Compiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 21, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
41m
Distance
33.7 mi
54 km
Drive Score
6/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$8
one way
EV Charging
Sparse
1 stations
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Lawndale, CA
Stephen Leonardi
Santa Ana, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Lawndale, CA to Santa Ana, CA is 33.7 miles and takes about 41 minutes via San Diego Freeway, with a fuel budget near $8 and enough daylight to finish in a day. This drive stays within the Pacific Coast region, traversing a largely urban and suburban landscape. It's a straightforward trip, ideal for when you need to get from one point to another efficiently without a significant time commitment. Consider this route for a quick relocation of your vehicle or a short jaunt between these Southern California locales.
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| San Diego Freeway | 20.5 mi | 23m |
| Garden Grove Freeway | 10.1 mi | 11m |
| North Broadway | 1.3 mi | 2m |
| North Main Street | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| Hawthorne Boulevard | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| West 5th Street | 0.1 mi | <1m |
| Manhattan Beach Boulevard | <0.1 mi | <1m |
| West 1st Street | <0.1 mi | <1m |
Step-by-step road directions between Lawndale, CA and Santa Ana, CA.
Start on Manhattan Beach Boulevard
Turn right
Turn right onto Hawthorne Boulevard
Turn left onto Manhattan Beach Boulevard
Turn left onto Hawthorne Boulevard
Take the ramp
Merge onto I 405
Keep slight right at fork onto I 405
Keep slight right at fork onto CA 22
Take the exit onto CA 22
Keep slight right at fork
Keep slight right at fork
Keep slight right at fork
Turn straight onto North Broadway
Turn left onto West 5th Street
Turn right onto North Main Street
Turn right onto West 1st Street
Arrive at destination
5 decision points cluster between mile 0.3 and 31.8 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
Take the ramp toward I 405 South: Long Beach
Lane positioning matters here
Keep slight right at fork onto CA 22 / Garden Grove Freeway toward CA 22 East: Garden Grove
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Keep slight right at fork toward I 5 South: Santa Ana, Broadway, Main Street
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Keep slight right at fork toward Broadway, Main Street
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Keep slight right at fork toward Main Street North, Broadway
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Regular Gas
$7.75 one way
$15.49 round trip
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $6.02 | $7.98 | $15.96 |
| premium | $6.18 | $8.20 | $16.39 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $7.44 | $14.88 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$8
Estimated CO2 emission: 11.8 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $4 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 10.1 | 0 | $3.54 | $1.62 |
| Efficient EV | 8.4 | 0 | $2.95 | $1.35 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 13.5 | 0 | $4.72 | $2.16 |
Gas CO2
12 kg
EV CO2
4 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.
Current conditions at both ends of the drive.
Origin
Late night in Lawndale on Tuesday
Local time
5:18 AM
PDT
Current temp
57°F
Cloudy
Destination
Late night in Santa Ana on Tuesday
Local time
5:18 AM
PDT
Current temp
55°F
Unavailable
Time zone
Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.
Temperature spread
A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.
Road read
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.
Expect a highway-focused drive for this 33.7-mile journey, with 91% of your travel time spent on freeways. You'll primarily navigate the San Diego Freeway and the Garden Grove Freeway, with a portion on North Broadway. The longest uninterrupted stretch is a solid 20.5 miles on the San Diego Freeway, offering a consistent pace. This route is characterized by its urban setting, so anticipate typical freeway traffic patterns as you make your way across the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on San Diego Freeway and Garden Grove Freeway. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 0.3 miles in.
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 16 decision points packed into just 33.7 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 41m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.3 miles: Lane positioning matters here; at 21 miles (CA 22 / Garden Grove Freeway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 31.1 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.
Between Lawndale, CA and Santa Ana, CA, road signs point toward Broadway and Main Street North.
Broadway
Main Street North
Founded 1869
Santa Ana is a city in Orange County, Southern California and is the county seat of that county.
Top landmarks
City content from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 41m. Total distance: 33.7 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
41m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (91%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
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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