Gas prices on the road to Montana. Wheee!
By The Horse
@TheHorse (240239)
Walnut Creek, California
September 3, 2026 2:50pm CST
No road trip to Montana would be complete without me checking gas prices along the way.
Usually, the price is about the same as here (San Francisco Bay Area) as I head East through California.
Suddenly, when I get to Nevada, the price drops about 50 cents a gallon. In Eastern Nevada and in Utah, the price drops further, perhaps another 50 cents a gallon, and then stays fairly stable as I pass through Idaho and into Montana.
This year, things pretty much followed the "normal" pattern, though with higher overall prices than I have seen before. When I left my California neighborhood, I filled up with Regular at $5.35. I knew I could make it to Nevada easily at 22 mpg or so. In Reno Nevada, the price dropped, but only to about $4.89 per gallon. I added a few gallons and finally filled up in Eastern Nevada,when the price hit $3.99 per gallon. It then rose a bit as I headed through Idaho and into Montana. The price in Lewistown Montana (home) was $4.35 per gallon, or exactly a dollar higher than it had been when I left my California home.
When I got back to my California home, the price had risen by 30 cents to $5.69 per gallon. That's where it stands today.
How are gas prices where you live? Have they changed in the last ten days or so?
6 people like this
7 responses
@RasmaSandra (100474)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
6h
From what the Internet says at about $3.18
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (100474)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
6h
@TheHorse I'm just glad I have no car and the added expense,
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (240239)
• Walnut Creek, California
6h
@RasmaSandra I could not live in CA without my car.
1 person likes this
Actually, that's a good price by my standards.@MarieCoyle (62469)
•
4m
@TheHorse
Compared to California, it's bad. I know yours are the highest...but to us Midwesterners, it's a lot.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (212463)
• United States
6h
The station closest to me has had it for 3.79 for awhile, but I haven't been out for a few days so I don't know what it is normal.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (140006)
• Marion, Ohio
6h
They are under 4 dollars right now. But only by about ten cents most of the time
1 person likes this
@septabchips (1181)
• United Kingdom
1h
That is quite a difference! Paying $5.69 a gallon in California compared with $3.99 in Eastern Nevada would definitely make me plan my fuel stops carefully too. It is interesting how quickly the prices change once you cross state lines.
Here in the UK we measure fuel by the litre, so it always feels strange seeing American prices quoted per gallon. I have definitely noticed how much fuel prices can fluctuate here as well.
1 person likes this
