Origin
Whittier, CA
Morning in Whittier on Sunday
Local time
7:16 AM
PDT
Current temp
72°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Whittier, CA to Long Beach, CA
Compiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 19, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
37m
Distance
25.1 mi
40 km
Drive Score
8/10
Great drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$6
one way
EV Charging
Fair
3 stations
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 34m
★
6 AM
0h 37m
8 AM
0h 43m
10 AM
0h 39m
12 PM
0h 39m
3 PM
0h 40m
5 PM
0h 43m
8 PM
0h 35m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Whittier, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Long Beach, CA
Wikimedia Commons
Trip Overview
If you are planning to travel from Whittier to Long Beach, you are looking at a straightforward 25.9-mile journey that typically takes about 37 minutes. This route is perfectly suited for a single-day trip, as it covers a relatively short distance entirely within the Pacific Coast region of California. You won’t need to worry about booking overnight accommodations, and with a fuel cost of approximately $6, it remains an affordable excursion. Because this is a local drive, you can easily complete the trip in under an hour depending on traffic conditions. It is a practical option if you need to move between these two Southern California cities without the complexity of a long-distance haul.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| San Gabriel River Freeway | 6.3 mi | 7m |
| Long Beach Freeway | 5.8 mi | 7m |
| Artesia Freeway | 4.6 mi | 5m |
| Washington Boulevard | 2.3 mi | 3m |
| Shoreline Drive | 1.3 mi | 2m |
| Mar Vista Street | 0.5 mi | 1m |
| West Ocean Boulevard | 0.5 mi | 1m |
| Seaside Freeway | 0.5 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
San Gabriel River Freeway
— 6.3 mi, about 7m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Whittier, CA and Long Beach, CA.
1
Start on Philadelphia Street
49 ft
·
5 sec
·
Philadelphia Street
2
Turn right onto Painter Avenue
0.4 mi
·
47 sec
·
Painter Avenue
3
Turn right onto Mar Vista Street
0.5 mi
·
1 min
·
Mar Vista Street
4
Turn left onto Pickering Avenue
0.4 mi
·
59 sec
·
Pickering Avenue
Use the left lane.
5
Turn right onto Washington Boulevard
2.3 mi
·
3 min
·
Washington Boulevard
Use the straight lane.
6
Take the ramp
0.5 mi
·
1 min
Toward I 605 South: Slauson Avenue, San Gabriel River Freeway South
Use the right lane.
7
Keep slight left at fork
0.1 mi
·
16 sec
Toward I 605 South
8
Merge onto I 605
6.3 mi
·
7 min
·
San Gabriel River Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
9
Take the exit
527 ft
·
12 sec
Exit 7A
Toward CA 91 East, CA 91 West: Artesia Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
10
Keep slight right at fork
0.3 mi
·
40 sec
Toward CA 91 West: Artesia Freeway West
Use the slight left / slight right lanes.
11
Merge onto CA 91
4.6 mi
·
5 min
·
Artesia Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
12
Take the exit
0.2 mi
·
24 sec
Toward I 710 South, I 710 North: Long Beach, Pasadena
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
13
Keep slight left at fork
0.6 mi
·
1 min
Toward I 710 South: Long Beach
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
14
Merge onto I 710
5.8 mi
·
7 min
·
Long Beach Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
15
Continue on I 710
0.5 mi
·
40 sec
·
Seaside Freeway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
16
Take the exit
0.3 mi
·
37 sec
Toward Downtown Long Beach, Convention Center, Aquarium
Use the slight left / straight lanes.
17
Continue on Shoreline Drive
1.3 mi
·
2 min
·
Shoreline Drive
18
Turn left onto South Chestnut Place
0.2 mi
·
30 sec
·
South Chestnut Place
Use the left / uturn lanes.
19
Turn right onto West Ocean Boulevard
0.5 mi
·
1 min
·
West Ocean Boulevard
20
Continue on East Ocean Boulevard
0.1 mi
·
21 sec
·
East Ocean Boulevard
Use the left lane.
21
Arrive at destination
East Ocean Boulevard
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 175 decision points cluster between mile 10.5 and 22.6 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
8
10.5 mi into trip
|
~15m in
Take the exit toward CA 91 East, CA 91 West: Artesia Freeway
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 7A
Toward CA 91 East, CA 91 West: Artesia Freeway
7
10.6 mi into trip
|
~15m in
Keep slight right at fork toward CA 91 West: Artesia Freeway West
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the slight left / slight right lanes.
Toward CA 91 West: Artesia Freeway West
7
15.5 mi into trip
|
~21m in
Take the exit toward I 710 South, I 710 North: Long Beach, Pasadena
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.
Toward I 710 South, I 710 North: Long Beach, Pa...
7
15.7 mi into trip
|
~22m in
Keep slight left at fork toward I 710 South: Long Beach
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
Toward I 710 South: Long Beach
7
22.6 mi into trip
|
~31m in
Take the exit toward Downtown Long Beach, Convention Center, Aquarium
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the slight left / straight lanes.
Toward Downtown Long Beach, Convention Center,...
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$5.77 one way
$11.54 round trip
$5.84/gal
25.4 MPG avg
9 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $6.02 | $5.94 | $11.89 |
| premium | $6.18 | $6.10 | $12.21 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $5.54 | $11.08 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$6
Estimated CO2 emission: 8.8 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $3 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 7.5 | 0 | $2.64 | $1.20 |
| Efficient EV | 6.3 | 0 | $2.20 | $1.00 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 10 | 0 | $3.51 | $1.61 |
Gas CO2
9 kg
EV CO2
3 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
Long Beach, CA
Morning in Long Beach on Sunday
Local time
7:16 AM
PDT
Current temp
56°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
16 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
37m 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?
Expect a turn-heavy local drive rather than a high-speed interstate experience, as this route features zero highway miles. You will navigate through local thoroughfares, primarily utilizing Painter Avenue, Mar Vista Street, and Pickering Avenue to reach your destination. Because the entire 25.9 miles are conducted on surface streets, the pace is dictated by local traffic patterns and intersections rather than open-road cruising. Since there is no highway share, you should prepare for a more hands-on driving experience that requires constant attention to turns. This is a purely urban transit route that lacks the long, uninterrupted stretches found on major state freeways.
69% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
21 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 6.3 mi on San Gabriel River Freeway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
10/10
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on San Gabriel River Freeway and Long Beach Freeway. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 10.5 miles in.
Driving Effort
10/10
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 17 decision points packed into just 25.1 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 37m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 10.5 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 10.6 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 15.5 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. 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.
Between Whittier, CA and Long Beach, CA, road signs point toward San Gabriel River Freeway South, Pasadena, Convention Center and Aquarium.
San Gabriel River Freeway South
3.6 mi in
|
~6m
Pasadena
15.5 mi in
|
~21m
Convention Center
22.6 mi in
|
~31m
Aquarium
22.6 mi in
|
~31m
About the Cities
Arriving in Long Beach, CA
Full guide →Founded 1888
Long Beach is a large port city in Los Angeles County in Southern California. Long Beach has some nice people-gathering amenities and genuine tourist attractions, such as a world-class aquarium and the Queen Mary floating museum/hotel. Special events are also held in the city like the annual Long Beach Grand Prix (a premier racing event held on city streets) and the annual Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride event. When compared to other areas like Hollywood, West Hollywood, Santa Monica and West L.A., Long Beach may not always be at the top of someone's tourist visit to the Los Angeles area, but the city draws its fair share of visitors and has proven it can definitely hold its own.
Top landmarks
- • RMS Queen Mary — retired British ocean liner
- • Terminal Island — island in Los Angeles County, California, United States
- • Aquarium of the Pacific — public aquarium in Long Beach, 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 37m. Total distance: 25.1 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
37m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (69%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 6.3 miles on San Gabriel River 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 Long Beach, 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 10.5 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 10.6 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here; at 15.5 miles: Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Long Beach, 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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