Origin
Hayward, CA
Late night in Hayward on Tuesday
Local time
5:03 AM
PDT
Current temp
68°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Hayward, CA to San Francisco, 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
37m
Distance
27 mi
43 km
Drive Score
8/10
Great drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$6
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 34m
★
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.
Hayward, CA
Wikimedia Commons
San Francisco, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
Hayward, CA to San Francisco, CA is 27 miles and takes about 37m via MacArthur Freeway, with a fuel budget near $6 and enough daylight to finish in a day. This short trip stays within the Pacific Coast region, making it a quick hop between two California destinations. Given its brevity, this route is ideal for a single-day excursion, allowing you to maximize your time at your destination. Expect a primarily highway-focused drive, so plan accordingly for typical freeway conditions.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| MacArthur Freeway | 14.9 mi | 17m |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway | 6 mi | 9m |
| Route 80 | 1.4 mi | 2m |
| Foothill Boulevard | 1.4 mi | 2m |
| Octavia Boulevard | 0.5 mi | <1m |
| Market Street | 0.3 mi | 1m |
| Central Freeway | 0.3 mi | <1m |
| Jackson Street | <0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
MacArthur Freeway
— 14.9 mi, about 17m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Hayward, CA and San Francisco, CA.
1
Start on Mission Boulevard
234 ft
·
9 sec
·
Mission Boulevard
2
Turn right
181 ft
·
14 sec
3
Turn slight right onto CA 92
240 ft
·
7 sec
·
Jackson Street
4
Continue on Foothill Boulevard
1.4 mi
·
2 min
·
Foothill Boulevard
Use the straight lane.
5
Take the ramp
0.9 mi
·
1 min
Toward I 580 West: Oakland
Use the straight lane.
6
Merge onto I 580
7.7 mi
·
8 min
·
MacArthur Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
7
Keep slight left at fork onto I 580
7.2 mi
·
8 min
·
MacArthur Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8
Take the exit
0.9 mi
·
1 min
Exit 19A
Toward I 80 West: San Francisco
9
Merge onto I 80
0.2 mi
·
17 sec
·
Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway
Toward I 80 West: San Francisco
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
10
Turn slight left onto I 80
0.4 mi
·
33 sec
·
Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway
11
Keep slight left at fork onto I 80
5.5 mi
·
8 min
·
Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway
Use the slight left lane.
12
Continue on I 80
0.3 mi
·
24 sec
·
Route 80
Use the straight / left / right lanes.
13
Continue on I 80
0.8 mi
·
1 min
·
Route 80
Exit 2A
Use the straight / slight left lanes.
14
Continue on I 80
0.4 mi
·
32 sec
·
Route 80
Exit 1A
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
15
Keep slight right at fork
0.4 mi
·
38 sec
Exit 1B
Toward US 101 North: Golden Gate Bridge
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
16
Merge onto US 101
0.3 mi
·
25 sec
·
Central Freeway
17
Continue on Octavia Boulevard
0.5 mi
·
42 sec
·
Octavia Boulevard
Exit 434B
Toward Octavia Boulevard, Fell Street
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
18
Turn right onto Market Street
0.1 mi
·
31 sec
·
Market Street
Use the right lane.
19
Keep slight right at fork onto Market Street
0.2 mi
·
35 sec
·
Market Street
20
Arrive at destination
Market Street
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 155 decision points cluster between mile 0 and 25.6 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
5
0 mi into trip
|
~0m in
Turn right
Navigation decision point
6
10.1 mi into trip
|
~14m in
|
I 580 / MacArthur Freeway
Keep slight left at fork onto I 580 / MacArthur Freeway
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
6
18.2 mi into trip
|
~23m in
|
I 80 / Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway
Merge onto I 80 / Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway toward I 80 West: San Francisco
Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Toward I 80 West: San Francisco
6
18.8 mi into trip
|
~24m in
|
I 80 / Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway
Keep slight left at fork onto I 80 / Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the slight left lane.
8
25.6 mi into trip
|
~34m in
Keep slight right at fork toward US 101 North: Golden Gate Bridge
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Exit 1B
Toward US 101 North: Golden Gate Bridge
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$6.21 one way
$12.41 round trip
$5.84/gal
25.4 MPG avg
9 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $6.02 | $6.39 | $12.79 |
| premium | $6.18 | $6.57 | $13.13 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $5.96 | $11.92 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$6
Estimated CO2 emission: 9.4 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 | 8.1 | 0 | $2.83 | $1.30 |
| Efficient EV | 6.8 | 0 | $2.36 | $1.08 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 10.8 | 0 | $3.78 | $1.73 |
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
San Francisco, CA
Late night in San Francisco on Tuesday
Local time
5:03 AM
PDT
Current temp
46°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
22 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
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?
This route is predominantly a highway-focused drive, with 61% of your journey on major freeways like the MacArthur Freeway and Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway. You'll experience a longest stretch of 14.9 miles on the MacArthur Freeway without significant interruptions. The character of the drive is consistent, largely maintaining freeway speeds and conditions for most of the 27 miles. Be prepared for a straightforward, efficient transit rather than a winding, scenic byway.
61% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
20 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 14.9 mi on MacArthur Freeway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
10/10
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on MacArthur 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 early in the drive.
Driving Effort
10/10
Focused - lots of decisions in a short distance, but it is over quickly
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This is a short but busy drive. With 15 decision points packed into just 27 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 37m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: near the start: Navigation decision point; at 10.1 miles (I 580 / MacArthur Freeway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 18.2 miles (I 80 / Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway): Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here.
About the Cities
Starting in Hayward, CA
Full guide →Founded 1876
Hayward is a city in the inner East Bay in the San Francisco Bay Area region of California located next to the San Francisco Bay. Hayward is located near premier tourist locations (San Francisco), first rate educational institutions (Berkeley and Stanford), and an economic powerhouse (Silicon Valley), however relatively speaking Hayward does not have as much to offer as its neighbors. Even so, its central location may make it a very economical home base for tourists and commuters, and its panoramic views of the Bay alone are worth the side trip for visitors. On paper, the landscape of this city of 163,000 people (2020) sounds nearly perfect. Hayward boasts of a central bay shoreline, a quaint city center with a small town feel in the city flatlands, hills which overlook the bay, and a hub of highways that connect everywhere in the bay area to the inland areas of California.
Arriving in San Francisco, CA
Full guide →“Frisco” · Founded 1776
The centerpiece of the Bay Area, San Francisco is one of the most visited cities in the world, and with good reason. The cultural center of northern California, San Francisco is renowned for its mixture of scenic beauty and unique culture that makes it one of the most vibrant and desirable cities in the nation, if not the world. Sandwiched between the San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean on a small square of land seven miles (11 km) on each side, San Francisco offers a wealth of treasures for the visitor, from the windswept and often foggy bay to the steep hills lined with Victorian homes that overlook the spectacular scenery of the city.
Top landmarks
- • Golden Gate Bridge — suspension bridge on the San Francisco Bay
- • Alcatraz Island — island in San Francisco, California, United States of America
- • San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge — suspension bridge connecting San Francisco and Oakland, California, USA
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: 27 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 (61%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 14.9 miles on MacArthur 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 Francisco, 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: near the start: Navigation decision point; at 10.1 miles (I 580 / MacArthur Freeway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 18.2 miles (I 80 / Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway): Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at San Francisco, 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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