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Trip from Montgomery, IL to Wheaton, IL

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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

20.7 mi

33 km

Drive Score

6/10

Good drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$3

one way

EV Charging

Unknown

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 9 min
4 AM
0h 30m ★
6 AM
0h 33m
8 AM
0h 39m
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.

village in Kane and Kendall counties, Illinois, USA

Montgomery, IL

Wikimedia Commons

city and county seat of DuPage County, Illinois, United States

Wheaton, IL

Wikimedia Commons

Trip Overview

This short 20.7-mile drive from Montgomery, IL to Wheaton, IL will only take about 32 minutes, making it a perfect candidate for a single-day trip. You'll primarily navigate on local roads like South Lake Street and Naperville Road, with a brief stretch on the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway. Given the minimal distance and estimated fuel cost of around $3, this is a straightforward local excursion. Since you're staying within the Midwest region and Illinois, no overnight stay is necessary. This route offers a practical and quick connection between these two Illinois communities.

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway 10 mi 12m
South Lake Street 4.7 mi 8m
Naperville Road 3.6 mi 6m
South Main Street 0.5 mi 1m
South Lincolnway Street 0.4 mi <1m
Warrenville Road 0.3 mi <1m
Freedom Drive 0.3 mi <1m
East Roosevelt Road 0.2 mi <1m
Longest stretch: Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway — 10 mi, about 12m

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Montgomery, IL and Wheaton, IL.

1

Start on IL 31

90 ft · 3 sec · South Lake Street
2

Continue on IL 31

4.7 mi · 8 min · South Lake Street
Use the left lane.
3

Continue on South Lincolnway Street

0.4 mi · 39 sec · South Lincolnway Street
4

Take the ramp

387 ft · 9 sec
Toward I 88 West Toll, IL 56 West Toll: Chicago, Dekalb-Iowa Use the left lane.
5

Keep slight right at fork

0.1 mi · 18 sec
Toward I 88 East: Chicago Use the slight right lane.
6

Continue on this road

0.2 mi · 21 sec · this road
Toward I 88 East: Chicago
7

Merge onto I 88; IL 110

10.0 mi · 12 min · Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8

Take the exit

0.4 mi · 48 sec
Exit 127 Use the straight / slight right lanes.
9

Continue on Freedom Drive

0.3 mi · 38 sec · Freedom Drive
10

Turn right onto Warrenville Road

0.3 mi · 29 sec · Warrenville Road
Use the right lane.
11

Turn left onto Naperville Road

3.6 mi · 6 min · Naperville Road
Use the left lane.
12

Turn left onto IL 38

0.2 mi · 26 sec · East Roosevelt Road
Use the left lane.
13

Turn right onto South Main Street

0.5 mi · 1 min · South Main Street
Use the straight lane.
14

At end of road, turn left onto West Wesley Street

102 ft · 2 sec · West Wesley Street
15

Arrive at destination

West Wesley Street

Heads-up: tricky spots

5 of 9

5 decision points cluster between mile 5.1 and 20.2 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.

7
5.1 mi into trip | ~9m in

Take the ramp toward I 88 West Toll, IL 56 West Toll: Chicago, Dekalb-Iowa

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

Use the left lane. Toward I 88 West Toll, IL 56 West Toll: Chicago...
8
5.2 mi into trip | ~9m in

Keep slight right at fork toward I 88 East: Chicago

Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here

Use the slight right lane. Toward I 88 East: Chicago
6
15.5 mi into trip | ~22m in

Take the exit

Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here

Use the straight / slight right lanes. Exit 127
6
16.1 mi into trip | ~23m in | Warrenville Road

Turn right onto Warrenville Road

Lane positioning matters here

Use the right lane.
6
20.2 mi into trip | ~31m in | South Main Street

Turn right onto South Main Street

Lane positioning matters here

Use the straight lane.

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$3.24 one way

$6.47 round trip

$3.97/gal 25.4 MPG avg 7 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $4.36 $3.55 $7.11
premium $4.89 $3.98 $7.97
diesel $5.61 $4.57 $9.14

Estimated Tolls: $0.60

Reagan Memorial Tollway (10 mi) $0.60

Toll estimates based on average 2024-2025 rates. EZ-Pass/SunPass discounts may lower the actual cost.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$3

Tolls

$1

Total

$4

Estimated CO2 emission: 7.2 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.

Driving Electric?

About $2 in charging · 0 stops · 71% less CO2

Vehicle Type kWh Stops DC Fast Home Charge
Average EV 6.2 0 $2.17 $0.99
Efficient EV 5.2 0 $1.81 $0.83
EV Truck/SUV 8.3 0 $2.90 $1.32

Gas CO2

7 kg

EV CO2

2 kg (71% 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

Montgomery, IL

Morning in Montgomery on Tuesday

Local time

10:03 AM

CDT

Current temp

65°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Destination

Wheaton, IL

Morning in Wheaton on Tuesday

Local time

10:03 AM

CDT

Current temp

63°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

2 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?

Expect a turn-heavy local drive for much of this journey, rather than an open highway experience. While only a small portion of the route involves highway driving, you will encounter about 10 miles on the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway. This means you'll experience a mix of suburban surface streets and a brief, faster-paced toll road segment. The character of the drive shifts as you transition between these road types, requiring your attention for varying traffic conditions and navigation.

Only 0% highway — the rest is turn-by-turn surface driving.
15 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 10 mi on Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway.

How Hard Is This Drive?

7/10

Expect a hands-on drive with frequent turns and local roads rather than long highway stretches. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 5.1 miles in.

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 9 decision points packed into just 20.7 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 5.1 miles: Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 5.2 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 15.5 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here.

Towns Mentioned on Route Signs

Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.

On the drive from Montgomery, IL to Wheaton, IL, road signs begin pointing toward Dekalb-Iowa along the way.

Dekalb-Iowa

5.1 mi in | ~9m

Who Is This Route For?

Weekend Trip

Doable as a same-day drive at 32m. Total distance: 20.7 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.

Scenic Drive

Mostly surface roads route profile with national parks nearby.

Frequently Asked Questions

The longest stretch is about 10 miles on Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.

Expect about $0.60 in tolls one way, starting with Reagan Memorial Tollway. Most Northeast and Midwest toll agencies accept E-ZPass; in the West and Texas, transponders like TxTag or FasTrak apply. If you do not have a transponder, cashless tolling plates will mail a bill to the vehicle's registered address — usually with a surcharge, so a rental-car toll pass is often cheaper than paying by mail.

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 Wheaton, IL 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 5.1 miles: Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 5.2 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 15.5 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here.

Yes — Pullman National Historical Park. 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 Wheaton, IL 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 options from Montgomery, IL or browse trips ending in Wheaton, IL.

Looking for more statewide routes? Browse IL road trips.