Getting from Cleveland to Chicago

Cleveland and Chicago are about 345 miles apart, close enough that driving, the bus and the train are all real options, and far enough that a one-hour flight looks good. The catch with the train is the clock. Both Amtrak trains pass through Cleveland in the middle of the night.

For the Chicago end, see getting to Chicago for the stations and our airports page for the L from O'Hare and Midway.

Flying

It's the quickest way, about an hour and a quarter in the air. From Cleveland Hopkins, American and United fly to O'Hare, and Southwest flies to Midway. Continental, which the first version of this page listed, merged into United in 2012, and United closed the Cleveland hub in 2014. Hopkins is on the Red Line, so you can get there by train from downtown, and on the Chicago side the Blue and Orange Lines do the same. Door to door, a flight is still three hours or more once you count security, so weigh it against the drive before you book.

By train

Two Amtrak trains a day run each way, and both use Cleveland Lakefront Station at 200 Cleveland Memorial Shoreway, on the lakefront downtown.

• The Lake Shore Limited (Chicago to New York and Boston) takes about seven hours. Heading east it reaches Cleveland before dawn. Heading west it leaves Cleveland around 4am and gets to Chicago mid-morning.
• The Floridian takes six to seven hours. It calls at Cleveland between 1am and 3am in both directions. It replaced the old Capitol Limited on this route in November 2024, when Amtrak merged the Capitol Limited (Chicago to Washington) with the Silver Star (New York to Miami) into a single Chicago to Miami train. Amtrak called the merger temporary, but it hasn't said when the Capitol Limited will come back.

So the westbound trip works if you don't mind a very early start and want most of a day in Chicago. Both trains stop at Elyria, Sandusky, Toledo and South Bend on the way, and both end at Chicago Union Station. Check exact times on Amtrak's route pages, since they move with each schedule change.

By bus

FlixBus and Greyhound list four trips a day between the two cities, and the fastest takes a little over seven hours. The main Cleveland stop is the bus station at 17510 Brookpark Road, out near the airport, with a downtown curbside stop on E. 12th Street between Rockwell and St. Clair and another at University Circle. In Chicago, buses use the Greyhound station at 630 W. Harrison St. and the curbside stop by Union Station. Check your ticket for the exact stop at both ends.

The original version of this page recommended Megabus double-deckers with free Wi-Fi. Don't count on those now. Megabus's parent, Coach USA, went bankrupt in 2024, and megabus.com now sells seats on other bus companies (see getting to Chicago).

Driving

It's about 345 miles and five and a half to six hours, all interstate and mostly toll road. Take I-90 west out of Cleveland onto the Ohio Turnpike, then the Indiana Toll Road, which becomes the Chicago Skyway as you come into the city. The first version of this page said the drive went through southern Michigan. It doesn't. It stays south of the Michigan line the whole way, through northern Ohio and northern Indiana. E-ZPass works on all three toll roads. You also gain an hour somewhere in northwest Indiana, where you cross into Central Time.

The slow part is the last 30 miles. Gary, the Skyway and the Dan Ryan can back up at rush hour, so time your arrival for mid-morning or after 7pm if you can. Downtown parking is expensive. See getting to Chicago for tips on parking and tolls.

Photo by BIG Slow