Origin
Lawndale, CA
Late night in Lawndale on Tuesday
Local time
2:17 AM
PDT
Current temp
66°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Lawndale, CA to Long Beach, 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
22m
Distance
15.9 mi
26 km
Drive Score
7/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$4
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 21m
★
6 AM
0h 22m
8 AM
0h 26m
10 AM
0h 24m
12 PM
0h 23m
3 PM
0h 24m
5 PM
0h 26m
8 PM
0h 21m
★
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Lawndale, CA
Stephen Leonardi
Long Beach, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
If you are looking for a quick transition between the Pacific Coast locales of Lawndale and Long Beach, this 15.9-mile journey is a straightforward commute. You can expect to spend about 22 minutes behind the wheel, making this an ideal day trip that requires no overnight stays. With a total fuel cost of approximately $4, it is a highly budget-friendly route for travelers moving across Southern California. Because the origin and destination both sit within the Pacific Coast region, you will experience a consistent coastal climate throughout the drive. This path is entirely practical for those needing to reach the coast quickly without unnecessary detours.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego Freeway | 9.7 mi | 11m |
| Long Beach Freeway | 2.4 mi | 3m |
| Shoreline Drive | 1.3 mi | 2m |
| West Ocean Boulevard | 0.5 mi | 1m |
| Seaside Freeway | 0.5 mi | <1m |
| Hawthorne Boulevard | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| South Chestnut Place | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| East Ocean Boulevard | 0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
San Diego Freeway
— 9.7 mi, about 11m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Lawndale, CA and Long Beach, CA.
1
Start on Manhattan Beach Boulevard
163 ft
·
4 sec
·
Manhattan Beach Boulevard
2
Turn right
175 ft
·
14 sec
3
Turn right onto Hawthorne Boulevard
66 ft
·
3 sec
·
Hawthorne Boulevard
4
Turn left onto Manhattan Beach Boulevard
156 ft
·
13 sec
·
Manhattan Beach Boulevard
Use the left / uturn lanes.
5
Turn left onto Hawthorne Boulevard
0.2 mi
·
25 sec
·
Hawthorne Boulevard
6
Take the ramp
0.1 mi
·
19 sec
Toward I 405 South: Long Beach
Use the right lane.
7
Merge onto I 405
9.7 mi
·
11 min
·
San Diego Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8
Take the exit
377 ft
·
9 sec
Toward I 710 South: Long Beach
Use the slight right lane.
9
Continue on this road
0.3 mi
·
39 sec
·
this road
Exit 32B
Toward I 710 South: Long Beach
10
Merge onto I 710
2.4 mi
·
3 min
·
Long Beach Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
11
Continue on I 710
0.5 mi
·
40 sec
·
Seaside Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
12
Take the exit
0.3 mi
·
37 sec
Toward Downtown Long Beach, Convention Center, Aquarium
Use the slight left / straight lanes.
13
Continue on Shoreline Drive
1.3 mi
·
2 min
·
Shoreline Drive
14
Turn left onto South Chestnut Place
0.2 mi
·
30 sec
·
South Chestnut Place
Use the left / uturn lanes.
15
Turn right onto West Ocean Boulevard
0.5 mi
·
1 min
·
West Ocean Boulevard
16
Continue on East Ocean Boulevard
0.1 mi
·
21 sec
·
East Ocean Boulevard
Use the left lane.
17
Arrive at destination
East Ocean Boulevard
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 135 decision points cluster between mile 0.1 and 13.4 — 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
|
Hawthorne Boulevard
Turn right onto Hawthorne Boulevard
Navigation decision point
5
0.1 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
Manhattan Beach Boulevard
Turn left onto Manhattan Beach Boulevard
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left / uturn lanes.
7
0.3 mi into trip
|
~1m in
Take the ramp toward I 405 South: Long Beach
Lane positioning matters here
Use the right lane.
Toward I 405 South: Long Beach
6
10.2 mi into trip
|
~12m in
Take the exit toward I 710 South: Long Beach
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here
Use the slight right lane.
Toward I 710 South: Long Beach
7
13.4 mi into trip
|
~17m in
Take the exit toward Downtown Long Beach, Convention Center, Aquarium
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the slight left / straight lanes.
Toward Downtown Long Beach, Convention Center,...
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$3.65 one way
$7.31 round trip
$5.84/gal
25.4 MPG avg
6 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $6.02 | $3.77 | $7.53 |
| premium | $6.18 | $3.87 | $7.73 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $3.51 | $7.02 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$4
Estimated CO2 emission: 5.6 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $2 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 4.8 | 0 | $1.67 | $0.76 |
| Efficient EV | 4 | 0 | $1.39 | $0.64 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 6.4 | 0 | $2.23 | $1.02 |
Gas CO2
6 kg
EV CO2
2 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
Long Beach, CA
Late night in Long Beach on Tuesday
Local time
2:17 AM
PDT
Current temp
58°F
Partly Cloudy
E 5 to 10 mph
1% chance
Live forecast
Wind Advisory
Wind Advisory issued April 17 at 12:31AM PDT until April 17 at 5:00PM PDT by NWS Las Vegas NV
Wind Advisory
Wind Advisory issued April 17 at 12:31AM PDT until April 17 at 5:00AM PDT by NWS Las Vegas NV
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
8 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
22m on the road
The weather snapshot is not static. If you are leaving later, give both cities one more quick forecast check before departure.
Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.
What kind of drive is this?
This trip is a quintessential highway-focused drive, with 79 percent of your travel taking place on major thoroughfares. You will spend the bulk of your time navigating the San Diego Freeway and the Long Beach Freeway, which serve as the backbone of this short transit. The longest uninterrupted stretch covers 9.7 miles on the San Diego Freeway, where you can settle into a steady pace. As you approach your destination, the road transitions from these high-speed arterial routes onto Shoreline Drive. Expect a utilitarian experience that prioritizes efficiency and speed over winding backroads or scenic leisure driving.
79% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
17 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 9.7 mi on San Diego Freeway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
7/10
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on San Diego Freeway and Long Beach Freeway. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 0.1 miles in near Hawthorne Boulevard.
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 13 decision points packed into just 15.9 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 22m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.1 miles (Hawthorne Boulevard): Navigation decision point; at 0.1 miles (Manhattan Beach Boulevard): Lane positioning matters here; at 0.3 miles: Lane positioning matters here.
Elevation Profile
Mostly flat terrain
88 ft
8 ft
Total Climb
79 ft
Total Descent
105 ft
Highest Point
88 ft
~1.1 mi in
Elevation Range
80 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 Lawndale, CA and Long Beach, CA, road signs point toward Convention Center and Aquarium.
Convention Center
13.4 mi in
|
~17m
Aquarium
13.4 mi in
|
~17m
About the Cities
Arriving in Long Beach, CA
Full guide →Founded 1888
Long Beach is a large port city in Los Angeles County in Southern California. Long Beach has some nice people-gathering amenities and genuine tourist attractions, such as a world-class aquarium and the Queen Mary floating museum/hotel. Special events are also held in the city like the annual Long Beach Grand Prix (a premier racing event held on city streets) and the annual Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride event. When compared to other areas like Hollywood, West Hollywood, Santa Monica and West L.A., Long Beach may not always be at the top of someone's tourist visit to the Los Angeles area, but the city draws its fair share of visitors and has proven it can definitely hold its own.
Top landmarks
- • RMS Queen Mary — retired British ocean liner
- • Terminal Island — island in Los Angeles County, California, United States
- • Aquarium of the Pacific — public aquarium in Long Beach, California
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 22m. Total distance: 15.9 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
22m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (79%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 9.7 miles on San Diego 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 Long Beach, 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 (Hawthorne Boulevard): Navigation decision point; at 0.1 miles (Manhattan Beach Boulevard): Lane positioning matters here; at 0.3 miles: Lane positioning matters here.
Yes — Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. 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 Long Beach, 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, USGS 3DEP for elevation, and NPS for national parks. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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