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Trip from Thomaston, NY to Queens, NY

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

12.3 mi

20 km

Drive Score

8/10

Great drive

Same Day?

Yes, doable

Fuel Cost

$2

one way

EV Charging

Good

8 stations

Best Time to Leave

Save up to 6 min
4 AM
0h 23m ★
6 AM
0h 25m
8 AM
0h 29m
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.

village in Nassau County, New York, United States

Thomaston, NY

Wikimedia Commons

borough in New York City, New York, United States

Queens, NY

Wikimedia Commons

Trip Overview

If you are planning to travel from Thomaston to Queens, you are looking at a short, 12.9-mile journey that typically takes about 33 minutes. Because of the quick duration, this is easily completed as a day trip, requiring no overnight stays or complex logistics. You can expect to spend about $2 on fuel for the entire excursion, making it an extremely budget-friendly commute. Since the trip takes place entirely within the Northeast region of New York, you will remain in familiar territory throughout the drive. This route is best viewed as a simple local connection rather than a traditional road trip, offering a straightforward way to reach your destination.

Main Roads

Road Distance Duration
Long Island Expressway 4.3 mi 6m
Liberty Avenue 1.5 mi 4m
Union Turnpike 1.4 mi 2m
Utopia Parkway 1 mi 2m
Van Wyck Expressway West 0.9 mi 2m
Lakeville Road 0.9 mi 1m
Main Street 0.4 mi 1m
Northern Boulevard 0.3 mi <1m
Longest stretch: Long Island Expressway — 4.3 mi, about 6m

Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions

Step-by-step road directions between Thomaston, NY and Queens, NY.

1

Start on Linden Street

151 ft · 6 sec · Linden Street
2

Keep slight right at fork onto Linden Street

456 ft · 26 sec · Linden Street
3

Turn left onto Susquehanna Avenue

520 ft · 21 sec · Susquehanna Avenue
4

Turn right onto NY 25A

0.3 mi · 32 sec · Northern Boulevard
5

Turn left onto Lakeville Road

0.9 mi · 1 min · Lakeville Road
Use the left lane.
6

Turn sharp right onto Horace Harding Boulevard

0.1 mi · 16 sec · Horace Harding Boulevard
Use the straight / right lanes.
7

Keep slight left at fork onto Fairway Drive

0.2 mi · 26 sec · Fairway Drive
Toward I 495 West: New York Use the straight lane.
8

Take the ramp

0.1 mi · 16 sec
Toward I 495 West
9

Merge onto I 495

4.3 mi · 6 min · Long Island Expressway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
10

Take the exit

0.1 mi · 17 sec
Exit 25 Toward Utopia Parkway, 164th Street Use the slight right lane.
11

Turn straight onto Horace Harding Expressway

459 ft · 9 sec · Horace Harding Expressway
12

Turn left onto Utopia Parkway

1.0 mi · 2 min · Utopia Parkway
13

Turn right onto Union Turnpike

1.4 mi · 2 min · Union Turnpike
14

Turn left onto Main Street

0.4 mi · 1 min · Main Street
Use the left lane.
15

Take the ramp

0.5 mi · 1 min
Toward I 678 South: Van Wyck Expressway, Hillside Avenue, Jamaica Avenue
16

Keep slight right at fork

0.1 mi · 13 sec
Toward Hillside Avenue, Jamaica Avenue Use the slight right lane.
17

Turn straight onto Van Wyck Expressway West

0.9 mi · 2 min · Van Wyck Expressway West
Use the straight / right lanes.
18

Turn right onto Liberty Avenue

1.5 mi · 4 min · Liberty Avenue
Use the straight / right lanes.
19

Turn left onto 104th Street

205 ft · 9 sec · 104th Street
20

Arrive at destination

104th Street

Heads-up: tricky spots

5 of 16

5 decision points cluster between mile 1.4 and 10.8 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.

7
1.4 mi into trip | ~3m in | Horace Harding Boulevard

Turn sharp right onto Horace Harding Boulevard

Sharp turn - reduce speed on approach. Lane positioning matters here

Use the straight / right lanes.
8
1.6 mi into trip | ~3m in | Fairway Drive

Keep slight left at fork onto Fairway Drive toward I 495 West: New York

Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here

Use the straight lane. Toward I 495 West: New York
8
6.2 mi into trip | ~10m in

Take the exit toward Utopia Parkway, 164th Street

Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one

Use the slight right lane. Exit 25 Toward Utopia Parkway, 164th Street
8
9.7 mi into trip | ~17m in

Keep slight right at fork toward Hillside Avenue, Jamaica Avenue

Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one

Use the slight right lane. Toward Hillside Avenue, Jamaica Avenue
6
10.8 mi into trip | ~20m in | Liberty Avenue

Turn right onto Liberty Avenue

Lane positioning matters here

Use the straight / right lanes.

Fuel & Cost

Regular Gas

$2.02 one way

$4.05 round trip

$4.18/gal 25.4 MPG avg 4 kg CO2
Fuel Type $/gal One Way Round Trip
midgrade $4.52 $2.19 $4.38
premium $4.92 $2.38 $4.77
diesel $5.61 $2.72 $5.43

Estimated Tolls: $0.10

Union Turnpike (1.4 mi) $0.10

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

Drive Cost (one way)

Fuel

$2

Tolls

$0

Total

$2

Estimated CO2 emission: 4.3 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.

Driving Electric?

About $1 in charging · 0 stops · 75% less CO2

Vehicle Type kWh Stops DC Fast Home Charge
Average EV 3.7 0 $1.29 $0.59
Efficient EV 3.1 0 $1.08 $0.49
EV Truck/SUV 4.9 0 $1.72 $0.79

Gas CO2

4 kg

EV CO2

1 kg (75% 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 18, 2026

Origin

Thomaston, NY

Morning in Thomaston on Sunday

Local time

7:50 AM

EDT

Current temp

57°F

Unavailable

Live forecast

Destination

Queens, NY

Morning in Queens on Sunday

Local time

7:50 AM

EDT

Current temp

53°F

Mostly Cloudy

NE 6 mph 0% chance Live forecast

Wind Advisory

Wind Advisory issued April 18 at 2:37AM EDT until April 19 at 12:00AM EDT by NWS Burlington VT

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

4 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?

Expect a turn-heavy local drive as you make your way from Thomaston to Queens. This route contains no highway driving, meaning you will be navigating surface streets for the entirety of the 33-minute trip. Because the highway share is 0%, you should prepare for frequent stops, traffic signals, and the steady pace of residential or commercial corridors. The road’s personality is defined by its technical, localized nature rather than high-speed cruising. Stay alert behind the wheel, as the lack of long, uninterrupted stretches requires your full attention on navigating turns and local intersections.

63% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
20 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 4.3 mi on Long Island Expressway.

How Hard Is This Drive?

9/10

This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on Long Island Expressway and Liberty Avenue. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 1.4 miles in near Horace Harding Boulevard.

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 16 decision points packed into just 12.3 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: at 1.4 miles (Horace Harding Boulevard): Sharp turn - reduce speed on approach. Lane positioning matters here; at 1.6 miles (Fairway Drive): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 6.2 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.

About the Cities

Starting in Thomaston, NY

Full guide →

Arriving in Queens, NY

Full guide →

Founded 1683

Queens is a crescent-shaped (with a tail) borough traversing the north-to-south width of Long Island and including two of the major New York City area airports, LaGuardia (LGA IATA) and John F. Kennedy International (JFK IATA). It also carries the largest ethnic diversity in its area of any region in the world, with many small enclaves. Jackson Heights, for example, includes a huge Indian area, followed by a Colombian area, and then a Mexican area. Each offers a wide array of authentic shops, native-style cuisine, and festivals modified only slightly by the generally colder New York City experience.

Top landmarks

  • Queensboro Bridge — bridge in New York City
  • Unisphere — Steel structure in Queens, New York

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: 12.3 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 (63%). Some complex stretches to watch for.

Frequently Asked Questions

The longest stretch is about 4.3 miles on Long Island Expressway. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.

Expect about $0.10 in tolls one way, starting with Union Turnpike. 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 Queens, NY 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 1.4 miles (Horace Harding Boulevard): Sharp turn - reduce speed on approach. Lane positioning matters here; at 1.6 miles (Fairway Drive): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 6.2 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.

Yes — African Burial Ground National Monument, Federal Hall National Memorial and Gateway National Recreation Area (6 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 Queens, NY 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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