MSNBC.com: Taking a summer vacation by car? If so, you might want to reconsider if your destination shows up on a list released Thursday of the 25 most congested tourist spots. The list covers the country — from The Hamptons on New York’s Long Island, to Yosemite National Park in California.
The Oregon coast topped the list, which is based on expected travel delays resulting from traffic bottlenecks.
“This study is a follow-up to our report on the most congested commuter bottlenecks in the country and is the first-of-its-kind effort to examine trends in recreational and tourist trips, which have become a significant part of vehicle travel in the U.S.,” Greg Cohen, head of the American Highway Users Alliance, said in a statement.
The partners noted that 2005 is likely to be the nation’s busiest summer travel vacation period ever, with 328 million leisure trips expected — up 2.3 percent from 2004.
And AAA estimates this July Fourth weekend will have more American vacationers on the road – 33.9 million – than even on Thanksgiving.
The study defined bottlenecks as “sections of roads or highways and bridges that lack adequate capacity to handle peak traffic loads during periods of high demand.”
The list, shown here in order, was based on existing bottlenecks in an area, number of traffic lanes, and estimated summer travel trips and miles driven:
- The Oregon coast
- Tidewater region of Virginia
- Maryland/Delaware shore
- Branson, Mo.
- Outer Banks, N.C.
- Cape Cod, Mass.
- New Jersey shore
- Napa Valley, Calif.
- Pennsylvania Dutch and Amish Country
- Catskill Mountains region in New York
- Pocono Mountains/Lake Wallenpaupack, Penn.
- Provo Canyon, Utah
- Yosemite National Park, Calif.
- Asheville, N.C.
- Sun Valley, Idaho
- Lake Tahoe Area, Nev.-Calif.
- Lake Winnipesaukee, N.H.
- Yellowstone National Park, Wyo.-Idaho-Mont.
- Presque Isle State Park, Penn.
- Acadia National Park, Maine
- White Mountains, N.H.
- Lake George, N.Y.
- Myrtle Beach, S.C.
- Whitewater region, Idaho
- The Hamptons, Long Island, N.Y.