Is DC to be avoided on Memorial Day Weekend?

January 20, 2017 7:26 AM

Weird to be asking this today of all days, but: my wife and I want to travel to DC to do general tourist stuff in late May/early June. For a bunch of reasons, a stretch of time that includes Memorial Day Weekend looks best for us. But we're worried about the city being unusually crowded/gridlocked/hectic with Memorial Day stuff. Is that a legit worry? Would we be better off being in town a week earlier or later?
posted by the phlegmatic king to Travel & Transportation around Washington, DC (8 answers total)

One event that happens every year that weekend is the Rolling Thunder motorcycle rally. Some highways and streets will be closed for that, and loud and annoying motorcycles are all over the place.
posted by procrastination at 7:47 AM on January 20, 2017 [3 favorites]

Yeah, what procrastination said. And that's about it. Assuming everything doesn't go south before then, you'll be fine!
posted by General Malaise at 8:13 AM on January 20, 2017

You would better off going to DC a week early. A week later means most likely hotter and most likely more tourists and tour groups. There have been many AskMes about things to do/see in DC if you need any ideas. It's a great resource for visitors.
posted by Rob Rockets at 8:25 AM on January 20, 2017 [1 favorite]

In passing: I went to visit my daughter when Rolling Thunder came roaring through. I loved it! I am a vet and I did chat with a number of riders...it is not for everyone's taste, I know, but I found it impressive.
posted by Postroad at 8:32 AM on January 20, 2017

Yeah, Rolling Thunder means there are REALLY loud bikes around all weekend. But if you can handle the occasional drowning out of conversations as you walk the mall, everything else was just festive.
posted by ldthomps at 8:39 AM on January 20, 2017

Memorial Day will be a busy weekend in D.C. but it won't be Times Square on New Years Eve. We save that for inaugurations and protests. It's as fine a time as any--definitely read some prior threads on what to see/where to eat/how to get around because there are a lot of options.
posted by whitewall at 8:41 AM on January 20, 2017

Yeah I've been to DC before on Memorial Day weekend and it was fine. We were able to get into all the museums we wanted no problem. It was only a bit more crowded than when I've visited at other times of the year.
posted by FireFountain at 9:03 AM on January 20, 2017

We went that weekend last year. Yup, heard a lot of motorcycles but we didn't have any particular troubles with the Metro, getting into museums and restaurants, etc. It was busy but not ridiculous.
posted by tchemgrrl at 9:06 AM on January 20, 2017