Best Time to Drive from Lancaster to Santa Ana

Right now (8:49 pm PDT): about 121 minutes via I-5 South, usually 119 at this time.

Only 3% of this drive is measured by working traffic sensors right now. The rest is estimated from nearby sensors, typical speeds and street traffic, so times can be off. Why so few sensors work.

About this drive

On weekdays the 98-mile drive from Lancaster to Santa Ana (via I-5 South) usually takes as little as 117 minutes and up to 168 minutes, when leaving around 3 pm on Tuesdays. The fastest times to leave are after 6:30 pm. Midday (11 am to 2 pm) it takes about 139 minutes. On weekends it is slowest around 2 pm on Saturdays (136 minutes).

About 51 miles of it is freeway, where times follow typical and live traffic from our sensors, and about 47 miles surface streets (66 to 71 minutes on weekdays), estimated from how jammed the freeways around them are at that time. Drive times are measured from central Lancaster to central Santa Ana along the route on the map. Starting or ending elsewhere in a big city can add or save several minutes.

Simulated from typical freeway speeds at each point of the drive for the time you would reach it, from every 5-minute reading we have recorded. We don't have sensors on surface streets yet, so the time on them is estimated from how congested the freeways around each end of the drive are at that time, in both directions: streets jam when the freeways do.

Questions

What is the best time to drive from Lancaster to Santa Ana?

On weekdays, leave after 6:30 pm. The drive usually takes about 117 minutes then, versus up to 168 minutes at the worst times.

How long does it take to drive from Lancaster to Santa Ana?

The 98-mile drive usually takes 117 to 168 minutes on weekdays, depending on when you leave, and about 139 minutes midday.

When is traffic worst from Lancaster to Santa Ana?

Leaving around 3 pm on Tuesdays is usually slowest, about 168 minutes.

Freeways on this drive

I-5 South in Los Angeles (19 miles) · I-5 South in Orange County (15 miles) · SR-14 South in Los Angeles (9 miles) · SR-2 West in Los Angeles (8 miles) · I-210 West in Los Angeles (1.3 miles)

Los Angeles traffic right now · Los Angeles traffic tomorrow · Orange County traffic right now · Orange County traffic tomorrow

More drives

Santa Ana to Lancaster (return trip) · Lancaster to Los Angeles · Lancaster to Long Beach · Lancaster to Anaheim · Lancaster to Riverside · Lancaster to Oxnard · Lancaster to Glendale · Lancaster to Santa Clarita · Lancaster to Garden Grove · Lancaster to Hollywood · Lancaster to Corona · Lancaster to Pomona

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