Traffic Predict
Best Time to Drive from Rancho Santa Margarita to Mid-City
Right now (5:06 pm PST): about 80 minutes via I-5 North, usually 70 at this time.
Only 47% 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.
Typical drive time by departure time
| Leave | 5am | 6am | 7am | 8am | 9am | 10am | 11am | 12pm | 1pm | 2pm | 3pm | 4pm | 5pm | 6pm | 7pm | 8pm | 9pm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mon | 55 | 68 | 72 | 74 | 67 | 61 | 62 | 62 | 63 | 63 | 65 | 66 | 66 | 63 | 58 | 55 | 53 |
| Tue | 56 | 67 | 78 | 76 | 69 | 64 | 63 | 62 | 62 | 63 | 66 | 68 | 69 | 66 | 61 | 55 | 53 |
| Wed | 55 | 66 | 73 | 74 | 68 | 63 | 62 | 62 | 62 | 62 | 67 | 70 | 70 | 67 | 61 | 56 | 53 |
| Thu | 55 | 68 | 75 | 74 | 68 | 64 | 64 | 62 | 62 | 64 | 68 | 72 | 70 | 65 | 62 | 57 | 54 |
| Fri | 55 | 65 | 64 | 65 | 62 | 64 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 70 | 62 | 58 | 53 |
| Sat | 53 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 59 | 62 | 64 | 63 | 63 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 62 | 61 | 61 | 58 | 54 |
| Sun | 53 | 54 | 54 | 54 | 56 | 57 | 61 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 62 | 62 | 64 | 65 | 63 | 59 | 54 |
About this drive
On weekdays the 60-mile drive from Rancho Santa Margarita to Mid-City (via I-5 North) usually takes as little as 53 minutes and up to 81 minutes, when leaving around 7:30 am on Tuesdays. The fastest times to leave are before 5:30 am or after 7:30 pm. Midday (11 am to 2 pm) it takes about 63 minutes. On weekends it is slowest around 6 pm on Sundays (65 minutes).
About 60 miles of it is freeway, where times follow typical and live traffic from our sensors, and about 0.8 miles surface streets (about 1 minutes), estimated from how jammed the freeways around them are at that time. Drive times are measured from central Rancho Santa Margarita to central Mid-City 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 Rancho Santa Margarita to Mid-City?
On weekdays, leave before 5:30 am or after 7:30 pm. The drive usually takes about 53 minutes then, versus up to 81 minutes at the worst times.
How long does it take to drive from Rancho Santa Margarita to Mid-City?
The 60-mile drive usually takes 53 to 81 minutes on weekdays, depending on when you leave, and about 63 minutes midday.
When is traffic worst from Rancho Santa Margarita to Mid-City?
Leaving around 7:30 am on Tuesdays is usually slowest, about 81 minutes.
Freeways on this drive
I-5 North in Orange County (28 miles) · SR-241 North in Orange County (10 miles) · I-5 North in Los Angeles (10 miles) · I-10 West in Los Angeles (7 miles) · SR-133 South in Orange County (3 miles) · SR-241 South in Orange County (1.2 miles)
Orange County traffic right now · Orange County traffic tomorrow · Los Angeles traffic right now · Los Angeles traffic tomorrow
More drives
Mid-City to Rancho Santa Margarita (return trip) · Rancho Santa Margarita to Los Angeles · Rancho Santa Margarita to San Diego · Rancho Santa Margarita to Long Beach · Rancho Santa Margarita to Anaheim · Rancho Santa Margarita to Riverside · Rancho Santa Margarita to Santa Ana · Rancho Santa Margarita to Irvine · Rancho Santa Margarita to San Bernardino · Rancho Santa Margarita to Fontana · Rancho Santa Margarita to Moreno Valley · Rancho Santa Margarita to Huntington Beach