Tips To Beat Puget Sound Labor Day Traffic By Land, Air, And Sea
Check out these travel tips to spend less of your end-of-summer vacation stuck in traffic around the region.
By Neal McNamara , Patch Staff | Courtesy of Patch.com
I-90 will be one of the busiest routes in and out of Puget Sound during the 2019 Labor Day weekend, WSDOT says. (Patch file photo/Neal McNamara)
SEATTLE, WA — Whether you're heading east to Lake Wenatchee, north to Vancouver, or much farther away via Sea-Tac Airport, there are some travel tips you're going to want to know to beat Labor Day 2019 traffic.
Two factors might make this a particularly busy Labor Day: the weather is going to be relatively clear and warm across the state, and AAA thinks Labor Day weekend gas prices will be at the lowest level since 2016.
As with most big travel holidays, WSDOT has prepared a traffic forecast to help you plan the best time to drive this weekend. Friday is going to be the busiest travel day heading out of the Seattle area — and so that means Monday is going to be the heaviest day for travel back into the area. Westbound U.S. 2 will be the least congested route out of the region on Friday, according to estimates. You can see all the travel forecasts for U.S. 2, I-5, and I-90 on the WSDOT website.
If you're flying out of Sea-Tac, the airport is recommending travelers do four things:
Download the Sea-Tac smartphone app to keep track of travel delays and cancellations
Arrive at least two hours early for domestic flights and three hours early for international flights
Avoid driving: take light rail or a rideshare car to the airport
Bring limited carry-on items so that you (and everyone else) can get through security faster
If you're heading to the San Juan Islands, make sure to reserve a spot — and do it soon. Some of the most popular routes are mostly booked. On Monday afternoon, only one sailing from Anacortes to Orcas Island had spots left.
Not going away this weekend? No problem, there's plenty to do nearby, and all these events are accessible by bus or train:
The Bumbershoot music and arts festival begins on Friday
And so does the Washington State Fair in Puyallup
The PAX West video game festival is this weekend
The Seattle Sounders play the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday at 3 p.m.
The Washington Huskies football season begins Saturday at noon against Eastern Washington
Rock legend David Crosby plays at the Neptune Theater in Seattle on Saturday