800 miles, about 12 hr 11 min of driving. Here are the real towns worth stopping in between Columbia, SC and Chicago, IL, and why each one earned it.
Named for your own departure time and driving style when you plan the trip — your first full plan is free.
Name every stop — first trip free
No card for the first trip. After that it's 99¢ for three trips, or $2.99 a month.
| Day | Miles | Driving | Night in |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 578 | 8 hr 44 min | Columbus, IN |
| 2 | 223 | 3 hr 27 min | — |
Every stop is a real town on your actual route — not a chain billboard. We score towns on what a driver needs at that point in the drive: fuel and food for a stretch break, parks and grass when a pet is along, hotels and restaurants when it's an overnight. Detour distance counts against a town, so nothing here costs you a long side trip.
This page is planned for a 9-hour driving day leaving at 8:00 AM. Change any of that — your hours, your MPG, pets, small children, an EV's charging range — and the stops change with it. Plan Columbia to Chicago your way →
How far is Columbia, SC to Chicago, IL?
About 800 miles, roughly 12 hr 11 min of driving before stops.
Can you drive Columbia to Chicago in one day?
Not comfortably. At a 9-hour driving day it splits into 2 days, with a night in Columbus, IN.
Where is a good place to stop between Columbia and Chicago?
Fletcher, NC is the first one on this route.