With Memorial Day on the horizon, millions of people across the country — and hundreds of thousands in Colorado — are packing their bags for a weekend getaway.
Roughly 437,000 travelers are expected to take off from Denver International Airport between Thursday and Tuesday, according to a news release from the airport. Thatap a 2% decrease from the same holiday weekend in 2025, airport officials said.
The busiest travel days will be Thursday, Friday and Monday, airport officials said in the release. More than 80,000 passengers are expected to pass through the airportap security checkpoints on each of those days.
Despite the small dip in anticipated travelers, Denver remains the ninth most popular destination in the U.S. for Memorial Day, behind Orlando, Seattle, New York, Las Vegas, Miami, San Francisco, Anchorage and Chicago, according to data from AAA.
Americans overall are expected to travel at record numbers, with 45 million taking trips of at least 50 miles from home, including more than 39 million by car and nearly 3.7 million by plane, . Those estimates are both slightly higher than 2025 and, together, are a 5% jump from 2019 levels, the report stated.
“Despite all the headwind you think would weigh against it, Americans are traveling,” AAA spokesperson Skyler McKinley said.
While AAA doesn’t break down state-level travel data, officials said in-state traffic over the holiday weekend could “easily surpass” historical averages, especially in the mountains. Drivers headed to the mountains on Interstate 70 are advised to travel before 10 a.m. or after 7 p.m. on both Friday and Monday.
Last year, traffic peaked at the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel at 4 p.m. Friday, with more than 2,000 cars pushing through the tunnel each hour; noon Saturday, with roughly 2,000 cars an hour; and 1 p.m. Monday, with more than 2,500 cars per hour, according to state transportation officials. On average, 151,000 vehicles travel into Colorado’s mountains for the holiday weekend.
“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 . “We anticipate this increased accessibility will entice a much higher volume of motorists into the mountains than we typically see.”
On the Front Range, drivers can expect to see the heaviest traffic on northbound Interstate 25 between Denver and Fort Collins at around 5 p.m. Monday, with the drive taking up to 1 hour and 47 minutes.
“It won’t be bonkers out there, but it will be busy,” McKinley said.
, CDOT’s traffic operations manager, said Memorial Day usually sits in the middle of “mud season,” where the snow from winter has partially melted, but popular areas haven’t quite dried out.
“This year, itap a little bit different because we haven’t had a lot of snow, we haven’t had a lot of moisture,” he said. “So we think that there’ll be a few more people than normal headed up the corridor. … Take your time, and pack your patience.”
To account for the increased traffic, the department plans to suspend all statewide construction and maintenance projects between Friday afternoon and Tuesday morning, according to the release.
The worst congestion is expected on Floyd Hill, where the highway goes from three lanes to two, and approaching the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnel.
“Memorial Day travel is still reaching record levels, but with the smallest year-over-year increase in more than a decade,” AAA spokesperson Tiffany Wright stated in the report. “Although travel demand remains strong, higher fuel prices and persistent inflation may cause some travelers to shorten trips, delay plans, or stay closer to home.”
Colorado generally follows the national pattern for when traffic is the heaviest on holiday weekends, McKinley said.
AAA’s national data shows the worst times to drive — because of heavy congestion anticipated on roadways — will fall between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. Other heavy traffic periods will include:
- 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, May 21
- 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, May 22
- 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 23
- 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday, May 25
For those traveling through DIA, security wait times can change quickly and often peak between 3 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. and between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., according to airport officials.
“Passengers are encouraged to check TSA security wait times at and to arrive inside the airport at least two hours before their boarding time to ensure they have plenty of time to check bags, travel through security and arrive at their gate,” officials stated in the release.
Travelers can also check and online before they arrive at the airport.
