Minnesota’s Riskiest Thanksgiving Travel Times Revealed

Thanksgiving is supposed to be about turkey, family, and giving thanks, not white-knuckle driving and dodging speed demons on the highway. But a new report reveals some surprising patterns in Minnesota's holiday travel, including a few times when you might want to think twice before grabbing your keys.

The Thanksgiving holiday is a uniquely American tradition, filled with tons of food and a gathering with family and friends as we express our gratitude. According to the National Archives Museum, the First Thanksgiving was held back in 1621 near Plymouth, Massachusetts, to 'mark a successful harvest' that year.

When Are Minnesota Roads Busiest During Thanksgiving?

But just when will it be riskiest to hit the roads across the Land of 10,000 Lakes this Thanksgiving? That's the subject of this new report from the insurance company Allstate. Allstate said it looked at over 44 million Drivewise trips, as well as Allstate Roadside service events from Thanksgiving 2025, and then compared them with typical travel periods to help drivers understand what to watch for and how to prepare.

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Here's what they found out: Allstate's survey said Late Wednesday night and Thanksgiving morning bring some of the biggest changes in driving behavior. Specifically, Allstate said things will get busier on the roads starting Wednesday night, when the number of trips increased by over 40 percent between 9 p.m. Wednesday and 3 a.m. Thursday.

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Thanksgiving Day Speeding and Distracted Driving Increase

Allstate found that dangerous driving behaviors increase on Thanksgiving Day, with about 20 percent of trips involving some form of unsafe behavior behind the wheel. The most common, over 90 percent, involved speeding, distracted driving, and phone use.

Allstate also noted that we tend to put the pedal to the metal on Thanksgiving morning. The survey said drivers going 80 mph or faster increased nearly 200 percent between 6 and 9 a.m. and remained over 100 percent through the noon hour.  Speeding was also a common occurance on Black Friday, Allstate said, with high-speed driving up over 80 percent,  even with about half as many trips as a typical Friday morning.

Thanksgiving Travel Distances Increase Across Minnesota

We're also driving farther over Thanksgiving. Allstate said the share of trips 100 miles or more doubled Wednesday and Thursday, while the average Thanksgiving Day trip was over 40 percent longer than usual.

AAA Minnesota notes that roughly 9 in 10 Thanksgiving travelers choose to drive. In previous years here in the broader West North Central region (which includes Minnesota), there were nearly 5.9 million of us behind the wheel, and despite higher gas prices, travel numbers are expected to be similar or higher again this year.