Drivers heading from Portland to Bend this Labor Day weekend will pay an average of $4.82 a gallon, nearly a dollar more than last year. They are going anyway. AAA expects Bend and Central Oregon to be the top Labor Day destination in the state.
Record gas prices for the holiday and higher costs across the board have not scared people off, AAA spokesperson Marie Dodds said. Hotels and flights cost more this year, and the wars in Iran and Ukraine are pushing up pump prices. AAA expects a record number of travelers, a trend that has run since pandemic-era travel restrictions eased.
“Central Oregon is such a beautiful area. There’s so much to see and do. It’s one of those places where there truly is something for everybody,” Dodds said. She pointed to the nearby Redmond airport and to the fact that Bend sits within driving distance for many Oregonians.
Money for small business
Visit Bend spokesperson Tim Neville calls Labor Day the region’s “last breath of summer.” Nate Wyeth, the group’s chief of staff, said the weekend matters because the shoulder season is hard on businesses that live off a summer boom.
“Any opportunity that these small businesses have to make money on key holiday weekends like this, they’re gonna do all they can to recover as much of those dollars as possible,” Wyeth said.
Wildfire smoke has hurt summer recreation in recent years. This year’s wildfire season was a record, but Wyeth said the smoke did not stick around long enough to cut into Bend’s earnings.
Rooms, roads and runways
Average room rates in Bend over the holiday weekend rose $44 from 2024 to 2025, according to Visit Bend. Dodds said the hotel increases could come from the knock-on effects of global conflicts or from labor costs.
The Westman Hotel, a high-end boutique property that opened in December 2025 in Bend’s former U.S. Post Office, is charging more than first projected. Sondra Storm, CEO and founder of Embarcadero Management Group, blamed inflation and higher operating costs. Other hotels her group manages in Oregon are raising prices for the same reason.
AAA says drivers should expect the worst traffic around 5:45 p.m. on Friday.
Airports will be busier than normal even though domestic flights cost more than last Labor Day weekend, AAA said. Jodi Low, spokesperson for Redmond Municipal Airport, told travelers to arrive at least two hours before departure. The airport is under construction to add 80,000 square feet, due to finish in November 2027. “We do not anticipate delays or cancellations related to weather or construction,” Low said in an email.
Sources
- Bend and Central Oregon are top destinations for Oregon’s Labor Day travelers
- Bend and Central Oregon again top AAA's list of favorite Labor Day weekend travel destinations around the Northwest
