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Trip from District Heights, MD to North Bethesda, MD

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Compiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 21, 2026 · Editorial standards

Drive Time

41m

Distance

27.8 mi

45 km

Drive Score

6/10

Good drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$5

one way

EV Charging

Good

8 stations

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 11 min
4 AM
0h 38m ★
6 AM
0h 42m
8 AM
0h 49m
10 AM
0h 44m
12 PM
0h 43m
3 PM
0h 44m
5 PM
0h 48m
8 PM
0h 40m

Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.

Best Time Drive vs Fly
Google Maps Waze Apple Maps
Download GPX
Downtown District Heights, MD, MD

District Heights, MD

Kelly

Downtown North Bethesda, MD, MD

North Bethesda, MD

Kelly

Trip Overview

District Heights, MD to North Bethesda, MD is 27.8 miles and takes about 41m via Capital Beltway and Rockville Pike, with a fuel budget near $5 and enough daylight to finish in a day. This trip stays within Maryland, traveling from the Northeast region to the Northeast region. It's primarily a surface road drive, making it a straightforward option for getting between these two points. You'll find it's a manageable distance for a single day, with no need to plan for an overnight stay.

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
Capital Beltway 21.7 mi 28m
Rockville Pike 1.8 mi 3m
Ritchie Road 0.9 mi 1m
Kipling Parkway 0.9 mi 2m
Ritchie Marlboro Road 0.5 mi <1m
Nicholson Lane 0.3 mi 1m
Ritchie Spur Road 0.3 mi <1m
Gateway Boulevard 0.2 mi <1m
Longest stretch: Capital Beltway — 21.7 mi, about 28m

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between District Heights, MD and North Bethesda, MD.

1

Start on Gateway Boulevard

0.2 mi · 27 sec · Gateway Boulevard
2

Turn right

172 ft · 9 sec
3

Turn straight onto Mason Street

0.1 mi · 25 sec · Mason Street
4

Turn left onto Kipling Parkway

0.9 mi · 2 min · Kipling Parkway
5

At end of road, turn left onto Ritchie Road

0.9 mi · 1 min · Ritchie Road
6

Turn right onto Ritchie Spur Road

0.3 mi · 43 sec · Ritchie Spur Road
7

At end of road, turn right onto Walker Mill Road

292 ft · 7 sec · Walker Mill Road
8

Continue on Ritchie Marlboro Road

0.1 mi · 11 sec · Ritchie Marlboro Road
Use the left lane.
9

Continue on Ritchie Marlboro Road

319 ft · 5 sec · Ritchie Marlboro Road
Toward I 95 North, I 495 North
10

Enter roundabout onto Ritchie Marlboro Road

136 ft · 2 sec · Ritchie Marlboro Road
11

Continue on Ritchie Marlboro Road

0.3 mi · 26 sec · Ritchie Marlboro Road
12

Enter roundabout

284 ft · 4 sec
Toward I 95 North, I 495 North
13

Continue

0.4 mi · 53 sec
Toward I 95 North, I 495 North
14

Merge onto I 95; I 495

13 mi · 16 min · Capital Beltway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
15

Keep slight left at fork onto I 495

9.2 mi · 11 min · Capital Beltway
Toward I 495 West: Beltway, Silver Spring Use the straight / slight right lanes.
16

Take the exit

0.4 mi · 37 sec
Exit 34 Toward MD 355: Bethesda, Rockville Use the straight / slight right lanes.
17

Turn straight onto MD 355

1.8 mi · 3 min · Rockville Pike
18

Turn left onto Nicholson Lane

0.3 mi · 1 min · Nicholson Lane
Use the left lane.
19

Turn left onto Commonwealth Drive

347 ft · 17 sec · Commonwealth Drive
20

Turn right onto Tudor Lane

338 ft · 15 sec · Tudor Lane
21

Continue on Tudor Lane

146 ft · 6 sec · Tudor Lane
22

Arrive at destination

Tudor Lane

Heads-up: tricky spots

5 of 16

5 decision points cluster between mile 2.4 and 27.3 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.

5
2.4 mi into trip | ~5m in | Walker Mill Road

At end of road, turn right onto Walker Mill Road

Navigation decision point

7
3 mi into trip | ~6m in

Enter roundabout toward I 95 North, I 495 North

Roundabout - know your exit number before entering. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one

Toward I 95 North, I 495 North
8
15.9 mi into trip | ~24m in | I 495 / Capital Beltway

Keep slight left at fork onto I 495 / Capital Beltway toward I 495 West: Beltway, Silver Spring

Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one

Use the straight / slight right lanes. Toward I 495 West: Beltway, Silver Spring
8
25.1 mi into trip | ~35m in

Take the exit toward MD 355: Bethesda, Rockville

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 34 Toward MD 355: Bethesda, Rockville
6
27.3 mi into trip | ~39m in | Nicholson Lane

Turn left onto Nicholson Lane

Lane positioning matters here

Use the left lane.

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$4.61 one way

$9.22 round trip

$4.21/gal 25.4 MPG avg 10 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $4.61 $5.05 $10.10
premium $4.93 $5.39 $10.78
diesel $5.61 $6.14 $12.28

No toll roads detected on this route.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$5

Estimated CO2 emission: 9.7 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.

Driving Electric?

About $3 in charging · 0 stops · 70% less CO2

Vehicle Type kWh Stops DC Fast Home Charge
Average EV 8.3 0 $2.92 $1.33
Efficient EV 7 0 $2.43 $1.11
EV Truck/SUV 11.1 0 $3.89 $1.78

Gas CO2

10 kg

EV CO2

3 kg (70% 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.

Forecast as of Apr 20, 2026

Origin

District Heights, MD

Morning in District Heights on Tuesday

Local time

9:50 AM

EDT

Current temp

42°F

Chance Rain Showers

SW 9 mph 8% chance Live forecast

Freeze Warning

Freeze Warning issued April 20 at 2:47AM EDT until April 21 at 9:00AM EDT by NWS Wakefield VA

Freeze Warning

Freeze Warning issued April 20 at 2:25AM EDT until April 21 at 9:00AM EDT by NWS Mount Holly NJ

Destination

North Bethesda, MD

Morning in North Bethesda on Tuesday

Local time

9:50 AM

EDT

Current temp

41°F

Chance Rain Showers

W 7 mph 12% chance Live forecast

Freeze Warning

Freeze Warning issued April 20 at 2:47AM EDT until April 21 at 9:00AM EDT by NWS Wakefield VA

Freeze Warning

Freeze Warning issued April 20 at 2:25AM EDT until April 21 at 9:00AM EDT by NWS Mount Holly NJ

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

1 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

41m on the road

The weather snapshot is not static. If you are leaving later, give both cities one more quick forecast check before departure.

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 mostly surface roads, with about 33% of the drive on highways. You'll encounter the longest continuous stretch of highway at 21.7 miles on the Capital Beltway. After that, expect to transition to surface roads like Ritchie Road and Rockville Pike. Keep an eye out for frequent intersections and traffic signals as you move from highway speeds to more urban driving conditions.

Only 3% highway — the rest is turn-by-turn surface driving.
22 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 21.7 mi on Capital Beltway.

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 16 points where you need to pay attention to lane position or signs. The trickiest moment comes around 2.4 miles in near Walker Mill 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 27.8 miles you will encounter 16 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 2.4 miles (Walker Mill Road): Navigation decision point; at 3 miles: Roundabout - know your exit number before entering. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 15.9 miles (I 495 / Capital Beltway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.

Towns Mentioned on Route Signs

Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.

Between District Heights, MD and North Bethesda, MD, road signs point toward Silver Spring and Rockville.

Silver Spring

15.9 mi in | ~24m | via I 495

Rockville

25.1 mi in | ~35m

Who Is This Route For?

Weekend Trip

Doable as a same-day drive at 41m. Total distance: 27.8 miles.

Family Friendly

Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.

Solo Traveler

41m 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 21.7 miles on Capital Beltway. 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 North Bethesda, MD 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 2.4 miles (Walker Mill Road): Navigation decision point; at 3 miles: Roundabout - know your exit number before entering. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 15.9 miles (I 495 / Capital Beltway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.

Yes — Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park, Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail and Monocacy National Battlefield. 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 North Bethesda, MD 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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