AAA projects 600K Oregon drivers will embark on road trips for Memorial Day weekend

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — If you’re planning a road trip through Oregon for the long weekend, just know you won’t be the only one.

The American Automobile Association estimates the upcoming Memorial Day travel period will be the second-busiest since 2005. That year, about 44 million people in the U.S. traveled for the holiday.

Roughly 600,000 Oregonians are projected to travel from this Thursday, May 23 to Monday, May 27 — and over 80% of them will drive to their destinations.

Bend, Portland, Eugene, Boise and the Medford-Ashland area are among the most popular destinations in the region, according to AAA.

The association advised drivers to begin their road trips before 11 a.m. or after 8 p.m. on Friday, and before 1 p.m. or after 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Find a full list of the best and worst travel times through Tuesday here.

“Try to avoid the peak travel times and avoid driving through urban areas when commuters are also hitting the roads to head home,” Marie Dodds with AAA’s Oregon-Idaho Division said in a statement. “Whenever you go, expect longer travel times than usual to get to your destination.”

AAA has monitored Memorial Day travel since 2000, and estimates this holiday weekend will beat the record for road trips nationwide.

But there are still some Americans who plan to fly to their destinations.

According to the Port of Portland, the Portland International Airport will welcome an additional 17% flyers in 2024 compared with the previous Memorial Day weekend. The airport travel period lasts from Friday to Monday, but Friday could be the busiest day with approximately 57,000 travelers.

However, the Port said July 11, July 18 and July 25 — which all fall on a Thursday — will be the busiest days for PDX this summer with about 64,000 travelers each day.