Getting Here & Getting Around

The Elgin Area in Illinois is conveniently located only 45 minutes from downtown Chicago, and 30 minutes from O’Hare International Airport.

The area is well served by public transit. The main communities of Elgin and Bartlett are on a Metra train route, and it is easy to get around the area with extensive Pace bus routes.

METRA TRAIN STOPS & SCHEDULE FOR THE ELGIN AREA

The Metra train route from Chicago to Elgin is the Milwaukee District/West Line (MD-W). There are four Metra stops in the Elgin area, including Elgin and Bartlett. Click here for the Metra schedule for Chicago to Elgin

PACE BUS ROUTES IN THE ELGIN AREA

The Pace suburban bus service operates several routes in the Elgin Area. You can use the Trip Planner from Pace or see specific routes below.

  1. Route 541 – Northeast Elgin
  2. Route 542 – Bluff City
  3. Route 543 – Dundee-Carpentersville
  4. Route 546 – Orange-Walnut
  5. Route 547 – Wing Park
  6. Route 548 – Highland
  7. Route 549 – South Randall
  8. Route 552 – North State – Spring Hill Mall
  9. Route 554 – Elgin – Woodfield
  10. Route 801 – Elgin-Geneva
  11. Route 803 – Carpentersville Local
  12. Route 550 – Elgin Transportation Center – Crystal Lake

Visit the Pace website for more information on getting around the Elgin Area by bus.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS TO THE ELGIN AREA

The Elgin Area’s communities are located off Interstate 90. Following are general driving directions to the Elgin Area and drive times from cities nearby. For interactive maps and direction click here.

Driving directions to the Elgin Area

From the North

  1. Take IL Rt. 25 OR IL Rt. 31. OR Randall Rd OR IL Rt. 47. South towards I-90.
  2. All four routes pass through Northern Fox River Valley communities.

From the South

  1. Take IL Rt. 25 OR IL Rt. 31. OR Randall Rd. OR IL Rt. 47. North towards I-90.
  2. All four routes pass through the Elgin Area communities.

From the East

  1. Take I-90 West to Rockford approximately 38 miles.
  2. Look for Elgin exits (i.e. IL Rt. 25, IL Rt. 31, Randall Rd.).

From the West

  1. Take I-90 East to Chicago approximately 38 miles.
  2. Look for Elgin exits (i.e. IL Rt. 25, IL Rt. 31, Randall Rd.).

Parking in Downtown Elgin

The City of Elgin offers FREE Public Parking in downtown Elgin. For more information about parking in Elgin please check out the City of Elgin’s website, www.CityofElgin.org/parking.

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Drive times to the Elgin Area

Starting location Drive Time
Carbondale, IL 390 Minutes
Champaign/Urbana, IL 161 Minutes
Chicago, IL 45 Minutes
Columbus, OH 480 Minutes
Galena, IL 141 Minutes
Indianapolis, IN 240 Minutes
Madison, WI 105 Minutes
Michigan City, IN 120 Minutes
Milwaukee, WI 90 Minutes
Quad Cities, IL 175 Minutes
Rockford, IL 45 Minutes

Accommodations

Find Elgin area hotels for your next overnight stay!