movie theater and hotel building in Santa Ana, California, later used b...
- • Santa Ana Fire Station Headquarters No. 1 — fire station in Santa Ana, United States of America
- • Rankin's — historic building in Santa Ana, California, United States
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 32m. Total distance: 25.7 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
32m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (86%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 15.4 miles on Riverside 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 Santa Ana, 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: Lane positioning matters here; at 16.4 miles (CA 55 / Costa Mesa Freeway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 23.2 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Santa Ana, 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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