Origin
Grossmont, CA
Late night in Grossmont on Tuesday
Local time
1:07 AM
PDT
Current temp
72°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Grossmont, CA to San Diego, 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
17m
Distance
12.7 mi
20 km
Drive Score
7/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$3
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 16m
★
6 AM
0h 18m
8 AM
0h 21m
10 AM
0h 19m
12 PM
0h 19m
3 PM
0h 19m
5 PM
0h 21m
8 PM
0h 17m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Grossmont, CA
Stephen Leonardi
San Diego, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
This short 12.7-mile drive from Grossmont to San Diego takes about 17 minutes and is a straightforward trip focused heavily on highway travel. With a 78% highway share, you'll spend most of your time on major freeways like the Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway and CA-125. Given its brevity and low fuel cost of around $3, this route is easily manageable as a single-day trip or even an easy segment of a larger journey within the Pacific Coast region. You won't need an overnight stay, and the minimal driving time allows for plenty of flexibility in your schedule.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Martin Luther King Junior Freeway | 8.5 mi | 9m |
| CA 125 | 1.5 mi | 1m |
| Grossmont Boulevard | 0.9 mi | 2m |
| Broadway | 0.9 mi | 1m |
| 16th Street | 0.1 mi | <1m |
| Grossmont Summit Drive | <0.1 mi | <1m |
| Shadow Road | <0.1 mi | <1m |
| Front Street | <0.1 mi | — |
Some road-level metrics are being recalculated.
Longest stretch:
Martin Luther King Junior Freeway
— 8.5 mi, about 9m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Grossmont, CA and San Diego, CA.
1
Start on Shadow Road
216 ft
·
9 sec
·
Shadow Road
2
Continue on Grossmont Summit Drive
430 ft
·
25 sec
·
Grossmont Summit Drive
3
Turn left onto Grossmont Boulevard
0.9 mi
·
2 min
·
Grossmont Boulevard
4
Take the ramp
0.2 mi
·
30 sec
Toward CA 125 South
Use the left lane.
5
Merge onto CA 125
1.5 mi
·
1 min
·
CA 125
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
6
Take the exit
0.4 mi
·
53 sec
Exit 15
Toward CA 94 West
7
Merge onto CA 94
8.5 mi
·
9 min
·
Martin Luther King Junior Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8
Turn right onto 16th Street
0.1 mi
·
24 sec
·
16th Street
Use the right lane.
9
Turn left onto Broadway
0.9 mi
·
1 min
·
Broadway
Use the left lane.
10
Turn left onto Front Street
26 ft
·
0 sec
·
Front Street
Use the left lane.
11
Arrive at destination
Front Street
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 85 decision points cluster between mile 1.1 and 12.7 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
7
1.1 mi into trip
|
~3m in
Take the ramp toward CA 125 South
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
Toward CA 125 South
5
1.3 mi into trip
|
~3m in
|
CA 125
Merge onto CA 125
Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
6
11.7 mi into trip
|
~15m in
|
16th Street
Turn right onto 16th Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the right lane.
6
11.8 mi into trip
|
~15m in
|
Broadway
Turn left onto Broadway
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
6
12.7 mi into trip
|
~17m in
|
Front Street
Turn left onto Front Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$2.92 one way
$5.84 round trip
$5.84/gal
25.4 MPG avg
4 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $6.02 | $3.01 | $6.02 |
| premium | $6.18 | $3.09 | $6.18 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $2.80 | $5.61 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$3
Estimated CO2 emission: 4.4 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $1 in charging · 0 stops · 75% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 3.8 | 0 | $1.33 | $0.61 |
| Efficient EV | 3.2 | 0 | $1.11 | $0.51 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 5.1 | 0 | $1.78 | $0.81 |
Gas CO2
4 kg
EV CO2
1 kg (75% 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
San Diego, CA
Late night in San Diego on Tuesday
Local time
1:07 AM
PDT
Current temp
58°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
17m 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 highway-focused experience for the majority of this 12.7-mile journey. The route utilizes major roadways like the Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway and CA-125, contributing to its 78% highway share. The longest uninterrupted stretch you'll encounter is 8.5 miles on the Martin Luther King Jr. Freeway. This means the drive is characterized by relatively fast speeds and consistent freeway conditions, with minimal exposure to slower, local road driving.
78% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
11 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 8.5 mi on Martin Luther King Junior Freeway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
7/10
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on Martin Luther King Junior Freeway and CA 125. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 1.1 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 12.7 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 17m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 1.1 miles: Lane positioning matters here; at 1.3 miles (CA 125): Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here; at 11.7 miles (16th Street): Lane positioning matters here.
About the Cities
Arriving in San Diego, CA
Full guide →Founded 1769
From balmy beaches with a laid-back attitude to a gleaming modern image, San Diego offers much for the tourist to enjoy. Situated on the Southern California seacoast, San Diego is the second largest city in the state, with 1.4 million residents (2020), and has long attracted travelers for its ideal climate, miles of beaches, and location on the Mexican border right across from Tijuana. But there's much more here than surfer culture and a quick hop across the border. A rich maritime and military heritage lives on in San Diego, which is home to the Pacific Fleet of the United States Navy. The city has also become known for its part in the wildlife conservation movement, owing to the presence of the world-renowned San Diego Zoo and Safari Park and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Natural scenery abounds from rocky tidepools and seaside cliffs to desert hills and canyons inland.
Top landmarks
- • Balboa Park — historic park in San Diego, California
- • Cabrillo National Monument — National Monument of the United States and historic district
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 17m. Total distance: 12.7 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
17m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (78%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 8.5 miles on Martin Luther King Junior 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 San Diego, 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 1.1 miles: Lane positioning matters here; at 1.3 miles (CA 125): Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here; at 11.7 miles (16th Street): Lane positioning matters here.
Yes — Cabrillo National Monument. 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 San Diego, 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, EIA for fuel prices, and NPS for national parks. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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