Origin
Orangevale, CA
Night in Orangevale on Saturday
Local time
11:02 PM
PDT
Current temp
51°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Orangevale, CA to Sacramento, CA
Compiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 19, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
25m
Distance
18.2 mi
29 km
Drive Score
8/10
Great drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$4
one way
EV Charging
Good
8 stations
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 23m
★
6 AM
0h 25m
8 AM
0h 30m
10 AM
0h 27m
12 PM
0h 26m
3 PM
0h 27m
5 PM
0h 29m
8 PM
0h 24m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Orangevale, CA
Stephen Leonardi
Sacramento, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
If you are looking for a quick commute or a simple day trip within the Pacific Coast region, the 18.2-mile journey from Orangevale to Sacramento is a straightforward choice. You can expect to spend about 25 minutes behind the wheel, making this an ideal trip to complete in a single day. Budgeting around $4 for fuel should be sufficient for this short distance. Since the route involves no scheduled stops, it functions best as a direct, no-fuss connection between these two California locations. Whether you are heading to the city for business or leisure, this path offers a practical and efficient way to navigate the region.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Greenback Lane | 6 mi | 10m |
| Capital City Freeway | 4.9 mi | 5m |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway | 2.9 mi | 3m |
| North Sacramento Freeway | 2.6 mi | 2m |
| 12th Street | 0.6 mi | 1m |
| North 12th Street | 0.6 mi | <1m |
| I Street | 0.2 mi | <1m |
| Elkhorn Boulevard | 0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
Greenback Lane
— 6 mi, about 10m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Orangevale, CA and Sacramento, CA.
1
Start on E3
23 ft
·
7 sec
·
Hazel Avenue
2
Turn right onto E14
6.0 mi
·
10 min
·
Greenback Lane
Use the left / uturn lanes.
3
Continue on E14
0.1 mi
·
9 sec
·
Elkhorn Boulevard
4
Take the ramp
0.2 mi
·
25 sec
Toward I 80 West: Sacramento
5
Merge onto I 80
2.9 mi
·
3 min
·
Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
6
Keep slight right at fork onto I 80 Business
4.9 mi
·
5 min
·
Capital City Freeway
Exit 95
Toward I 80 Business West: Sacramento
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
7
Keep slight right at fork onto CA 160
2.6 mi
·
2 min
·
North Sacramento Freeway
Toward CA 160 West: Downtown Sacramento
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8
Continue on CA 160; US 40 Historic
0.6 mi
·
56 sec
·
North 12th Street
Use the straight / left lanes.
9
Keep slight left at fork onto CA 160; US 40 Historic
0.6 mi
·
1 min
·
12th Street
Use the straight / left / right lanes.
10
Turn right onto I Street
0.2 mi
·
31 sec
·
I Street
Use the straight / right lanes.
11
Turn left onto 9th Street
71 ft
·
1 sec
·
9th Street
12
Arrive at destination
9th Street
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 85 decision points cluster between mile 0 and 18 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
6
0 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
E14 / Greenback Lane
Turn right onto E14 / Greenback Lane
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left / uturn lanes.
8
9.2 mi into trip
|
~14m in
|
I 80 Business / Capital City Freeway
Keep slight right at fork onto I 80 Business / Capital City Freeway toward I 80 Business West: Sacramento
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Exit 95
Toward I 80 Business West: Sacramento
7
14.1 mi into trip
|
~19m in
|
CA 160 / North Sacramento Freeway
Keep slight right at fork onto CA 160 / North Sacramento Freeway toward CA 160 West: Downtown Sacramento
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Toward CA 160 West: Downtown Sacramento
6
17.4 mi into trip
|
~23m in
|
CA 160; US 40 Historic / 12th Street
Keep slight left at fork onto CA 160; US 40 Historic / 12th Street
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / left / right lanes.
6
18 mi into trip
|
~24m in
|
I Street
Turn right onto I Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / right lanes.
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$4.18 one way
$8.37 round trip
$5.84/gal
25.4 MPG avg
6 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $6.02 | $4.31 | $8.62 |
| premium | $6.18 | $4.43 | $8.85 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $4.02 | $8.04 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$4
Estimated CO2 emission: 6.4 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 | 5.5 | 0 | $1.91 | $0.87 |
| Efficient EV | 4.6 | 0 | $1.59 | $0.73 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 7.3 | 0 | $2.55 | $1.16 |
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
Sacramento, CA
Night in Sacramento on Saturday
Local time
11:02 PM
PDT
Current temp
46°F
Partly Cloudy
SSW 2 mph
4% 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
5 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
25m 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 features a mixed drive profile that balances local arterial roads with major highway segments. You will spend roughly 41% of your time on the highway, transitioning from surface streets to the faster-paced Capital City Freeway and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway. Your journey begins with a 6-mile stretch along Greenback Lane, which serves as the longest uninterrupted portion of the route. As you transition between these different road types, you will notice the rhythm of the drive shift from a steady local pace to a more fluid, high-speed flow as you approach your destination.
41% highway, the rest on surface roads — varied driving throughout.
12 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 6 mi on Greenback Lane.
How Hard Is This Drive?
9/10
This route mixes highway mileage with some local-road sections near the start or finish. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes early in the drive near E14 / Greenback Lane.
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 8 decision points packed into just 18.2 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 25m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: near the start (E14 / Greenback Lane): Lane positioning matters here; at 9.2 miles (I 80 Business / Capital City Freeway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 14.1 miles (CA 160 / North Sacramento Freeway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
Elevation Profile
Mostly flat terrain
242 ft
27 ft
Total Climb
26 ft
Total Descent
241 ft
Highest Point
242 ft
Elevation Range
215 ft
About the Cities
Starting in Orangevale, CA
Full guide →Arriving in Sacramento, CA
Full guide →Founded 1849
Sacramento is the state capital of California in the United States. It is the regional center for the Greater Sacramento metropolitan area, which dominates much of the surrounding Sacramento Valley and stretches into parts of Gold Country. Sacramento is the oldest incorporated city in California, settled between the confluences of the Sacramento and American rivers. The city has been the site of many important historic events that have shaped California and U.S. history, most notably the California Gold Rush and location of the original terminus of the First Transcontinental Railroad. Much of this historical legacy has been preserved, especially in the historic Old Sacramento district, where buildings and railroads from that era continue to attract visitors. However, Sacramento is not a city that is stuck in the past. As the capital of the most populous U.S.
Top landmarks
- • California State Capitol — state capitol building of the U.S. state of California
- • Crocker Art Museum — art museum in Sacramento, California
- • Sacramento Valley Station — main railroad and light rail station in Sacramento, 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 25m. Total distance: 18.2 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
25m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (41%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 6 miles on Greenback Lane. 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 Sacramento, 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: near the start (E14 / Greenback Lane): Lane positioning matters here; at 9.2 miles (I 80 Business / Capital City Freeway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 14.1 miles (CA 160 / North Sacramento Freeway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Sacramento, 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 USGS 3DEP for elevation. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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