Thanksgiving Travel Set to Surge This Year in Minnesota

If you’re planning to join the holiday rush this Thanksgiving, you’ll have plenty of company on Minnesota’s roads this year. Travel is once again surging, with more Minnesotans hitting the highways to celebrate with family and friends across the state.

Minnesota Thanksgiving Travel Expected to Hit New Highs

The Thanksgiving holiday is a uniquely American tradition, filled with tons of food and a gathering together with family and friends as we express our gratitude. According to the National Archives Museum, the First Thanksgiving was held back in 1621 near Plymouth, Massachusetts, to 'mark a successful harvest' that year.

If it seems like Thanksgiving is late again this year, you're right-- it is. The Farmers' Almanac notes that since 1941, Thanksgiving has been held on the fourth Thursday in November. And with the holiday falling on Thursday, Nov. 27th this year, that makes it one of the latest dates possible for the fall holiday. (It was *the* latest date possible last year, when Thanksgiving fell on November 28, 2024.)

AAA Says Millions More Minnesotans Will Travel This Year

If you're like many Minnesotans, the Thanksgiving holiday involves traveling. According to AAA Minnesota, 6.54 million people from the West North Central Region, which includes Minnesota, will travel at least 50 miles from home during the 2025 Thanksgiving holiday period.

This year, that period is set to run from Tuesday, November 25, to Monday, December 1. Those travel figures represent just under a 2 percent increase over last year and continue the growing trend for Thanksgiving travel in our region, which also includes Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and North Dakota and South Dakota.

These Are the Busiest Days for Minnesota Thanksgiving Travel

Here in the Bold North, of course, most of that traveling involves driving. In fact, AAA notes that over 89 percent of Thanksgiving travel is done in the car, with the busiest travel days expected to be Tuesday, Nov. 25th, and Wednesday, Nov. 26th.

JUST REVEALED: You Know You're From Minnesota If You Say One of These Things at Thanksgiving

AAA Minnesota says while most of us will hit the road to do our Thanksgiving travel this year, driving isn't the only way travel will happen over the holiday period. According to AAA Minnesota, the numbers break down like this:

• Total Travelers: 6,547,000 (+1.8%)
• By Car: 5,895,000 (+1.3%)
• By Air: 306,000 (+1.8%)
• By Other Modes (bus, train, cruise): 345,000 (+12%)

Of course, after Thanksgiving, next up is Christmas, right? It's a holiday filled with nostalgia, especially as we look forward to getting our holiday celebrations back to normal. So keep scrolling to take a look at which toy was the big thing during Christmas the year you were born!

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