Navarro County Northbound Rest Area
0 mi from route
Trip from Irving, TX to Bay City, TX
Pin this tripCompiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Jul 20, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
6h 14m
Distance
329.3 mi
530 km
Drive Score
8/10
Great drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$45
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
6h 1m
★
6 AM
6h 14m
8 AM
6h 39m
10 AM
6h 23m
12 PM
6h 20m
3 PM
6h 24m
5 PM
6h 38m
8 PM
6h 6m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Irving, TX
Wikimedia Commons
Bay City, TX
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
Irving, TX to Bay City, TX is 329.3 miles and takes about 6h 14m via Julius Schepps Freeway and TX 35, with a fuel budget near $52 and enough daylight to finish in a day. This trip stays within Texas, moving from the Great Plains region to another area also classified as Great Plains. Expect a route that is predominantly highway driving, making it a straightforward, single-day trip. It's a practical option if you're looking for an efficient way to cover this distance without needing an overnight stop.
Trip Pace
Same-day drive is realistic
A same-day return is possible, but it will make for a full day on the road.
Break Rhythm
1 planned break
Plan on a short reset every 3 to 4 hours to stay fresh behind the wheel.
Midpoint
164.7 miles from Irving, TX
A natural place for your longest stop of the day , about 2h 57m into the drive .
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Julius Schepps Freeway | 235.8 mi | 4h 7m |
| Nolan Ryan Expressway | 24.6 mi | 28m |
| TX 35 | 21.8 mi | 32m |
| TX 288 Toll | 14.4 mi | 16m |
| Jimmy Phillips Boulevard | 11.3 mi | 16m |
| Tom Landry Freeway | 6.3 mi | 7m |
| South Walton Walker Boulevard | 2.8 mi | 3m |
| Gulf Freeway | 2.6 mi | 3m |
Longest stretch:
Julius Schepps Freeway
— 235.8 mi, about 4h 7m
Traffic on I-45
Hour-of-day weekday pattern from 48 FHWA count stations on your route.
Peak
4 PM
~3,256 veh/hr typical · worst 3,806
Quietest
2 AM
~407 veh/hr
Peak-to-quiet ratio
8×
busier at peak than in the quiet hours
12a
6a
noon
6p
11p
Averaged across 48 weeks of 2023 FHWA Travel Monitoring Analysis System data. Weekday hours only (Mon–Fri).
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Irving, TX and Bay City, TX.
1
Start on North Ohio Street
436 ft
·
24 sec
·
North Ohio Street
2
Turn left onto West 2nd Street
0.7 mi
·
1 min
·
West 2nd Street
3
Turn straight onto TX 356
0.9 mi
·
1 min
·
East Irving Boulevard
4
Turn slight right
393 ft
·
17 sec
5
Turn slight right onto South Loop 12
187 ft
·
3 sec
·
South Loop 12
6
Take the ramp
410 ft
·
10 sec
Toward Loop 12 South
7
Merge onto Loop 12
2.8 mi
·
3 min
·
South Walton Walker Boulevard
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8
Take the exit
0.5 mi
·
1 min
Toward I 30: Dallas, Fort Worth
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
9
Keep slight right at fork
0.3 mi
·
44 sec
Toward I 30 East: Dallas
Use the slight right lane.
10
Merge onto I 30
6.3 mi
·
7 min
·
Tom Landry Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
11
Continue on I 30; US 67
0.8 mi
·
1 min
·
East R L Thornton Freeway
12
Take the exit
0.5 mi
·
45 sec
Exit 46
Toward I 45, US 75: Houston, McKinney
Use the slight right lane.
13
Keep slight right at fork
0.4 mi
·
54 sec
Toward I 45 South: Houston
Use the slight right lane.
14
Merge onto I 45
1.6 mi
·
1 min
·
Julius Schepps Freeway
Use the straight / right lanes.
15
Keep slight left at fork onto I 45
234 mi
·
4 hr 5 min
·
Julius Schepps Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
16
Continue on I 45
2.6 mi
·
3 min
·
Gulf Freeway
Use the straight / left lanes.
17
Take the exit
0.7 mi
·
1 min
Exit 46B
Toward US 59 South, TX 288 South, I 69 South: Lake Jackson, Freeport, Victoria
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
18
Keep slight left at fork
0.5 mi
·
1 min
Toward TX 288 South: Lake Jackson, Freeport
19
Continue on TX 288
0.6 mi
·
46 sec
·
South Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
20
Keep slight left at fork onto TX 288 Toll
14 mi
·
16 min
·
TX 288 Toll
Use the slight left / straight lanes.
21
Merge onto TX 288
0.2 mi
·
17 sec
·
South Freeway
22
Continue on TX 288
25 mi
·
28 min
·
Nolan Ryan Expressway
23
Take the exit
0.5 mi
·
1 min
Toward TX 35
24
Turn right onto TX 35
11 mi
·
16 min
·
Jimmy Phillips Boulevard
25
Continue on TX 35
0.9 mi
·
1 min
·
East Brazos Avenue
26
Turn left onto TX 35 Business
2.0 mi
·
3 min
·
South 17th Street
27
At end of road, turn left onto TX 35
22 mi
·
32 min
·
TX 35
28
Arrive at destination
TX 35
Trip Plan
Given the 6h 14m estimated drive time, starting your trip in the morning will give you ample daylight to reach Bay City. With only one recommended stop, you can easily complete this drive in a single day. The fuel cost is estimated at $52, so ensure you have that available. A key consideration is the 235.8-mile stretch on Julius Schepps Freeway; plan your fuel and rest breaks accordingly, as you'll be on this highway for a significant portion of the drive.
Morning Departure
Start early — leave by 6-7 AM to arrive at a reasonable hour.
Evening Departure
This is a long drive — plan for a morning departure or consider splitting it into two days.
You can normally do this drive in one day.
Plan roughly 1 meaningful break for fuel, food, and rest.
The halfway point lands around 164.7 miles from Irving, TX, or about 2h 57m into the drive.
The longest continuous stretch on this route runs about 235.8 miles.
This is a comfortable same-day trip.
Departure
Before you leave
Start with fuel, water, and navigation already sorted so the first hour feels easy.
First stop
Around 72 miles or 1h 20m in
Use this first pause for coffee, a restroom break, and a quick traffic check ahead.
Halfway reset
Around 164.7 miles or 2h 57m in
This is the best place for your longest stop, a real meal, and a full fuel check.
Final approach
Final hour starts around 4h 52m
Traffic, exits, and arrival timing usually matter more near Bay City, TX than in the middle of the route.
Before You Leave
+
Open the route before leaving Irving, TX so your first major turns are already loaded.
+
Leave with enough water and a charging cable within reach, not packed away.
+
Check your fuel range against the first long segment, especially if you are starting outside city service areas.
Day 1
Settle into the route from Irving, TX
This is one driving day of about 329.3 miles and 6h 14m.
Your first comfortable stop window is around 72 miles from Irving, TX.
This route can stay practical as a one-day drive if traffic stays reasonable.
Plan about 1 real break rather than only quick fuel stops.
The longest stretch is on Julius Schepps Freeway for about 235.8 miles.
Where to Stop
Rest stops, refuel points, and overnight suggestions along this route.
Mid-route town
Meal stop
165 mi into the route
Best for: Lunch, fuel, and a longer reset
This sits close to the middle of the route, so it works well for the longest stop of the day.
Pacing Suggestions
Fuel and coffee
A short stop after about 72 miles helps settle the day before fatigue starts building.
Meal break
The midpoint is around 164.7 miles from Irving, TX, which is a good place for a longer meal and fuel stop.
Before the longest stretch
Fuel checkTop up before Julius Schepps Freeway if your tank is already low. That segment runs about 235.8 miles.
These stop ideas are pacing suggestions — the exact town or exit can change with traffic, hotel plans, and fuel range.
Stops Along Your Drive
Picked by where they fit in your drive — first break, midpoint reset, final stretch.
Buc-ee's
0 mi from route
Love's Travel Stop
0.1 mi from route
Love's Travel Stop
0.1 mi from route
Love's Travel Stop
0.1 mi from route
Flying J Travel Center
0.1 mi from route
Navarro County Southbound Rest Area
0.1 mi from route
Buc-ee's
0.1 mi from route
Love's Travel Stop
0.1 mi from route
Road Ranger
0.1 mi from route
Service Plaza
0.1 mi from route
TA Express
0.1 mi from route
QuikTrip
0.1 mi from route
Love's Travel Stop
0.2 mi from route
Pilot Travel Center
0.2 mi from route
Walker County Southbound Rest Area
0.2 mi from route
Walker County Northbound Rest Area
0.2 mi from route
Love's Travel Stop
0.2 mi from route
Pilot Travel Center
0.2 mi from route
TA Express
0.2 mi from route
Buc-ee's
0.2 mi from route
QuikTrip
0.2 mi from route
QuikTrip
0.2 mi from route
QuikTrip
0.9 mi from route
Service Plaza
1.2 mi from route
Flying J Travel Center
1.4 mi from route
Service Plaza
1.4 mi from route
TA
1.6 mi from route
Service Plaza
2.4 mi from route
QuikTrip
2.5 mi from route
Place data sourced from public business listings. Hours and availability may vary.
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 185 decision points cluster between mile 4.7 and 251.8 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
7
4.7 mi into trip
|
~6m in
Take the exit toward I 30: Dallas, Fort Worth
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.
Toward I 30: Dallas, Fort Worth
7
5.2 mi into trip
|
~8m in
Keep slight right at fork toward I 30 East: Dallas
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the slight right lane.
Toward I 30 East: Dallas
8
12.5 mi into trip
|
~17m in
Take the exit toward I 45, US 75: Houston, McKinney
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the slight right lane.
Exit 46
Toward I 45, US 75: Houston, McKinney
7
13 mi into trip
|
~18m in
Keep slight right at fork toward I 45 South: Houston
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the slight right lane.
Toward I 45 South: Houston
8
251.8 mi into trip
|
~4h 29m in
Take the exit toward US 59 South, TX 288 South, I 69 South: Lake Jackson, Freeport, Victoria
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 46B
Toward US 59 South, TX 288 South, I 69 South: L...
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$45.10 one way
$90.21 round trip
$3.48/gal
25.4 MPG avg
115 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $3.89 | $50.38 | $100.76 |
| premium | $4.23 | $54.78 | $109.55 |
| diesel | $4.80 | $62.18 | $124.36 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Estimated Trip Cost (one way, 1 person)
Fuel
$45
Meals
$25–$50
Total
$70–$95
Rough estimate based on US averages. Hotel $80–$140/night, meals $25–$50/day.
Estimated CO2 emission: 115.2 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-07-13.
Driving Electric?
About $35 in charging · 1 stop · 66% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 98.8 | 1 | $34.58 | $15.81 |
| Efficient EV | 82.3 | 0 | $28.81 | $13.17 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 131.7 | 1 | $46.10 | $21.08 |
Gas CO2
115 kg
EV CO2
39 kg (66% less)
Plan for 1 charging stop. A 30-minute DC fast charge mid-route should be enough to complete the trip comfortably.
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.
Origin
Irving, TX
Late night in Irving on Monday
Local time
2:19 AM
CDT
Current temp
92°F
Mostly Sunny
SSW 10 mph
9% chance
Live forecast
Flash Flood Warning
Flash Flood Warning issued July 17 at 9:44AM CDT until July 17 at 12:45PM CDT by NWS San Angelo TX
Flood Warning
Flood Warning issued July 17 at 9:39AM CDT by NWS Corpus Christi TX
Destination
Bay City, TX
Late night in Bay City on Monday
Local time
2:19 AM
CDT
Current temp
91°F
Mostly Sunny
S 10 mph
8% chance
Live forecast
Flash Flood Warning
Flash Flood Warning issued July 17 at 9:44AM CDT until July 17 at 12:45PM CDT by NWS San Angelo TX
Flood Warning
Flood Warning issued July 17 at 9:39AM CDT by NWS Corpus Christi TX
Seasonal Notes
Summer travel usually means heavier construction, hotter rest stops, and busier weekend traffic around major cities.
Winter travel shortens daylight, so a route that looks manageable on paper can feel much longer after dark.
Holiday weekends tend to make both departure and arrival windows slower than the raw route time suggests.
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
6h 14m on the road
Start early — leave by 6-7 AM to arrive at a reasonable hour.
Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.
What kind of drive is this?
This drive is largely highway, with 93% of the route on main roads. You'll experience a long stretch of 235.8 miles on Julius Schepps Freeway before transitioning. The majority of your time will be spent on highways, with only about 23 miles on surface roads. Expect to see a high density of exits and merges as you navigate through these main thoroughfares.
93% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
28 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 235.8 mi on Julius Schepps Freeway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
10/10
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on Julius Schepps Freeway and Nolan Ryan Expressway. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 4.7 miles in.
Driving Effort
10/10
High effort - long or complex enough to need steady focus all day
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This is a demanding drive. With 18 significant decision points across 329.3 miles, you will need to stay alert - especially through interchange areas and urban stretches. Consider splitting it into segments if you are not comfortable with fast highway navigation.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 4.7 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 5.2 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 12.5 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
Elevation Profile
Mostly flat terrain
501 ft
34 ft
Total Climb
255 ft
Total Descent
705 ft
Highest Point
501 ft
~47 mi in
Elevation Range
467 ft
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.
Between Irving, TX and Bay City, TX, road signs point toward Freeport and Victoria.
Freeport
251.8 mi in
|
~4h 29m
Victoria
251.8 mi in
|
~4h 29m
About the Cities
Starting in Irving, TX
Full guide →Founded 1903
Irving is a city in the Prairies and Lakes region of Texas. Part of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, Irving has experienced exponential growth over the past fifty years, and is home to a multitude of attractions of all types, from modern art to major sporting events. Founded in 1902 out of the remnants of the small community of Kit, Irving is now a bustling city of approximately 197,000 residents. Rather like Dallas, it is divided into a highly affluent northern half and less affluent but highly diverse southern half. It is bounded to the east by the northern fork (Elm Fork) of the Trinity River and to the northwest by the sprawling D/FW International Airport.
Top landmarks
- • Ruth Paine Home — house in Irving, Texas, United States
Arriving in Bay City, TX
Full guide →Bay City is a small city in the Gulf Coast region of Texas. It's on SH-35, about two hours from Houston, at the Colorado River.
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 6h 14m. Total distance: 329.3 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 1 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
6h 14m drive, plan rest stops for pacing.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 235.8 miles on Julius Schepps Freeway. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.
Yes — we found about 30 rest areas or service plazas within a short detour of the route (from OpenStreetMap). See the Rest Stops tab under Nearby Places for locations and mile markers. Plan to stretch, use the bathroom, and top off fluids every 2–3 hours on longer drives.
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 Bay City, TX before sunset when you can. Check the Trip Plan for departure windows that land you in daylight.
Only with planning. This is a long drive for kids — consider splitting it into two days rather than pushing through. Plan at least 1 meaningful breaks. There are 30 rest areas along the route for bathroom stops.
The main spots that need attention: at 4.7 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 5.2 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 12.5 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
Not recommended in a single day. At 6.2 hours each way, a round trip means 12.5 hours of driving — that is an unsafe level of fatigue for most drivers. Plan at least one night at Bay City, TX before the return drive.
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, USGS 3DEP for elevation, and FHWA TMAS for hourly traffic volumes. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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