A little planning will go a long way over Memorial Day weekend
These Are the Best—And Worst—Times for Avoiding Memorial Day Weekend Traffic
Published on May 20, 2025
Memorial Day is almost here—time for warm weather, beach trips, barbecues and … traffic. The bottom line is that there are just a lot of people on the road, and we do mean a lot. This year, AAA predicts that more than 45 million people will travel 50 miles or more between Thursday, May 22, and Monday, May 26, to enjoy holiday festivities. And that’s not even counting the people who will be traveling to a more local destination that you might want to get to. Yikes!
But while traffic seems to go hand-in-hand with this holiday, a little planning can go a long way to avoid pre-holiday road rage. AAA teamed up with S&P Global Market Intelligence to determine the best and worst times to travel over the holiday weekend so you can skip the stress and go straight to the fun, with as little traffic as possible.
Keep reading to find out when you should travel over Memorial Day weekend to sidestep those peak congestion times—and which routes across the country are expected to be the busiest.
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How were the best and worst times to travel over Memorial Day determined?
Researchers from AAP and S&P looked at a variety of factors to come up with the best and worst Memorial Day travel times. Those factors included economic variables (such as employment, household net worth and interest rates), travel- and tourism-related variables (such as gas prices, airline travel and hotel stays) and historical travel volume since 2000. Those historical travel volume numbers were estimated by MMGY’s Travel Performance/MonitorSM, which contacts more than 50,000 households every month to gather detailed information about people’s travel behavior.
The travel period under consideration covers the five days between Thursday, May 22, and Monday, May 26.
What are the best times to drive to and from your Memorial Day destination?
The best time to drive over Memorial Day weekend is either early in the morning or later in the evening. So if you were thinking that taking a half day from work might help you beat the traffic, you might want to reconsider. And believe it or not, the easiest day to take a trip is probably on Memorial Day itself, Monday, May 26—at least the first half of the day. That’s likely because so many people will already be where they need to be by then.
Here are the best times to drive to—and home from—your Memorial Day destination:
- Thursday, May 22: Before 12 p.m.
- Friday, May 23: Before 11 a.m.
- Saturday, May 24: Before 12 p.m.
- Sunday, May 25: Before 1 p.m.
- Monday, May 26 (Memorial Day): Before 2 p.m.
Note that the times listed here (and in the sections below) are for the time zone in which the area is located.
What are the worst times to drive to and from your Memorial Day destination?
Skip those afternoon and early evening drives. Here are the times you definitely don’t want to be on the road if you can help it, according to AAA:
- Thursday, May 22: 1 p.m.–5 p.m.
- Friday, May 23: 12 p.m.–8 p.m.
- Saturday, May 24: 2 p.m.–6 p.m.
- Sunday, May 25: 1 p.m.–5 p.m.
- Monday, May 26 (Memorial Day): 4 p.m.–7 p.m.
What are the worst driving routes on Memorial Day?
If you’re celebrating Memorial Day with your family and friends, there’s only so much control you have over where you celebrate, which means you may not be able to avoid the traffic altogether. But with some careful planning and knowledge of which routes are the worst driving routes over the holiday weekend, you might be able to steer clear of peak congestion times, especially if you’re headed through major metropolitan areas.
Of course, it’s always a good idea to check your local news and preferred traffic apps to get the most up-to-date travel information before you head out on your road trip. But below, you’ll find the routes with the biggest bump in traffic over Memorial Day weekend and the worst times to travel on them, according to AAA.
Boston
- Route: Boston to Manchester via I-93 N
- Peak congestion: Monday, May 26, at 12:15 p.m.
- Estimated travel time: 1 hour and 36 minutes
- Increase in travel time compared with a typical day: 123%
Los Angeles
- Route: Los Angeles to Bakersfield via I-5 N
- Peak congestion: Friday, May 23, at 5 p.m.
- Estimated travel time: 3 hours and 36 minutes
- Increase in travel time compared with a typical day: 83%
New York
- Route: Jersey Shore to New York via Garden State Pkwy N
- Peak congestion: Monday, May 26, at 1 p.m.
- Estimated travel time: 2 hours and 24 minutes
- Increase in travel time compared with a typical day: 92%
San Francisco
- Route: San Francisco to Napa via I-80 E
- Peak congestion: Thursday, May 22, at 7:15 p.m.
- Estimated travel time: 3 hours
- Increase in travel time compared with a typical day: 82%
Washington, DC
- Route: Washington, DC, to Annapolis via US-50 E
- Peak congestion: Thursday, May 22, at 3:45 p.m.
- Estimated travel time: 1 hour and 18 minutes
- Increase in travel time compared with a typical day: 80%
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Source:
- AAA Newsroom: “45.1 Million Americans Expected to Travel Domestically for Memorial Day”
