Laguna Niguel Hits The Road Over 4th Of July Holiday Weekend

LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA —The Fourth of July weekend is almost upon us. Still, the crush of Laguna Niguel, Dana Point and Southland residents making their holiday escape is expected to jam busy freeways and airport terminals Wednesday and Thursday.

The Automobile Club of Southern California estimates that 3.3 million Southern California residents will travel over the weekend — with the holiday travel period officially beginning Thursday and continuing through Monday.

The estimated number of people traveling is up roughly 46% from last year's pandemic-impacted Independence Day weekend and just 5.6% below the pre-pandemic holiday in 2019.

More are still heading out in their cars, rather than at airports, according to AAA experts. Of those traveling, 2.8 million, or roughly 86%, are expected to travel by car, with 13% flying and the rest relying on other means of transportation.

"Car and air travel each are showing growing strength this Fourth of July holiday weekend because many states have reduced or eliminated COVID-19 restrictions," said Filomena Andre, the Auto Club's vice president for travel. "We expect car travel to be the highest on record and air travel to be the third-highest amount since AAA started tracking data in 2001."

The top five destinations for Southern California travelers over the holiday weekend are expected to be Las Vegas, Nevada, Zion/Bryce Canyon National Parks in Utah, Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona and both San Diego and Yosemite National Park in California.

Statewide, the Auto Club predicts 5.36 million people will travel for the holiday, with 4.6 million going by car and 669,314 flying.

The large numbers of people driving to their destinations come despite soaring gas prices that are reaching levels not seen at least six years. The average price of a gallon of gas in Southern California remains over $4 a gallon while neighboring Arizona reports gas prices averaging $2.75 per gallon.

People who opt to fly may find themselves in long security lines at John Wayne Airport and nearby Los Angeles International Airport, as both slowly return to pre-pandemic passenger levels. LAX Airport officials said Tuesday that May passenger volume at LAX topped 4 million, the most since February 2020 and a more than 600% increase from last May.

Passenger traffic overall is currently estimated at 63% of the level seen at the same time in 2019, but airport officials warned travelers to plan and arrive early.

An average of 76,000 people are day pass through security screening stations at LAX, and nine of the top 10 busiest days of the past year occurred during June. On Sunday, 87,410 people passed through security screening, with higher numbers anticipated over the weekend.

Will you travel this weekend? Let us know if you're driving or flying this year in the comments.

City News Service, Patch Editor Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report,