Origin
Pacific Grove, CA
Late night in Pacific Grove on Sunday
Local time
12:48 AM
PDT
Current temp
50°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Pacific Grove, CA to Bakersfield, CA
Pin this tripCompiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 26, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
4h 32m
Distance
224.8 mi
362 km
Drive Score
9/10
Great drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$51
one way
EV Charging
Excellent
35 DC fast
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
4h 19m
★
6 AM
4h 32m
8 AM
4h 59m
10 AM
4h 42m
12 PM
4h 39m
3 PM
4h 43m
5 PM
4h 58m
8 PM
4h 24m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Pacific Grove, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Bakersfield, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
Pacific Grove to Bakersfield is 224.8 miles and takes about 4h 32m via El Camino Real and Paso Robles Highway, with a fuel budget near $51 and enough daylight to finish in a day. This drive takes you from the Pacific Coast region inland towards the Central Valley. It's a fairly direct route, mostly on highways but with significant stretches on surface roads, making it a good option for a single-day trip. You'll experience a change in scenery as you move away from the coast and into California's agricultural heartland.
Trip Pace
Same-day drive is realistic
A same-day return is possible, but it will make for a full day on the road.
Break Rhythm
1 planned break
Plan on a short reset every 3 to 4 hours to stay fresh behind the wheel.
Midpoint
112.4 miles from Pacific Grove, CA
A natural place for your longest stop of the day , about 2h 16m into the drive .
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| El Camino Real | 94.6 mi | 1h 49m |
| Paso Robles Highway | 32.3 mi | 38m |
| Westside Freeway | 24.9 mi | 26m |
| CA 46 | 24.5 mi | 28m |
| CA 68 | 16 mi | 21m |
| Stockdale Highway | 9.2 mi | 12m |
| Westside Parkway | 6.7 mi | 7m |
| Antelope Road | 5.3 mi | 6m |
Longest stretch:
El Camino Real
— 94.6 mi, about 1h 49m
Traffic on I-5
Hour-of-day weekday pattern from 14 FHWA count stations on your route.
Peak
2 PM
~1,368 veh/hr typical · worst 2,187
Quietest
3 AM
~296 veh/hr
Peak-to-quiet ratio
4.6×
busier at peak than in the quiet hours
12a
6a
noon
6p
11p
Averaged across 42 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 Pacific Grove, CA and Bakersfield, CA.
1
Start on Pine Avenue
0.5 mi
·
1 min
·
Pine Avenue
2
Turn left onto Eardley Avenue
0.2 mi
·
27 sec
·
Eardley Avenue
Use the straight / left lanes.
3
Turn right onto Central Avenue
290 ft
·
7 sec
·
Central Avenue
4
Continue on Lighthouse Avenue
1.4 mi
·
2 min
·
Lighthouse Avenue
5
Continue on Del Monte Avenue
0.5 mi
·
59 sec
·
Del Monte Avenue
6
Turn right onto Camino Aguajito
0.4 mi
·
1 min
·
Camino Aguajito
Use the straight / left lanes.
7
Take the ramp
0.4 mi
·
55 sec
Toward CA 1 North
Use the left / straight lanes.
8
Merge onto CA 1; CA 68
0.2 mi
·
10 sec
·
Cabrillo Highway
9
Keep slight right at fork onto CA 68
16 mi
·
21 min
·
CA 68
Exit 401B
Toward CA 68: North Fremont Street, Salinas
10
Turn right onto East Blanco Road
1.6 mi
·
1 min
·
East Blanco Road
Use the straight lane.
11
Continue on South Sanborn Road
0.8 mi
·
59 sec
·
South Sanborn Road
Use the straight lane.
12
Take the exit
0.2 mi
·
25 sec
13
Merge onto US 101
95 mi
·
1 hr 49 min
·
El Camino Real
Use the straight lane.
14
Take the exit
0.2 mi
·
30 sec
Toward CA 46 East: Fresno, Bakersfield
15
Turn left onto CA 46
24 mi
·
28 min
·
CA 46
Use the straight / left lanes.
16
Merge onto CA 41; CA 46
1.4 mi
·
1 min
·
CA 41; CA 46
17
Turn slight right
490 ft
·
6 sec
18
Keep slight left at fork onto CA 46
5.3 mi
·
6 min
·
Antelope Road
19
Continue on CA 46
32 mi
·
38 min
·
Paso Robles Highway
Use the slight left lane.
20
Take the exit
0.4 mi
·
24 sec
21
Merge onto I 5
25 mi
·
26 min
·
Westside Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
22
Take the exit onto CA 58
0.2 mi
·
36 sec
·
CA 58
Exit 253
Toward Stockdale Highway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
23
Turn left onto CA 58
4.8 mi
·
6 min
·
Stockdale Highway
24
Enter roundabout onto CA 58
126 ft
·
1 sec
·
Stockdale Highway
25
Continue on CA 58
4.3 mi
·
6 min
·
Stockdale Highway
Use the straight lane.
26
Continue on Westside Parkway
6.7 mi
·
7 min
·
Westside Parkway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
27
Take the exit
0.5 mi
·
1 min
28
Turn straight onto Truxtun Avenue
2.2 mi
·
4 min
·
Truxtun Avenue
29
Arrive at destination
Truxtun Avenue
Trip Plan
For this 4.5-hour drive, leaving in the morning will give you plenty of daylight to complete the trip comfortably. Since it's a single-day route, you have flexibility with stops, but consider breaking up the 94.6-mile stretch on El Camino Real to stretch your legs. Keep an eye on your fuel gauge, especially before heading into less populated areas. The estimated fuel cost is around $51, so plan accordingly before you depart from Pacific Grove.
Morning Departure
An early start around 7-8 AM gets you there with plenty of daylight left.
Evening Departure
A late afternoon start means arriving after dark. Morning is better.
You can normally do this drive in one day.
Plan roughly 1 meaningful break for fuel, food, and rest.
The halfway point lands around 112.4 miles from Pacific Grove, CA, or about 2h 16m into the drive.
The longest continuous stretch on this route runs about 94.6 miles.
This is a comfortable same-day trip.
Departure
Before you leave
Start with fuel, water, and navigation already sorted so the first hour feels easy.
First stop
Around 49 miles or 1h 3m in
Use this first pause for coffee, a restroom break, and a quick traffic check ahead.
Halfway reset
Around 112.4 miles or 2h 16m in
This is the best place for your longest stop, a real meal, and a full fuel check.
Final approach
Final hour starts around 3h 42m
Traffic, exits, and arrival timing usually matter more near Bakersfield, CA than in the middle of the route.
Before You Leave
+
Open the route before leaving Pacific Grove, CA so your first major turns are already loaded.
+
Leave with enough water and a charging cable within reach, not packed away.
+
Check your fuel range against the first long segment, especially if you are starting outside city service areas.
Day 1
Settle into the route from Pacific Grove, CA
This is one driving day of about 224.8 miles and 4h 32m.
Your first comfortable stop window is around 49 miles from Pacific Grove, CA.
This route can stay practical as a one-day drive if traffic stays reasonable.
Plan about 1 real break rather than only quick fuel stops.
The longest stretch is on El Camino Real for about 94.6 miles.
Where to Stop
Rest stops, refuel points, and overnight suggestions along this route.
Mid-route town
Meal stop
112 mi into the route
Best for: Lunch, fuel, and a longer reset
This sits close to the middle of the route, so it works well for the longest stop of the day.
Pacing Suggestions
Fuel and coffee
A short stop after about 49 miles helps settle the day before fatigue starts building.
Meal break
The midpoint is around 112.4 miles from Pacific Grove, CA, which is a good place for a longer meal and fuel stop.
Before the longest stretch
Fuel checkTop up before El Camino Real if your tank is already low. That segment runs about 94.6 miles.
These stop ideas are pacing suggestions — the exact town or exit can change with traffic, hotel plans, and fuel range.
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 205 decision points cluster between mile 0.5 and 205.9 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
5
0.5 mi into trip
|
~1m in
|
Eardley Avenue
Turn left onto Eardley Avenue
Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / left lanes.
6
3.1 mi into trip
|
~7m in
Take the ramp toward CA 1 North
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left / straight lanes.
Toward CA 1 North
7
3.6 mi into trip
|
~8m in
|
CA 68
Keep slight right at fork onto CA 68 toward CA 68: North Fremont Street, Salinas
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Exit 401B
Toward CA 68: North Fremont Street, Salinas
6
19.6 mi into trip
|
~29m in
|
East Blanco Road
Turn right onto East Blanco Road
Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight lane.
7
205.9 mi into trip
|
~4h 5m in
|
CA 58
Take the exit onto CA 58 toward Stockdale Highway
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Exit 253
Toward Stockdale Highway
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$50.95 one way
$101.90 round trip
$5.76/gal
25.4 MPG avg
79 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $5.96 | $52.71 | $105.43 |
| premium | $6.09 | $53.92 | $107.83 |
| diesel | $5.40 | $47.82 | $95.64 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Estimated Trip Cost (one way, 1 person)
Fuel
$51
Meals
$25–$50
Total
$76–$101
Rough estimate based on US averages. Hotel $80–$140/night, meals $25–$50/day.
Estimated CO2 emission: 78.7 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-20.
EV Charging Along Route
35 DC fast chargers · Coverage: excellent
Tesla Destination Charger
Monterey, California
Tesla Destination
1 DCFC
ChargePoint Charging Station
Monterey, California
ChargePoint
1 DCFC
ChargePoint Charging Station
Seaside, California
ChargePoint
1 DCFC
Blink Charging Station
Salinas, California
Blink
1 DCFC
Tesla Supercharger
Soledad, California
Tesla
1 DCFC
Tesla Supercharger
King City, California
Tesla
1 DCFC
Tesla Destination Charger
Monterey, California
Tesla Destination
1 DCFC
ChargePoint Charging Station
Pacific Grove, California
ChargePoint
1 DCFC
ChargePoint: 15
Tesla Destination: 5
Tesla: 5
Blink: 3
Other: 2
Electrify America: 2
EVgo: 1
EVCS: 1
EV Connect: 1
Station data from NREL Alternative Fuel Stations database.
Driving Electric?
About $24 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 67.4 | 0 | $23.60 | $10.79 |
| Efficient EV | 56.2 | 0 | $19.67 | $8.99 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 89.9 | 1 | $31.47 | $14.39 |
Gas CO2
79 kg
EV CO2
26 kg (67% less)
Plan for 0 charging stops, roughly every 270 miles. Allow 25-40 minutes per stop at a DC fast charger.
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
Bakersfield, CA
Late night in Bakersfield on Sunday
Local time
12:48 AM
PDT
Current temp
56°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Seasonal Notes
Summer travel usually means heavier construction, hotter rest stops, and busier weekend traffic around major cities.
Winter travel shortens daylight, so a route that looks manageable on paper can feel much longer after dark.
Holiday weekends tend to make both departure and arrival windows slower than the raw route time suggests.
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
6 degrees warmer at arrival
A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.
Road read
4h 32m on the road
An early start around 7-8 AM gets you there with plenty of daylight left.
Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.
National Parks Near This Route
Worth a detour if your schedule allows.
Pinnacles National Park
National Park
Around 23 million years ago, a series of volcanic eruptions shaped the landscape that is now Pinnacles National Park. The remnants of these ancient eruptions have formed a striking terrain of rocky sp...
9 mi from route
~23 min detour
$30
near mile 46.5
View on nps.gov
César E. Chávez National Monument
National Monument
Yes, we can! Widely recognized as the most important Latino leader in the United States during the twentieth century, Cesar Chavez led farm workers and supporters in the establishment of the country's...
28 mi from route
~69 min detour
Free
near mile 224.8
View on nps.gov
Park data from the National Park Service API. Alerts update every 2 hours.
What kind of drive is this?
About 33% of this route is on highways, so expect to switch between freeway cruising and surface road driving. The longest continuous stretch on a surface road is 94.6 miles on El Camino Real. You'll notice the transition as exits become less frequent and the pace of driving shifts. This mix means you'll experience both faster highway travel and more local road conditions.
33% highway, the rest on surface roads — varied driving throughout.
29 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 94.6 mi on El Camino Real.
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 around 0.5 miles in near Eardley Avenue.
Driving Effort
9/10
High effort - long or complex enough to need steady focus all day
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This is a demanding drive. With 20 significant decision points across 224.8 miles, you will need to stay alert - especially through interchange areas and urban stretches. Consider splitting it into segments if you are not comfortable with fast highway navigation.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 0.5 miles (Eardley Avenue): Lane positioning matters here; at 3.1 miles: Lane positioning matters here; at 3.6 miles (CA 68): 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.
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 Pacific Grove, CA to Bakersfield, CA, road signs begin pointing toward Stockdale Highway along the way.
Stockdale Highway
205.9 mi in
|
~4h 5m
|
via CA 58
About the Cities
Starting in Pacific Grove, CA
Full guide →Founded 1875
Pacific Grove is in Monterey County in the Central Coast region of California. It is next to the Pacific Ocean on Monterey Bay just west of the city of Monterey. Popular for its quaint, small-town charm the town reputedly has more Victorian homes per capita than anywhere else in America. Pacific Grove is also the wintering-over spot for thousands of Monarch butterflies, from which its nickname, "Butterfly Town, U.S.A.," is derived.
Top landmarks
- • Point Pinos Lighthouse — lighthouse in California, United States
- • Asilomar Conference Grounds — conference center at "Asilomar State Beach and Conference Grounds"
- • Centrella Hotel — hotel in Pacific Grive, California
Arriving in Bakersfield, CA
Full guide →Founded 1869
Bakersfield is a city in Kern County in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Bakersfield is famous for being the home of country music singers Buck Owens and Merle Haggard, and has the nickname "the country music capital of the West Coast."
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 4h 32m. Total distance: 224.8 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 1 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
4h 32m drive, comfortable solo distance.
Scenic Drive
Mixed highway & surface route profile with national parks nearby.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 94.6 miles on El Camino Real. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.
We did not find dedicated rest areas on this route. For a drive this long, plan bathroom and stretch breaks around gas stations, fast-food stops, or small-town downtowns — check the Nearby Places section for options.
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 Bakersfield, CA before sunset when you can. Check the Trip Plan for departure windows that land you in daylight.
Only with planning. This is a long drive for kids — consider splitting it into two days rather than pushing through. Plan at least 1 meaningful breaks. Dedicated rest areas are limited, so plan gas or food stops as your bathroom breaks.
The main spots that need attention: at 0.5 miles (Eardley Avenue): Lane positioning matters here; at 3.1 miles: Lane positioning matters here; at 3.6 miles (CA 68): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
Possible but tiring. At 4.5 hours each way, an in-and-out day trip would put you behind the wheel for 9.1 hours — manageable with a long break at Bakersfield, CA, but most travelers stay overnight.
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, NREL for EV charging, NPS for national parks, and FHWA TMAS for hourly traffic volumes. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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