Memorial Day boating faces sticker shock as gas tops $6
A Morgan County family heading to Lake Jacksonville faced nearly $5 regular gas and premium above $6, with Memorial Day fuel costs at a four-year high.
A Morgan County family towing a boat to Lake Jacksonville this Memorial Day weekend faced a familiar tradeoff: pay nearly $5 a gallon for regular gas, or more than $6 for premium, and trim something else from the holiday budget to make the day on the water happen.
That sticker shock was not just local. The American Automobile Association said May 21 that the national average for regular gasoline stood at $4.56 a gallon, the highest Memorial Day weekend average in four years. AAA also said the national holiday price was close to what drivers paid four years ago, when the Memorial Day average was $4.61. Compared with a year earlier, the national regular-gas average was up $1.38 a gallon.
In Illinois, the pressure was even sharper. AAA’s state averages on May 23 put regular gasoline at $4.964 a gallon, mid-grade at $5.564, premium at $6.029 and diesel at $6.042. The premium figure cleared the $6 mark, a threshold that matters for many boat owners who need higher-octane fuel and for families calculating the cost of a full day on the water, from towing the trailer to filling the tank.
The higher fuel bill lands as the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Conservation Police call Memorial Day weekend the unofficial kickoff to summer boating season. State officials are urging boaters to wear life jackets and to operate watercraft only while sober, reminders that come as more people head to lakes and rivers for the first big holiday weekend of summer.
Illinois boating rules also add another layer for families with younger operators. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources says people born before Jan. 1, 1998 are not required to carry a boating safety certificate to operate a motorboat with more than 10 horsepower. Anyone born on or after that date must complete boating safety education before operating certain motorboats in Illinois.
For Morgan County residents, the economics are straightforward. Higher fuel prices can mean shorter outings, fewer trips to the lake, smaller boats that burn less fuel, or skipped spending elsewhere to make the weekend work. Even for boaters determined to launch, the cost of getting there has become part of the planning, and this year’s holiday ride to the water is more expensive before the boat ever leaves the trailer.
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