What To Expect For Minnesota Travel This Memorial Day Weekend

Is there anything more Minnesotan than packing up the car and heading up north to the lake for the Memorial Day weekend? Here's what to expect if you're hitting the road this weekend in the Land of 10,000 Lakes!

If you and the family *are* heading out of town this Memorial weekend, you won't be alone. Travel site AAA projects a record-breaking 45.1 million Americans will travel at least 50 miles from home over Memorial Day weekend this year, surpassing the previous high set in 2005.

Here in our neck of the woods in AAA's West North Central region, which includes Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and the Dakotas, approximately 3.7 million residents are expected to travel during some time over the Memorial weekend.

ALSO INTERESTING: Speeding in MN? Why You're Now More Likely To Get Caught

If you are heading out on the highways here in the Bold North, the worst times to drive are anticipated to be Thursday, May 22, from 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM, and Friday, May 23, from 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM. To avoid the heaviest traffic, AAA recommends leaving during the morning hours.

Get our free mobile app

There is some good news, too, when you go to fill up that gas tank here in the Bold North. AAA Minnesota says the statewide average for a price of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.04 a gallon. That's nearly 30 cents cheaper than a year ago when the average price was $3.32 a gallon!

Canva

If you travel but not by car, you'll also be in good company. Air travel this holiday weekend is also on the rise, with 3.61 million passengers expected to fly this year, up nearly 2 percent from last year, according to Axios. Top destinations this year include Orlando, Seattle, New York, Las Vegas, and Miami.

While MSP airport near Bloomington hasn't released specific projections for 2025, in previous years, about 35,000 passengers went through TSA checkpoints both Thursday and Friday. That's busy, not quite as busy as spring break when the airport saw about 40,000 travelers on peak days, KSTP said.

Meanwhile, if you are traveling this weekend, watch out for extra speed enforcement, as the Minnesota Department of Public Safety launched an enhanced crackdown on speeders earlier this spring. And keep scrolling to see just which cars are more likely to be pulled over for speeding here in Minnesota as well!