Western Slope Drivers Face $5.75 Gas and I-70 Gridlock

Steamboat Springs —The asphalt of Interstate 70 shimmers under a late-summer sun, the heat rising off the pavement in visible waves. A line of cars stretches for miles toward the Continental Divide, brake lights glowing red against the fading light. This is the view from a windshield somewhere between Glenwood Springs and Aspen, where the summer rush hasn’t quite let go.

This Labor Day weekend marks the unofficial end of summer, and for folks on the Western Slope, it brings a familiar mix of gridlock and high costs. Denver has climbed to the No. 4 spot in AAA’s top domestic destinations, a ranking that signals a surge of travelers using the city as a launchpad for the mountains. Skyler McKinley, an AAA regional spokesperson, noted that this isn’t a fluke; it’s part of a post-pandemic shift where people crave wide-open spaces, compounded by the country’s 250th birthday boosting national park visits.

The traffic pattern is predictable, if not pleasant. McKinley expects the heaviest congestion on westbound I-70 from 2 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, with travel times stretching to around 150% of normal as people take Friday off to extend the break. A second wave will hit eastbound I-70 on Labor Day itself, likely between 2 and 5 p.m., as the exodus begins. Traffic levels may remain elevated into early next week as stragglers trickle back to work.

Then there is the cost of fuel, a number that stings more this year than last. As of Sept. 2, the average price per gallon in Colorado stood at $4.27, up more than a dollar from the same time last year when it was $3.14. On the Western Slope, the prices are higher still, driven by the logistics of transporting fuel to resort communities and a thinner competition among stations. In Pitkin County, drivers paid an average of $5.75 per gallon. Routt County averaged $4.87, Garfield County $4.74, Eagle County $4.69, Grand County $4.54, and Summit County $4.43.

These higher mountain prices are typical, but the sheer volume of cars heading toward these expensive exits creates a unique pressure point. McKinley pointed out that while gas prices influence how people spend on food and lodging, they rarely stop the decision to travel altogether. People aren’t staying home because a gallon costs $5.75 in Aspen; they’re just squeezing their budgets elsewhere to make the trip happen.

For locals, this means the commute isn’t just a daily grind during the holiday; it’s a shared bottleneck. McKinley offered a piece of advice that sounds harsh but is grounded in reality: “You can’t be mad at traffic. You are traffic.” He added that whether you’re a holiday traveler or just driving to the grocery store, the gridlock is inescapable. The best strategy, he said, is simple: leave earlier than you think you need to.

The road ahead will be crowded and the pump prices high, but the mountains are calling. The only thing left to do is navigate the flow.