It’s Road Trip Season and Gas Prices Are Trending Down, According to AAA

Summer is here and that means one thing: summer road trips. And luckily, gas prices have been dropping just in time to plan an epic cross-country adventure.

Prices at the pump have been trending down lately, and last week saw the largest weekly drop this year with the national average coming in at just $3.48 per gallon, according to AAA. On Monday, prices dropped even lower to $3.45.

“This drop in pump prices appears to have some sticking power for now,” Andrew Gross, a AAA spokesperson, said in a statement. “More states should see their averages dip below $3 a gallon in the coming weeks.”

Of course, not every state is equal when it comes to low prices. Mississippi is the least expensive state to fill up in with gas averaging just $2.94 per gallon. That was followed by Oklahoma, where gas averaged $2.95 per gallon, and both Arkansas and Texas, where drivers will pay an average of $2.97 per gallon.

On the other end of the spectrum is California, which has the highest prices in the country with an average gallon coming in at $4.93. The next highest is Hawaii, where an average gallon costs $4.75, followed by Washington, where you can get a gallon for an average of $4.41. 

In the Northeast, New Hampshire is the cheapest state to fill up in since gas averages $3.38 per gallon, while Pennsylvania is the most expensive with gas averaging $3.67 per gallon.

Lower prices at the pump means it’s easier to take a summer road trip, and there are plenty of incredible routes to choose from, like the road to Hana surrounded by lush cliffs in Maui, the Blue Ridge Parkway through the scenic Great Smoky Mountains, and Florida’s U.S. 1, an overseas highway past breathtakingly blue ocean all the way down to Key West.

If gas prices are too volatile, travelers can also plan a trip in an electric vehicle and can even test it out by renting before committing to buy one.