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Trip from San Jose, CA to Ladera, CA

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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

29m

Distance

22 mi

35 km

Drive Score

6/10

Good drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$5

one way

EV Charging

Unknown

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 7 min
4 AM
0h 27m ★
6 AM
0h 29m
8 AM
0h 34m
10 AM
0h 31m
12 PM
0h 31m
3 PM
0h 31m
5 PM
0h 34m
8 PM
0h 28m

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

Best Time Drive vs Fly
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city and county seat of Santa Clara County, California, United States

San Jose, CA

Wikimedia Commons

Downtown Ladera, CA, CA

Ladera, CA

Skyler Sion

Trip Overview

San Jose to Ladera is 22 miles and takes about 29 minutes via Sinclair Freeway, with a fuel budget near $5 and enough daylight to finish in a day. This short, highway-focused drive keeps you within California's Pacific Coast region for its entirety. Given its brevity, this route is ideal for a quick trip, offering a straightforward connection between two points without extensive detours. You'll spend most of your time on well-maintained freeways, making it an efficient way to cover the distance.

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
Sinclair Freeway 18.9 mi 21m
Alpine Road 0.7 mi 1m
Guadalupe Freeway 0.5 mi <1m
La Mesa Drive 0.4 mi 1m
West Saint James Street 0.1 mi <1m
West Julian Street <0.1 mi <1m
North San Pedro Street <0.1 mi <1m
Devine Street <0.1 mi <1m
Longest stretch: Sinclair Freeway — 18.9 mi, about 21m

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between San Jose, CA and Ladera, CA.

1

Start on North Market Street

110 ft · 5 sec · North Market Street
2

Turn right onto Devine Street

275 ft · 17 sec · Devine Street
3

Turn left onto North San Pedro Street

306 ft · 17 sec · North San Pedro Street
4

Turn right onto West Saint James Street

0.1 mi · 16 sec · West Saint James Street
5

Continue on West Julian Street

356 ft · 7 sec · West Julian Street
Use the straight lane.
6

Take the ramp

0.2 mi · 31 sec
Toward CA 87 South Use the right lane.
7

Merge onto CA 87

0.5 mi · 33 sec · Guadalupe Freeway
8

Take the exit

0.2 mi · 23 sec
Exit 5 Toward I 280 South, I 280 North: San Francisco Use the straight / slight right lanes.
9

Keep slight right at fork

0.4 mi · 53 sec
Toward I 280 North: San Francisco Use the slight right lane.
10

Merge onto I 280

19 mi · 21 min · Sinclair Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
11

Take the exit

0.2 mi · 27 sec
Exit 22 Toward Alpine Road, Portola Valley Use the straight / slight right lanes.
12

Keep slight left at fork

197 ft · 8 sec
Toward Portola Valley
13

Turn left onto Alpine Road

0.7 mi · 1 min · Alpine Road
Use the straight / left lanes.
14

Turn right onto La Mesa Drive

0.3 mi · 1 min · La Mesa Drive
15

Continue on La Mesa Drive

518 ft · 28 sec · La Mesa Drive
16

Turn left

73 ft · 5 sec
17

Arrive at destination

Heads-up: tricky spots

5 of 14

5 decision points cluster between mile 0.3 and 20.8 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.

6
0.3 mi into trip | ~1m in

Take the ramp toward CA 87 South

Lane positioning matters here

Use the right lane. Toward CA 87 South
8
1 mi into trip | ~2m in

Take the exit toward I 280 South, I 280 North: San Francisco

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 5 Toward I 280 South, I 280 North: San Francisco
7
1.2 mi into trip | ~2m in

Keep slight right at fork toward I 280 North: San Francisco

Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here

Use the slight right lane. Toward I 280 North: San Francisco
8
20.5 mi into trip | ~25m in

Take the exit toward Alpine Road, Portola Valley

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 22 Toward Alpine Road, Portola Valley
6
20.8 mi into trip | ~25m in

Keep slight left at fork toward Portola Valley

Highway fork - watch signs carefully

Toward Portola Valley

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$5.06 one way

$10.11 round trip

$5.84/gal 25.4 MPG avg 8 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $6.02 $5.21 $10.42
premium $6.18 $5.35 $10.70
diesel $5.61 $4.86 $9.71

No toll roads detected on this route.

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$5

Estimated CO2 emission: 7.7 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.

Driving Electric?

About $2 in charging · 0 stops · 63% less CO2

Vehicle Type kWh Stops DC Fast Home Charge
Average EV 6.6 0 $2.31 $1.06
Efficient EV 5.5 0 $1.92 $0.88
EV Truck/SUV 8.8 0 $3.08 $1.41

Gas CO2

8 kg

EV CO2

3 kg (63% 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 16, 2026

Origin

San Jose, CA

Morning in San Jose on Tuesday

Local time

6:44 AM

PDT

Current temp

71°F

Sunny

NNW 5 to 14 mph 0% chance Live forecast

Freeze Warning

Freeze Warning issued April 16 at 10:43AM PDT until April 17 at 11:00AM PDT by NWS Medford OR

Wind Advisory

Wind Advisory issued April 16 at 10:32AM PDT until April 17 at 11:00AM PDT by NWS Hanford CA

Destination

Ladera, CA

Morning in Ladera on Tuesday

Local time

6:44 AM

PDT

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

21 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

29m 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 route is predominantly a highway drive, with 88% of the journey on freeway conditions. You'll experience a long, uninterrupted stretch of 18.9 miles on the Sinclair Freeway, providing a consistent driving pace. The primary roads include the Sinclair Freeway and the Guadalupe Freeway, suggesting a predominantly fast-paced experience. While the profile indicates a highway focus, the inclusion of Alpine Road suggests a potential shift to a more local road feel as you approach your destination.

88% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
17 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 18.9 mi on Sinclair Freeway.

How Hard Is This Drive?

9/10

This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on Sinclair Freeway and Alpine Road. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 0.3 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 14 decision points packed into just 22 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 29m.

Where does it get tricky?

The main spots that need attention: at 0.3 miles: Lane positioning matters here; at 1 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 1.2 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. 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 San Jose, CA to Ladera, CA, road signs begin pointing toward Portola Valley along the way.

Portola Valley

20.5 mi in | ~25m

About the Cities

Starting in San Jose, CA

Full guide →

Founded 1777

Often called "the capital of Silicon Valley", San Jose is the largest city in the Bay Area, 3rd largest in California, and the 12th largest city in the United States, with a population of over 997,000 residents as of 2024. It was named the 6th safest big city in the U.S. in 2015. This clean, sprawling metropolis has sports, beautiful vistas, and ethnic enclaves and bleeds into the greater Bay Area for travelers who want to take their time in Northern California.

Top landmarks

  • • Winchester Mystery House — Mansion in San Jose, California.
  • • San Jose Diridon station — railway station complex in San Jose, California
  • • Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum — building in San Jose, 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 29m. Total distance: 22 miles.

Family Friendly

Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.

Solo Traveler

29m drive, comfortable solo distance.

EV Driver

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

First-Time Driver

Mostly highway driving (88%). Some complex stretches to watch for.

Frequently Asked Questions

The longest stretch is about 18.9 miles on Sinclair 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 Ladera, 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 0.3 miles: Lane positioning matters here; at 1 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 1.2 miles: 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 Ladera, 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, and EIA for fuel prices. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.

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