Los Angeles

Thanksgiving Travel: When Is the Worst Time to Hit the Road in Southern California?

Holiday travelers and weekday commuters will be on the road Tuesday afternoon, making it one of the worst times to be driving in Los Angeles.

If you avoided Los Angeles' freeways Tuesday afternoon, be thankful.

This year's Thanksgiving holiday is expected to be one of the busiest in a decade, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.

An estimated 3.87 million Southern Californians are expected to travel during the holiday weekend -- a 3.6 percent increase from last year and the highest figure since 2007. And, the vast majority of those travelers will be in cars.

The worst traffic was expected Tuesday between 3:15 p.m. and 6 p.m., when holiday travelers and weekday commuters are on the road at the same time, according to AAA and INRIX. Travel times were expected to more than double during that period, making it the worst time to travel to Los Angeles International Airport.

A dive into data from traffic app Waze suggests users avoid these traffic tie-ups times. 

  • Tuesday, Nov. 21 between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
  • Wednesday, Nov. 22 between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m.
  • Thursday, Nov. 23 between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
  • Friday, Nov. 24 between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
  • Saturday, Nov. 25 between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
  • Sunday, Nov. 26 between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
  • Monday, Nov. 27 between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

Where are all those travelers headed? San Francisco remains the most popular Thanksgiving destination for Southern Californians, followed by San Diego, Anaheim, the Grand Canyon and Santa Barbara, according to AAA.

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