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Trip from Manhattan, NY to Douglaston, NY

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Compiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 21, 2026 · Editorial standards

Drive Time

32m

Distance

16.9 mi

27 km

Drive Score

7/10

Good drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$3

one way

EV Charging

Unknown

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 8 min
4 AM
0h 30m ★
6 AM
0h 33m
8 AM
0h 38m
10 AM
0h 35m
12 PM
0h 34m
3 PM
0h 35m
5 PM
0h 38m
8 PM
0h 31m

Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.

borough of New York City, New York, United States

Manhattan, NY

Wikimedia Commons

neighborhood of Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Douglaston, NY

Wikimedia Commons

Trip Overview

Manhattan, NY to Douglaston, NY is 16.9 miles and takes about 32m via Long Island Expressway/NY 25/Douglaston Parkway, with a fuel budget near $3 and enough daylight to finish in a day. This is a straightforward, same-day trip primarily within New York. You'll experience a highway-focused drive as you head east out of the city. Consider this route when you need a direct connection between these two points without extensive detours. It's a short journey, making it ideal for a quick commute or a brief excursion.

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
Long Island Expressway 9.7 mi 14m
NY 25 2 mi 3m
Douglaston Parkway 1.3 mi 2m
Borden Avenue 0.8 mi 1m
2nd Avenue 0.6 mi 2m
5th Avenue 0.6 mi 2m
Van Dam Street 0.5 mi 1m
East 72nd Street 0.5 mi 1m
Longest stretch: Long Island Expressway — 9.7 mi, about 14m

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Manhattan, NY and Douglaston, NY.

1

Start on 86th Street Transverse

0.4 mi · 1 min · 86th Street Transverse
2

Turn right onto 5th Avenue

0.6 mi · 2 min · 5th Avenue
3

Turn left onto East 72nd Street

0.5 mi · 1 min · East 72nd Street
4

Turn right onto 2nd Avenue

0.6 mi · 2 min · 2nd Avenue
Use the straight lane.
5

Take the ramp onto NY 25

1.4 mi · 2 min · NY 25
Toward Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, Lower Roadway Use the left lane.
6

Keep slight left at fork onto NY 25

0.6 mi · 51 sec · NY 25
Toward NY 25A, NY 25
7

Turn right onto Van Dam Street

0.5 mi · 1 min · Van Dam Street
Use the straight / right lanes.
8

Turn left onto Borden Avenue

0.2 mi · 30 sec · Borden Avenue
9

Take the ramp onto Borden Avenue

0.6 mi · 1 min · Borden Avenue
Toward I 495 East: Long Island Expressway, Eastern Long Island, Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
10

Merge onto I 495

9.7 mi · 14 min · Long Island Expressway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
11

Take the exit

0.1 mi · 21 sec
Exit 30 Toward East Hampton Boulevard, Douglaston Parkway Use the straight / slight right lanes.
12

Turn straight onto Horace Harding Expressway

258 ft · 7 sec · Horace Harding Expressway
13

Continue on West Alley Road

0.2 mi · 27 sec · West Alley Road
14

Continue on Douglaston Parkway

1.3 mi · 2 min · Douglaston Parkway
Use the straight / right lanes.
15

Turn right onto Poplar Street

174 ft · 7 sec · Poplar Street
16

Arrive at destination

Poplar Street

Heads-up: tricky spots

5 of 11

5 decision points cluster between mile 1.5 and 15.1 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.

6
1.5 mi into trip | ~4m in | 2nd Avenue

Turn right onto 2nd Avenue

Lane positioning matters here

Use the straight lane.
6
2.1 mi into trip | ~7m in | NY 25

Take the ramp onto NY 25 toward Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, Lower Roadway

Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one

Use the left lane. Toward Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, Lower Roadway
6
3.5 mi into trip | ~9m in | NY 25

Keep slight left at fork onto NY 25 toward NY 25A, NY 25

Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one

Toward NY 25A, NY 25
5
5.4 mi into trip | ~14m in | I 495 / Long Island Expressway

Merge onto I 495 / Long Island Expressway

Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here

Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8
15.1 mi into trip | ~28m in

Take the exit toward East Hampton Boulevard, Douglaston Parkway

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 30 Toward East Hampton Boulevard, Douglaston Parkw...

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$2.78 one way

$5.56 round trip

$4.18/gal 25.4 MPG avg 6 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $4.52 $3.01 $6.02
premium $4.92 $3.28 $6.55
diesel $5.61 $3.73 $7.46

No toll roads detected on this route.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$3

Estimated CO2 emission: 5.9 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 5.1 0 $1.77 $0.81
Efficient EV 4.2 0 $1.48 $0.68
EV Truck/SUV 6.8 0 $2.37 $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.

Forecast as of Apr 20, 2026

Origin

Manhattan, NY

Late night in Manhattan on Tuesday

Local time

4:20 AM

EDT

Current temp

57°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Destination

Douglaston, NY

Late night in Douglaston on Tuesday

Local time

4:20 AM

EDT

Current temp

50°F

Unavailable

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

7 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

32m 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?

This drive is predominantly highway-focused, with 77% of the journey on major roads like the Long Island Expressway and NY 25. Expect stretches of consistent speed, particularly on the Long Island Expressway, which features a continuous segment of 9.7 miles. While largely a highway experience, the route incorporates local parkways towards the end, offering a slight shift in scenery and road type. The overall feel is one of efficient travel, designed to get you from point A to point B with minimal fuss.

77% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
16 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 9.7 mi on Long Island Expressway.

How Hard Is This Drive?

7/10

This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on Long Island Expressway and NY 25. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 1.5 miles in near 2nd Avenue.

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 11 decision points packed into just 16.9 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 32m.

Where does it get tricky?

The main spots that need attention: at 1.5 miles (2nd Avenue): Lane positioning matters here; at 2.1 miles (NY 25): Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 3.5 miles (NY 25): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. 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.

Between Manhattan, NY and Douglaston, NY, road signs point toward Lower Roadway and Eastern Long Island.

Lower Roadway

2.1 mi in | ~7m | via NY 25

Eastern Long Island

4.8 mi in | ~12m | via Borden Avenue

About the Cities

Starting in Manhattan, NY

Full guide →

Founded 1624

Wall Street. Madison Avenue. 34th Street. Broadway. Times Square. Manhattan is so well known that even the names of its streets have become iconic and understood the world over. This long, thin island is only one of New York City's five boroughs, but it's Manhattan that has the concrete canyons and the inimitable skyline; Manhattan that has the world's brightest theater district; Manhattan that has Central Park, Rockefeller Center, the Empire State Building, and the Met; and Manhattan that includes iconic neighborhoods like Harlem, the Upper East Side, Times Square, and Greenwich Village. The rest of New York City has much to see and do, but it's Manhattan that represents the city—and sometimes the entire United States—to the world. You could spend a month on this tiny island and still not see all there is to see.

Top landmarks

  • Empire State Building — skyscraper located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, USA

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 32m. Total distance: 16.9 miles.

Family Friendly

Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.

Solo Traveler

32m drive, comfortable solo distance.

EV Driver

0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.

First-Time Driver

Mostly highway driving (77%). Some complex stretches to watch for.

Frequently Asked Questions

The longest stretch is about 9.7 miles on Long Island 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 Douglaston, NY 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 1.5 miles (2nd Avenue): Lane positioning matters here; at 2.1 miles (NY 25): Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 3.5 miles (NY 25): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.

Yes — General Grant National Memorial, Hamilton Grange National Memorial and Stonewall National Monument (6 total within detour distance). 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 Douglaston, NY 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 NPS for national parks. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.

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Explore More

Return Trip

Douglaston, NY to Manhattan, NY

Plan the drive back the other way.

16.6 mi 30m

Explore more options from Manhattan, NY or browse trips ending in Douglaston, NY.

Looking for more statewide routes? Browse NY road trips.