Origin
Silver Spring, MD
Evening in Silver Spring on Friday
Local time
5:10 PM
EDT
Current temp
69°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Silver Spring, MD to Walkersville, MD
Pin this tripCompiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Sep 4, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
1h 6m
Distance
47.1 mi
76 km
Drive Score
6/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$8
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
1h 1m
★
6 AM
1h 6m
8 AM
1h 17m
10 AM
1h 10m
12 PM
1h 9m
3 PM
1h 10m
5 PM
1h 16m
8 PM
1h 3m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Silver Spring, MD
www.kaboompics.com
Walkersville, MD
Carly Dernetz
Trip Overview
The drive from Silver Spring, MD to Walkersville, MD covers 47.1 miles and takes about 1h 6m behind the wheel. This route is realistic as a one-day drive if you keep your stops efficient.
The route leans on I 270, Frederick Freeway, Capital Beltway for much of the mileage, and the overall profile is mostly highway. The longest uninterrupted segment is about 31.8 miles on I 270. At current regular gas prices, budget about $7.87 one way before food or hotel costs.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| I 270 | 31.8 mi | 40m |
| Frederick Freeway | 4.5 mi | 6m |
| Capital Beltway | 3.9 mi | 5m |
| Woodsboro Pike | 2.3 mi | 3m |
| MD 26 | 2.2 mi | 3m |
| Georgia Avenue | 1.8 mi | 4m |
| Main Street | 0.3 mi | 1m |
| West Crum Road | 0.1 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
I 270
— 31.8 mi, about 40m
Traffic on I-270
Hour-of-day weekday pattern from 28 FHWA count stations on your route.
Peak
5 PM
~6,085 veh/hr typical
Quietest
2 AM
~400 veh/hr
Peak-to-quiet ratio
15.2×
busier at peak than in the quiet hours
12a
6a
noon
6p
11p
Averaged across 96 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 Silver Spring, MD and Walkersville, MD.
1
Start on this road
85 ft
·
8 sec
·
this road
2
Turn right
200 ft
·
14 sec
3
Merge onto US 29
1.8 mi
·
4 min
·
Georgia Avenue
4
Take the ramp
0.1 mi
·
15 sec
Toward I 495 West: Northern Virginia
5
Merge onto I 495
3.9 mi
·
5 min
·
Capital Beltway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
6
Keep slight right at fork onto I 270
3.6 mi
·
4 min
·
I 270
Exit 35
Toward I 270 North: Frederick
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
7
Keep slight right at fork onto I 270
28 mi
·
35 min
·
I 270
Toward I 270 North
Use the slight right lane.
8
Continue on Frederick Freeway
4.5 mi
·
6 min
·
Frederick Freeway
Toward US 15 North: Frederick, Gettysburg
Use the straight lane.
9
Take the exit onto MD 26
2.2 mi
·
3 min
·
MD 26
Exit 17
Toward MD 26 East: Libertytown, Walkersville
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
10
Continue on MD 194
2.3 mi
·
3 min
·
Woodsboro Pike
Use the straight lane.
11
Turn left onto West Crum Road
0.1 mi
·
26 sec
·
West Crum Road
12
Continue on Main Street
0.3 mi
·
1 min
·
Main Street
13
Turn left onto West Pennsylvania Avenue
249 ft
·
6 sec
·
West Pennsylvania Avenue
14
Arrive at destination
West Pennsylvania Avenue
Where to Stop
Rest stops, refuel points, and overnight suggestions along this route.
Mid-route town
Meal stop
24 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 10 miles helps settle the day before fatigue starts building.
Meal break
The midpoint is around 23.6 miles from Silver Spring, MD, which is a good place for a longer meal and fuel stop.
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 105 decision points cluster between mile 0 and 42.2 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
5
0 mi into trip
|
~0m in
Turn right
Navigation decision point
5
2 mi into trip
|
~4m in
|
I 495 / Capital Beltway
Merge onto I 495 / Capital Beltway
Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
8
5.9 mi into trip
|
~10m in
|
I 270
Keep slight right at fork onto I 270 toward I 270 North: Frederick
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Exit 35
Toward I 270 North: Frederick
7
9.4 mi into trip
|
~14m in
|
I 270
Keep slight right at fork onto I 270 toward I 270 North
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the slight right lane.
Toward I 270 North
8
42.2 mi into trip
|
~57m in
|
MD 26
Take the exit onto MD 26 toward MD 26 East: Libertytown, Walkersville
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 17
Toward MD 26 East: Libertytown, Walkersville
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$7.87 one way
$15.74 round trip
$4.24/gal
25.4 MPG avg
17 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.67 | $8.66 | $17.32 |
| premium | $5.01 | $9.29 | $18.59 |
| diesel | $5.60 | $10.38 | $20.76 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$8
Estimated CO2 emission: 16.5 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-08-31.
Driving Electric?
About $5 in charging · 0 stops · 63% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 14.1 | 0 | $4.95 | $2.26 |
| Efficient EV | 11.8 | 0 | $4.12 | $1.88 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 18.8 | 0 | $6.59 | $3.01 |
Gas CO2
16 kg
EV CO2
6 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.
Destination
Walkersville, MD
Evening in Walkersville on Friday
Local time
5:10 PM
EDT
Current temp
66°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
3 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
1h 6m 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?
47.1 mi in 1h 6m, mostly highway — 31.8 mi of that is on I 270.
82% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
14 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 31.8 mi on I 270.
How Hard Is This Drive?
8/10
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on I 270 and Frederick Freeway. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes early in the drive.
Driving Effort
8/10
Demanding - plan breaks and stay ahead of the key maneuvers
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This drive requires moderate attention. Across 47.1 miles you will encounter 10 spots where lane choice or exit timing matters. Not difficult for experienced highway drivers, but worth previewing the tricky sections before you go.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: near the start: Navigation decision point; at 2 miles (I 495 / Capital Beltway): Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here; at 5.9 miles (I 270): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
Elevation Profile
Mostly flat terrain
526 ft
213 ft
Total Climb
475 ft
Total Descent
503 ft
Highest Point
526 ft
~23.6 mi in
Elevation Range
313 ft
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 Silver Spring, MD to Walkersville, MD, road signs begin pointing toward Gettysburg along the way.
Gettysburg
37.7 mi in
|
~50m
|
via Frederick Freeway
About the Cities
Starting in Silver Spring, MD
Full guide →Founded 1887
Silver Spring is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Maryland. It is considered to be an "edge city". It sits next door to Washington, DC, and had about 82,000 residents in 2018. It has redeveloped its downtown district with an outdoor shopping plaza called "Downtown Silver Spring", and is criss-crossed by four creeks that are the basis for parks offering hiking trails, playgrounds, picnic areas, and tennis courts.
Arriving in Walkersville, MD
Full guide →Founded 1892
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 1h 6m. Total distance: 47.1 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
1h 6m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (82%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 31.8 miles on I 270. 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 Walkersville, MD 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: Navigation decision point; at 2 miles (I 495 / Capital Beltway): Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here; at 5.9 miles (I 270): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
Yes — Monocacy National Battlefield, Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park and Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail (5 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 Walkersville, MD 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, USGS 3DEP for elevation, NPS for national parks, and FHWA TMAS for hourly traffic volumes. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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