Best Time to Drive from Palmdale to Santa Ana

Right now (10:56 pm PDT): about 100 minutes via I-5 South.

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 84-mile drive from Palmdale to Santa Ana (via I-5 South) usually takes as little as 97 minutes and up to 144 minutes, when leaving around 3:30 pm on Tuesdays. The fastest times to leave are before 5:30 am or after 7 pm. Midday (11 am to 2 pm) it takes about 123 minutes. On weekends it is slowest around 1:30 pm on Saturdays (117 minutes).

About 43 miles of it is freeway, where times follow typical and live traffic from our sensors, and about 41 miles surface streets (60 to 69 minutes on weekdays), estimated from how jammed the freeways around them are at that time. Drive times are measured from central Palmdale 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 Palmdale to Santa Ana?

On weekdays, leave before 5:30 am or after 7 pm. The drive usually takes about 97 minutes then, versus up to 144 minutes at the worst times.

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

The 84-mile drive usually takes 97 to 144 minutes on weekdays, depending on when you leave, and about 123 minutes midday.

When is traffic worst from Palmdale to Santa Ana?

Leaving around 3:30 pm on Tuesdays is usually slowest, about 144 minutes.

Freeways on this drive

I-5 South in Los Angeles (19 miles) · I-5 South in Orange County (15 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 Palmdale (return trip) · Palmdale to Los Angeles · Palmdale to Long Beach · Palmdale to Anaheim · Palmdale to Riverside · Palmdale to Irvine · Palmdale to Oxnard · Palmdale to Moreno Valley · Palmdale to Huntington Beach · Palmdale to Glendale · Palmdale to Santa Clarita · Palmdale to Garden Grove

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