Best Time to Drive from Mountain View to Salinas

Right now (5:50 pm PST): about 104 minutes via US-101 South and SR-85 South, usually 83 at this time.

Only 23% 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 71-mile drive from Mountain View to Salinas (via US-101 South and SR-85 South) usually takes as little as 64 minutes and up to 123 minutes, when leaving around 4 pm on Thursdays. The fastest times to leave are before 12 pm or after 7:30 pm. Midday (11 am to 2 pm) it takes about 73 minutes. On weekends it is slowest around 1:30 pm on Saturdays (77 minutes).

About 67 miles of it is freeway, where times follow typical and live traffic from our sensors, and about 4 miles surface streets (4 to 9 minutes on weekdays), estimated from how jammed the freeways around them are at that time. Drive times are measured from central Mountain View to central Salinas 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 Mountain View to Salinas?

On weekdays, leave before 12 pm or after 7:30 pm. The drive usually takes about 64 minutes then, versus up to 123 minutes at the worst times.

How long does it take to drive from Mountain View to Salinas?

The 71-mile drive usually takes 64 to 123 minutes on weekdays, depending on when you leave, and about 73 minutes midday.

When is traffic worst from Mountain View to Salinas?

Leaving around 4 pm on Thursdays is usually slowest, about 123 minutes.

Freeways on this drive

US-101 South in Bay Area (29 miles) · SR-85 South in Bay Area (22 miles)

Bay Area traffic right now · Bay Area traffic tomorrow

More drives

Salinas to Mountain View (return trip) · Mountain View to San Francisco · Mountain View to Oakland · Mountain View to San Jose · Mountain View to Berkeley · Mountain View to Fremont · Mountain View to Walnut Creek · Mountain View to San Mateo · Mountain View to Hayward · Mountain View to Pleasanton · Mountain View to Richmond · Mountain View to SFO

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