Origin
Hayward, CA
Late night in Hayward on Tuesday
Local time
3:18 AM
PDT
Current temp
68°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Hayward, CA to San Jose, 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
35m
Distance
26.9 mi
43 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 32m
★
6 AM
0h 35m
8 AM
0h 41m
10 AM
0h 37m
12 PM
0h 37m
3 PM
0h 37m
5 PM
0h 41m
8 PM
0h 33m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Hayward, CA
Wikimedia Commons
San Jose, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
Spanning just 28 miles, this quick trip between Hayward and San Jose is an ideal day excursion within the Pacific Coast region. You can expect to complete the journey in roughly 35 minutes, making it a highly efficient transit between these two California hubs. Since the entire route is manageable in a single day, there is no need to worry about overnight accommodations. Budgeting approximately $4 for fuel will cover your transit costs comfortably. This drive is best viewed as a straightforward connection rather than a destination-heavy scenic tour, allowing you to focus on the ease of travel between these two points.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| I 880 | 21.8 mi | 24m |
| Jackson Street | 1.6 mi | 3m |
| North 1st Street | 1.5 mi | 3m |
| Nimitz Freeway | 1.2 mi | 1m |
| West Julian Street | <0.1 mi | <1m |
| Mission Boulevard | <0.1 mi | <1m |
| North Market Street | <0.1 mi | <1m |
| Watkins Street | <0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
I 880
— 21.8 mi, about 24m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Hayward, CA and San Jose, CA.
1
Start on Mission Boulevard
304 ft
·
11 sec
·
Mission Boulevard
2
Turn right
269 ft
·
21 sec
3
At end of road, turn right onto Watkins Street
93 ft
·
4 sec
·
Watkins Street
4
Turn left onto CA 92
1.6 mi
·
3 min
·
Jackson Street
Use the left / straight / right lanes.
5
Take the exit
0.4 mi
·
27 sec
Exit 26A
Toward I 880 South: San Jose
Use the slight right lane.
6
Merge onto I 880
1.2 mi
·
1 min
·
Nimitz Freeway
7
Keep slight left at fork onto I 880
2.4 mi
·
2 min
·
I 880
Use the slight left lane.
8
Keep slight left at fork onto I 880
19 mi
·
22 min
·
I 880
Use the slight left lane.
9
Take the exit
0.2 mi
·
26 sec
Exit 4A
Toward Downtown, North First Street
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
10
Turn left onto North 1st Street
1.5 mi
·
3 min
·
North 1st Street
Use the left / uturn lanes.
11
Turn right onto West Julian Street
494 ft
·
17 sec
·
West Julian Street
12
Turn left onto North Market Street
196 ft
·
6 sec
·
North Market Street
13
Arrive at destination
North Market Street
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 115 decision points cluster between mile 0.1 and 25.1 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
5
0.1 mi into trip
|
~0m in
Turn right
Navigation decision point
7
1.7 mi into trip
|
~3m in
Take the exit toward I 880 South: San Jose
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here
Use the slight right lane.
Exit 26A
Toward I 880 South: San Jose
6
3.2 mi into trip
|
~5m in
|
I 880
Keep slight left at fork onto I 880
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the slight left lane.
6
5.6 mi into trip
|
~8m in
|
I 880
Keep slight left at fork onto I 880
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the slight left lane.
8
25.1 mi into trip
|
~30m in
Take the exit toward Downtown, North First Street
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 4A
Toward Downtown, North First Street
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$6.18 one way
$12.37 round trip
$5.84/gal
25.4 MPG avg
9 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $6.02 | $6.37 | $12.74 |
| premium | $6.18 | $6.54 | $13.08 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $5.94 | $11.88 |
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 | $2.82 | $1.29 |
| Efficient EV | 6.7 | 0 | $2.35 | $1.08 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 10.8 | 0 | $3.77 | $1.72 |
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 Jose, CA
Late night in San Jose on Tuesday
Local time
3:18 AM
PDT
Current temp
49°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
19 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
35m 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 turn-heavy local drive that prioritizes navigation through urban corridors over high-speed cruising. You will begin your journey on Watkins Street and Jackson Street before transitioning onto I-880 South to complete the distance. Because the highway share is 0%, your experience will be defined by local roads rather than long, monotonous interstate stretches. The longest uninterrupted segment occurs on Watkins Street, meaning you should prepare for frequent maneuvering rather than cruise-control driving. Navigating these local turns requires your full attention, providing a distinct, hands-on feel behind the wheel.
86% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
13 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 21.8 mi on I 880.
How Hard Is This Drive?
8/10
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on I 880 and Jackson Street. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 0.1 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 26.9 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 35m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.1 miles: Navigation decision point; at 1.7 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here; at 3.2 miles (I 880): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
Towns Mentioned on Route Signs
Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.
Towns Mentioned on Route Signs
Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.
On the drive from Hayward, CA to San Jose, CA, road signs begin pointing toward Downtown along the way.
Downtown
25.1 mi in
|
~30m
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 Jose, CA
Full guide →Founded 1777
Often called "the capital of Silicon Valley", San Jose is the largest city in the Bay Area, 3rd largest in California, and the 12th largest city in the United States, with a population of over 997,000 residents as of 2024. It was named the 6th safest big city in the U.S. in 2015. This clean, sprawling metropolis has sports, beautiful vistas, and ethnic enclaves and bleeds into the greater Bay Area for travelers who want to take their time in Northern California.
Top landmarks
- • Winchester Mystery House — Mansion in San Jose, California.
- • San Jose Diridon station — railway station complex in San Jose, California
- • Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum — building in San Jose, 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 35m. Total distance: 26.9 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
35m 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 21.8 miles on I 880. 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 Jose, 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 0.1 miles: Navigation decision point; at 1.7 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here; at 3.2 miles (I 880): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
Yes — San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park and Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial. 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 Jose, 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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