Origin
Los Alamitos, CA
Afternoon in Los Alamitos on Saturday
Local time
4:47 PM
PDT
Current temp
73°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Los Alamitos, CA to Santa Ana, CA
Pin this tripCompiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 25, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
23m
Distance
16.8 mi
27 km
Drive Score
8/10
Great drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$4
one way
EV Charging
Sparse
1 stations
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 21m
★
6 AM
0h 24m
8 AM
0h 28m
10 AM
0h 25m
12 PM
0h 25m
3 PM
0h 25m
5 PM
0h 27m
8 PM
0h 22m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Los Alamitos, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Santa Ana, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
Los Alamitos to Santa Ana is 16.8 miles and takes about 23 minutes via Garden Grove Freeway and San Diego Freeway, with a fuel budget near $4 and enough daylight to finish in a day. This is a straightforward, one-day trip primarily within California's Pacific Coast region. Expect a highway-focused experience that's convenient for local travel or connecting between nearby areas. Given its short distance and duration, this route offers a lot of flexibility for timing your departure.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Garden Grove Freeway | 10.1 mi | 11m |
| San Diego Freeway | 1.3 mi | 1m |
| North Broadway | 1.3 mi | 2m |
| Seal Beach Boulevard | 1.2 mi | 2m |
| Los Alamitos Boulevard | 1.1 mi | 2m |
| North Main Street | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| West 5th Street | 0.1 mi | <1m |
| West Katella Avenue | <0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
Garden Grove Freeway
— 10.1 mi, about 11m
Traffic on I-405
Hour-of-day weekday pattern from 12 FHWA count stations on your route.
Peak
3 PM
~7,155 veh/hr typical
Quietest
2 AM
~442 veh/hr
Peak-to-quiet ratio
16.2×
busier at peak than in the quiet hours
12a
6a
noon
6p
11p
Averaged across 2 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 Los Alamitos, CA and Santa Ana, CA.
1
Start on West Katella Avenue
177 ft
·
8 sec
·
West Katella Avenue
2
Turn right onto Los Alamitos Boulevard
1.1 mi
·
2 min
·
Los Alamitos Boulevard
Use the right lane.
3
Continue on Seal Beach Boulevard
1.2 mi
·
2 min
·
Seal Beach Boulevard
Use the left lane.
4
Take the ramp
0.4 mi
·
52 sec
Toward CA 22 East, I 405 South: San Diego, Garden Grove
Use the left lane.
5
Merge onto I 405; CA 22
1.3 mi
·
1 min
·
San Diego Freeway
6
Keep slight right at fork onto CA 22
9.8 mi
·
11 min
·
Garden Grove Freeway
Exit 21
Toward CA 22 East: Garden Grove
Use the straight / right lanes.
7
Take the exit onto CA 22
0.3 mi
·
20 sec
·
Garden Grove Freeway
Exit 14C
Toward I 5 South: Santa Ana
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8
Keep slight right at fork
0.3 mi
·
17 sec
Exit 14C; 105B
Toward I 5 South: Santa Ana, Broadway, Main Street
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
9
Keep slight right at fork
0.5 mi
·
32 sec
Toward Broadway, Main Street
Use the slight right lane.
10
Keep slight right at fork
0.3 mi
·
21 sec
Toward Main Street North, Broadway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
11
Turn straight onto North Broadway
1.3 mi
·
2 min
·
North Broadway
Use the left lane.
12
Turn left onto West 5th Street
0.1 mi
·
16 sec
·
West 5th Street
Use the left lane.
13
Turn right onto North Main Street
0.2 mi
·
30 sec
·
North Main Street
Use the right lane.
14
Turn right onto West 1st Street
52 ft
·
1 sec
·
West 1st Street
Use the right lane.
15
Arrive at destination
West 1st Street
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 125 decision points cluster between mile 2.3 and 14.8 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
8
2.3 mi into trip
|
~4m in
Take the ramp toward CA 22 East, I 405 South: San Diego, Garden Grove
Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the left lane.
Toward CA 22 East, I 405 South: San Diego, Gard...
8
4 mi into trip
|
~7m in
|
CA 22 / Garden Grove Freeway
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
Use the straight / right lanes.
Exit 21
Toward CA 22 East: Garden Grove
10
14.1 mi into trip
|
~18m in
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
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Exit 14C; 105B
Toward I 5 South: Santa Ana, Broadway, Main Str...
8
14.4 mi into trip
|
~19m in
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
Use the slight right lane.
Toward Broadway, Main Street
8
14.8 mi into trip
|
~19m in
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
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Toward Main Street North, Broadway
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$3.81 one way
$7.62 round trip
$5.76/gal
25.4 MPG avg
6 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $5.96 | $3.94 | $7.88 |
| premium | $6.09 | $4.03 | $8.06 |
| diesel | $5.40 | $3.57 | $7.15 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$4
Estimated CO2 emission: 5.9 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-20.
Driving Electric?
About $2 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 5 | 0 | $1.76 | $0.81 |
| Efficient EV | 4.2 | 0 | $1.47 | $0.67 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 6.7 | 0 | $2.35 | $1.08 |
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
Santa Ana, CA
Afternoon in Santa Ana on Saturday
Local time
4:47 PM
PDT
Current temp
53°F
Mostly Clear
SE 5 mph
0% chance
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
20 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
23m 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 drive is heavily influenced by its highway segments, with 68% of the journey taking place on major freeways. You'll spend a good portion of your time on the Garden Grove Freeway and the San Diego Freeway. The longest uninterrupted stretch you'll encounter is 10.1 miles on the Garden Grove Freeway, offering a steady pace. While primarily a highway-focused drive, you will also navigate some sections on North Broadway, providing a slight change of pace before reaching your destination.
68% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
15 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 10.1 mi on Garden Grove Freeway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
9/10
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on Garden Grove Freeway and San Diego Freeway. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 2.3 miles in.
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 12 decision points packed into just 16.8 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 23m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 2.3 miles: Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 4 miles (CA 22 / Garden Grove Freeway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 14.1 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
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 Los Alamitos, CA and Santa Ana, CA, road signs point toward Garden Grove, Broadway and Main Street North.
Garden Grove
2.3 mi in
|
~4m
Broadway
14.1 mi in
|
~18m
Main Street North
14.8 mi in
|
~19m
About the Cities
Starting in Los Alamitos, CA
Full guide →Los Alamitos is a city of 11,000 people (2019) in Orange County in Southern California.
Arriving in Santa Ana, CA
Full guide →Founded 1869
Santa Ana is a city in Orange County, Southern California and is the county seat of that county.
Top landmarks
- • Yost Theater — historic movie theater and hotel building in Santa Ana, California, later used b...
- • Santa Ana Fire Station Headquarters No. 1 — fire station in Santa Ana, United States of America
- • Rankin's — historic building in Santa Ana, 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 23m. Total distance: 16.8 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
23m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (68%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 10.1 miles on Garden Grove 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 Santa Ana, 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 2.3 miles: Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 4 miles (CA 22 / Garden Grove Freeway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 14.1 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Santa Ana, 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 FHWA TMAS for hourly traffic volumes. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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