The summer travel season is heating up and Americans were eager to get out and explore. That puts the Cowboy State on the map for road warriors, either passing through or planning destination vacations.
“People are traveling. They really want to go on vacation, and nothing seems to be deterring them right now,” said Julian Paredes, a spokesperson for AAA who represents the Mountain West region.
Road trips are going to be a big trend for Americans’ summertime travel plans — along with cruises and international vacations — which could bring even more motorists to the highways around the national parks in Wyoming, Montana and Colorado.
Thanks to the increased demand among people seeking their version of the Great American Road Trip, booking hotels will be slightly more expensive for those road trippers who aren’t interested in roughing it.
“It’s going to be a little pricey and it’s going to be busy this summer,” Paredes said.
Gas Prices
For those motorists feeling a bit jittery about money, there’s a pretty significant silver lining: Filling up the gas tank will be the cheapest it’s been in years.
On average, a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is 24 cents cheaper than it was a year ago in Montana and Wyoming, while Colorado’s gas prices are 15 cents lower than last year, according to Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
He’s forecasting that the price of gas will be in the low $3 range through the rest of summer in these states.
Here’s some more potentially good news: Barring some unforeseen event, gas prices are likely to decline over the next few months, as is typical this time of year.
“My bet would be that gas prices are close to the high side right now of where they’ll be for the summer,” De Haan said.
In areas that are especially popular with tourists, motorists can expect to pay more for most everything — gas included. That said, lower gas prices will help to offset some of the higher prices for other travel-related expenses like food and lodging, De Haan said.
Despite ongoing economic uncertainty, summer travel plans are still very much on-track, though not likely to be as crazy busy as the summer of 2022 when Americans took to the roads in droves amid easing COVID-related restrictions, De Haan said.
Various indicators point to fewer international tourists coming to the U.S. this summer, which could make traveling feel less busy, he added.
A survey of GasBuddy users earlier this month found that 69% of respondents plan to take at least one road trip this summer. That’s down slightly from the 76% of survey respondents in 2024 who had similar travel plans.
“All in all, it’s not too bad of a summer to hit the road,” De Haan said.
Saving on Summer Travel
Even if Americans are “really committed” to traveling right now, they may be looking for ways to save money beyond those “pretty cheap” gas prices, Paredes said.
In addition to prioritizing what experiences are most important in your travels, Paredes recommended that travelers look for ways to cut back on things like eating out.
It’s also important to read the fine print on hotel bookings so you don’t end up facing sticker shock at checkout for unexpected extra fees, he said.
Finally, Paredes said that if you haven’t gotten your summer plans completely figured out yet, the more flexible you can be with your dates, the more money you can potentially save. And spending extra time to plan before you hit the road can also save you a lot of money.
“It’s never too early to plan your next vacation,” Paredes said.
