Thanksgiving travelers may exceed records. Here are tips for High Desert vacationers

Rene Ray De La Cruz, Victorville Daily Press
·4 min read
The Auto Club of Southern California projects 4.5 million Southern Californians will travel during the Thanksgiving holiday period. Many High Desert residents said they will stay local.
The Auto Club of Southern California projects 4.5 million Southern Californians will travel during the Thanksgiving holiday period. Many High Desert residents said they will stay local.

The Automobile Club of Southern California projects 4.5 million Southern Californians will travel during the Thanksgiving holiday period.

The auto club expects a record of holiday travelers, a 2.5% increase from last year, traveling to places like San Diego and the Grand Canyon.

But while the Auto Club expects traveler records to be broken, there are plenty of people that will be staying close to home.

ICYMI:Thanksgiving meals, outreaches scheduled across the High Desert

Staying home

Oak Hills resident Barbara Little said she won’t be traveling this year but will host a Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings for 14 people.

Erin Carsey of Victorville will stay local and will celebrate two separate Thanksgivings with her family.

“I love that Thanksgiving is really when the holiday season kicks off and what better way than with a grateful heart,” Carsey said.

Ed and Laurie Warner will stay home for Thanksgiving Day and will celebrate on Saturday with their family, which includes adult children and grandchildren.

Several High Desert residents said they’ll travel to spend time with loved ones in Southern California and the Las Vegas area.

“We did all of our traveling over the summer,” Hesperia resident Hector Valdez told the Daily Press. “For our family, Thanksgiving is all about staying local.”

“I always celebrate the following Saturday or Sunday in Hesperia so that we can visit others on that day,” Evelyn Herrera said. “My adult kids go to their in-laws or friends' homes."

Herrera’s celebration for about 16 people will include traditional Thanksgiving dishes, along with Puerto Rican food.

While the Auto Club of Southern California projects 4.5 million Southern Californians will travel during the Thanksgiving holiday period, many High Desert residents said they'll celebrate at home with loved ones.
While the Auto Club of Southern California projects 4.5 million Southern Californians will travel during the Thanksgiving holiday period, many High Desert residents said they'll celebrate at home with loved ones.

Nationwide travel

AAA is projecting this Thanksgiving to be the third busiest on record, with 54.6 million travelers across the nation expected compared to 58.6 million in 2005 and 56 million in 2019.

“Despite inflation and high gas prices, consumers are continuing to prioritize valuable and memorable time with family and friends through coming together at the holidays,” said Heather Felix, the Auto Club’s vice president for travel products and services. “Our members still want to make up for their delayed or missed opportunities to travel during the pandemic.”

Top destinations

Nationally, AAA expects Anaheim, the home of Disneyland Resort, to be the second-most popular destination for Thanksgiving travelers, with Orlando and its Walt Disney World Resort the most popular.

According to a survey of Auto Club travel advisers, the top five destinations for Southern Californians are:

  • Las Vegas

  • San Diego

  • Grand Canyon/Sedona

  • Yosemite

  • Mexico cruises

The top 5 destinations nationally are Orlando, Anaheim, Las Vegas, New York and Atlanta.

Stop by:Huntington Library in San Marino is a relaxing oasis built by robber barons

Gas prices

For the second year in a row, Southern California travelers will be paying the highest gas prices ever for this time of year when they fill up for their holiday trips.

With average gas prices near $5.50 a gallon in most local areas — about a dollar per gallon higher than last year — a typical 15-gallon tank fill-up could cost drivers $82.

Gas prices in San Bernardino County are 52.2 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and stand 54.6 cents per gallon higher than a year ago, according to GasBuddy.

In SBC, gas prices on Tuesday hovered near $5.15 per gallon, with some of the least expensive gas prices at $4.69 found at Porgie’s Liquor and Fastrip on Main Street in Hesperia.

"Everyone will be seeing relief at the pump this week, with even more substantial declines on the way as oil prices plummeted last week to briefly trade under $80 per barrel,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy. It's not impossible that if oil markets hold here, we could see a national average of $2.99 around Christmas, certainly the gift that every motorist is hoping for.”

De Haan added that drivers should not be in a rush to fill up as prices will come down nearly coast-to-coast into the heavily traveled Thanksgiving holiday.

Busy roadways

According to the transportation analytics firm INRIX, Wednesday afternoon and evening will be the busiest time for Southern California freeways.

All outbound freeways are likely to be congested on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons before Thanksgiving, so drivers should expect longer travel times during those periods and plan to leave early.

You can also expect plenty of traffic congestion on northbound Interstate 15 from the down the hill to Las Vegas.

AAA projects that the busiest local freeway segment for drivers will be Interstate 5 South from Colorado Street. to Florence Avenue, where traffic is expected to be 144% over normal levels on Thanksgiving Day afternoon and evening.

Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at 760-951-6227 or RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DP_ReneDeLaCruz

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: AAA: About 4.5M Southern Californians set to travel for Thanksgiving