Origin
Lakewood, NJ
Evening in Lakewood on Friday
Local time
8:55 PM
EDT
Current temp
64°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Lakewood, NJ to Pennington, NJ
Pin this tripCompiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Sep 5, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
59m
Distance
43 mi
69 km
Drive Score
8/10
Great drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$7
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 55m
★
6 AM
1h 0m
8 AM
1h 9m
10 AM
1h 3m
12 PM
1h 2m
3 PM
1h 4m
5 PM
1h 9m
8 PM
0h 57m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Lakewood, NJ
Wikimedia Commons
Pennington, NJ
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
The drive from Lakewood, NJ to Pennington, NJ covers 43 miles and takes about 59m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.
The route leans on Central Jersey Expressway, I 295, County Line Road for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is mostly highway. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 19 miles on Central Jersey Expressway. At current regular gas prices, budget about $7.18 one way before food or hotel costs.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Central Jersey Expressway | 19 mi | 21m |
| I 295 | 10.5 mi | 12m |
| County Line Road | 6.3 mi | 11m |
| Pennington Road | 1.6 mi | 3m |
| Arena Drive | 1.1 mi | 2m |
| East Commodore Boulevard | 1 mi | 1m |
| South Main Street | 0.9 mi | 2m |
| Madison Avenue | 0.6 mi | 1m |
Longest stretch:
Central Jersey Expressway
— 19 mi, about 21m
Traffic on I-195
Hour-of-day weekday pattern from 44 FHWA count stations on your route.
Peak
4 PM
~2,786 veh/hr typical · worst 3,356
Quietest
2 AM
~125 veh/hr
Peak-to-quiet ratio
22.3×
busier at peak than in the quiet hours
12a
6a
noon
6p
11p
Averaged across 96 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 Lakewood, NJ and Pennington, NJ.
1
Start on 8th Street
46 ft
·
4 sec
·
8th Street
2
Turn right onto US 9; CR 547
0.6 mi
·
1 min
·
Madison Avenue
3
Turn left onto CR 526
6.3 mi
·
11 min
·
County Line Road
Use the left lane.
4
Turn left onto CR 526; CR 638
0.1 mi
·
23 sec
·
Jackson Mills Road
5
Turn slight right onto CR 526
1.0 mi
·
1 min
·
East Commodore Boulevard
6
Turn right onto CR 527
0.4 mi
·
39 sec
·
Cedar Swamp Road
7
Take the ramp
0.3 mi
·
33 sec
Toward I 195 West: Trenton
8
Merge onto I 195
19 mi
·
21 min
·
Central Jersey Expressway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
9
Take the exit
0.2 mi
·
21 sec
Exit 2
Toward US 206: South Broad Street, Arena Drive
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
10
Keep slight right at fork
0.2 mi
·
21 sec
Exit 2
Toward Arena Drive
11
Turn straight onto CR 620
1.1 mi
·
2 min
·
Arena Drive
12
Take the ramp
0.3 mi
·
38 sec
Toward I 295 North
13
Merge onto I 295
11 mi
·
12 min
·
I 295
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
14
Take the exit
0.2 mi
·
31 sec
Exit 72
Toward NJ 31: Ewing, Pennington
Use the slight right lane.
15
Keep slight right at fork
0.1 mi
·
17 sec
Toward NJ 31 North: Pennington
Use the straight / right lanes.
16
Merge onto NJ 31
1.0 mi
·
1 min
·
Pennington Road
Use the right lane.
17
Enter roundabout onto CR 640
470 ft
·
8 sec
·
Pennington Road
18
Continue on CR 640
0.5 mi
·
1 min
·
Pennington Road
19
Continue on CR 640
0.9 mi
·
2 min
·
South Main Street
20
Turn right onto East Delaware Avenue
165 ft
·
11 sec
·
East Delaware Avenue
21
Turn left
124 ft
·
9 sec
22
Arrive at destination
Where to Stop
Rest stops, refuel points, and overnight suggestions along this route.
Mid-route town
Meal stop
22 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 43 miles helps settle the day before fatigue starts building.
Meal break
The midpoint is around 21.5 miles from Lakewood, NJ, which is a good place for a longer meal and fuel stop.
These stop ideas are pacing suggestions — the exact town or exit can change with traffic, hotel plans, and fuel range.
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 155 decision points cluster between mile 0.6 and 40.3 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
5
0.6 mi into trip
|
~1m in
|
CR 526 / County Line Road
Turn left onto CR 526 / County Line Road
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
8
27.8 mi into trip
|
~37m in
Take the exit toward US 206: South Broad Street, Arena Drive
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 2
Toward US 206: South Broad Street, Arena Drive
7
28 mi into trip
|
~37m in
Keep slight right at fork toward Arena Drive
Highway fork - watch signs carefully
Exit 2
Toward Arena Drive
8
40.1 mi into trip
|
~53m in
Take the exit toward NJ 31: Ewing, Pennington
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 72
Toward NJ 31: Ewing, Pennington
8
40.3 mi into trip
|
~53m in
Keep slight right at fork toward NJ 31 North: Pennington
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / right lanes.
Toward NJ 31 North: Pennington
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$7.18 one way
$14.37 round trip
$4.24/gal
25.4 MPG avg
15 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.67 | $7.91 | $15.82 |
| premium | $5.01 | $8.48 | $16.97 |
| diesel | $5.60 | $9.48 | $18.96 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$7
Estimated CO2 emission: 15 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-08-31.
Driving Electric?
About $5 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 12.9 | 0 | $4.52 | $2.06 |
| Efficient EV | 10.8 | 0 | $3.76 | $1.72 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 17.2 | 0 | $6.02 | $2.75 |
Gas CO2
15 kg
EV CO2
5 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
Pennington, NJ
Evening in Pennington on Friday
Local time
8:55 PM
EDT
Current temp
64°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
64°F
Lawrence, NJ
22 mi in
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
Very similar conditions
Both ends of the route are sitting at about the same temperature right now.
Road read
59m 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?
43 mi in 59m, mostly highway — 19 mi of that is on Central Jersey Expressway.
69% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
22 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 19 mi on Central Jersey Expressway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
9/10
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on Central Jersey Expressway and I 295. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 0.6 miles in near CR 526 / County Line Road.
Driving Effort
9/10
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 43 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 59m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.6 miles (CR 526 / County Line Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 27.8 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 28 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully.
Elevation Profile
Mostly flat terrain
209 ft
38 ft
Total Climb
274 ft
Total Descent
138 ft
Highest Point
209 ft
~43 mi in
Elevation Range
171 ft
About the Cities
Starting in Lakewood, NJ
Full guide →Lakewood is a town in Ocean County, New Jersey.
Top landmarks
- • Georgian Court University — Private university in Lakewood Township, New Jersey. United States
Arriving in Pennington, NJ
Full guide →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 59m. Total distance: 43 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
59m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (69%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 19 miles on Central Jersey Expressway. 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 Pennington, NJ 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 0.6 miles (CR 526 / County Line Road): Lane positioning matters here; at 27.8 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 28 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Pennington, NJ 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, USGS 3DEP for elevation, and FHWA TMAS for hourly traffic volumes. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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