Traffic on Colorado mountain roads — including I-70 — is expected to surge over Memorial Day weekend

This Memorial Day weekend could be especially busy for travelers driving to Colorado mountain destinations.

Despite high gas prices and a slow winter season due to a historically low snowpack, AAA Public Affairs Director Skyler McKinley said that Colorado mountain towns could see an economic boost as the summer travel season kicks off.

“I think there’s some good news buried in the tough economic news relative to energy prices for Colorado’s High Country,” McKinley said. “Look, we’re all paying a lot for gas right now — no secret there — but I think that weighs in favor of many Coloradans looking closer to home as they’re trying to make their dollar go further.”

Nationwide, a record-breaking 45 million people are expected to travel for the Memorial Day holiday, with 39 million driving to their destinations, according to AAA. McKinley said that while that survey data was collected before gas prices approached $5 — a threshold at which many Americans say would cause them to alter travel plans — he doesn’t expect the number of travelers to drop significantly.

The Colorado Department of Transportation is warning that traffic on highways like Interstate 70 “could easily surpass” historical averages, in part due to the dry winter that means trails and other summer recreation activities in the mountains are open earlier than usual. To help ease traffic, the transportation department is suspending all construction and maintenance projects statewide from noon on Friday until Tuesday morning.

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“Memorial Day is historically quiet in between winter and summer tourism seasons, but a low 2026 snowpack means more access in Colorado’s High Country,” CDOT Director of Maintenance and Operations Shawn Smith said in a statement. “Despite some local fire restrictions, we anticipate this increased accessibility will entice a much higher volume of motorists into the mountains than we typically see for this holiday.”

Drivers can expect the heaviest traffic on Friday and the Memorial Day holiday itself as well as the Tuesday after the holiday, McKinley said. He suggested drivers leave early to avoid the worst of the traffic.

Last year, about 41,000 vehicles passed through the I-70 Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels on the Friday before Memorial Day, according to the transportation department. About 24,800 of those drivers were heading westbound, compared to roughly 16,000 eastbound drivers.

Saturday also saw heavy traffic last year, with about 36,500 drivers, including 21,100 headed westbound and 15,400 heading eastbound, according to CDOT. On the Monday holiday, the data shows roughly 38,000 drivers hit I-70, with about 13,800 headed westbound and 24,100 headed eastbound.

Last year, westbound traffic peaked around 4 p.m. on Friday and around noon on Saturday, while eastbound traffic peaked around 1 p.m. on Monday as travelers returned to the Front Range, according to transportation officials. Travelers can stay up to date with the latest road conditions by checking COTrip.org or downloading the COTrip Planner App on their smartphones.

With the low snowpack this year, high-elevation mountain passes across the state are expected to be open during the Memorial Day weekend. Colorado Highway 82 at Independence Pass between Twin Lakes and Aspen is scheduled to open Thursday, while the Mount Blue Sky Highway is scheduled to open Friday.

Heading into the summer travel season, gas prices are more than $1.50 per gallon higher than a year ago, so many Coloradans may choose to travel closer to home, rather than leave the state, McKinley said. While gas prices may not have a major impact on the Memorial Day holiday, he said it could impact travel later in the summer, especially if prices surpass $5 per gallon.

“Especially with the relatively bad snow year we’ve had in the High Country this past year, given the opportunity to stay close to home and see Colorado, see our national parks, it probably will be a good year for Colorado travelers in Colorado,” McKinley said. “The open question is whether we’ll get a smaller share of out-of-state tourists coming through.”