Labor Day travelers likely to crowd local outdoor attractions

Officials are expecting Labor Day travelers to largely explore destinations in their own backyards over the weekend, potentially crowding local outdoor hotspots.

About their own children.

But, first... the holiday weekend.

Public health officials say when it comes to safety... your best bet, might be to simply stay home.

Kezi 9 news reporter chris lueneburg shows us what they're expecting.

When you live on the coast-- you can have a relaxing labor day, no travel needed.

"we're gonna try to stay away from the crowds."

But that won't stop the crowds from rolling in with the tides-- leaving locals with various levels of safety concerns.

"everybody's doing thier part to physically distance properly and wear the masks where required and that kind of thing.

So i don't feel as anxious as i did a few months ago."

Lane county public health says independence day and memorial day weekends were correlated with a bump of new cases-- and is urging families to stay home if possible.

"if you're hitting the road for the coast, cascades or even eastern oregon, odot says you won't be able to avoid it: traffic will be even heavier than normal due to the pandemic."

Highway 101 and 97 in eastern oregon can expect some congestion-- as well as the roads that connect them to the willamette valley.

They say an overwhelming amount of oregonians plan to travel in thier own backyards-- causing possible backups.

"we've seen a big uptick in people who are looking at staycation ideas."

According to travel lane county-- they've been seeing a growing interest in local outdoor destinations... meaning trailheads, lakes and other points of interest might be busy.

"something we are trying to get everybody is ready for is to have a good plan b when you go to a trail.

If you see a full trailhead, lots of cars in the parking lot have a trail nearby picked out to kind of explore."

So even if the coast is in your backyard-- respecting the communities you visit is common sense.

"this being the last big holiday of the summer, we're going to see a lot