CAPITAL REGION — If you’re burning charcoal in the backyard this weekend instead of burning gas to get to the mountains, you’re not alone.

Gasoline is at or near $4 per gallon — up 85 cents from a year ago — and many people think the economy is wheezing like a smoker who has taken up jogging.

So maybe it isn’t surprising that the American Automobile Association is predicting that for the first time in years, Memorial Day traffic will be less than it was the year before.

Still, the traditional kick-off to the summer travel season is looking like three days of great weather, and the itch to get going is strong. State campgrounds in the Capital Region are nearly full.

“When it comes to disposable income, travel is one of the last things people give up,” said Eric Stigberg, a spokesman for AAA Northway in Schenectady.

A national survey released last week by AAA found that 32 million people will drive 50 miles or more this weekend — down about one percent from a year ago.

In the Northeast, though, the decline is expected to be more, about 2.5 percent.

Despite that, don’t expect clear sailing.

“The roads are going to be crowded. For people who are traveling great distances, you’ll run into all the usual delays you’d run into on a big holiday weekend,” Stigberg said.

The state Thruway Authority has suspended all construction projects along the highway due to anticipated traffic volumes and urged people using the road to remember that bottlenecks could occur at spots like exits 23 and 24 in Albany. State Police Troop T will have extra patrols looking for aggressive driving.

“As always, motorists are reminded to drive with caution and allow for extra travel time to reach their destinations safely,” said Thruway Executive Director Michael R. Fleischer.

Last year, 2.5 million vehicles traveled the Thruway on Memorial Day weekend.

At 3 p.m. Friday, northbound traffic on the Northway in Malta was only slightly heavier than normal, but some of it was vehicles towing large camping trailers and a few were towing boats.

Stigberg said the AAA survey found that 60 percent of the public doesn’t plan to change holiday travel plans because of higher gas prices, while many of the others may still travel but go shorter distances.

“People may still travel, but they’ll stay at a less expensive hotel or with friends or relatives, or they’ll eat fast food instead of finer dining,” he said.

While anticipated travel may go down, Stigberg said the use of AAA’s trip-mapping service is up 10 percent.

“I think it may indicate people are trying to find the shortest, least-expensive route,” he said.

Many people are looking at camping. The camping fee and reservation charge at state campgrounds is only a little more than $20 a night.

Statewide, the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation reported Friday that 84 percent of campsites are reserved for this weekend — roughly comparable to this time last year.

“When all is said and done, there’s still room for last-minute reservations and walk-ups, too,” said Dan Keefe, a spokesman for the state parks office.

But the state campgrounds closest to the Albany-Schenectady-Troy-Saratoga population center are more heavily booked.

Keefe said Moreau Lake State Park in northern Saratoga County is essentially full and Thompson Lake in Albany County is 95 percent reserved. Taconic in Columbia County is fully booked, and Cherry Plain in Rensselaer County is 90 percent booked.

The parks department oversees 67 campgrounds with more than 8,000 campsites.

Keefe said day-use state parks and historical sites are also expecting a busy weekend.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation, which operates 52 campgrounds in the Adirondacks and Catskills, has nearly 3,700 campsites reserved out of 5,500 available. It expects a lot of walk-ins because of the weather, said spokeswoman Lori O’Connell. Overall, she said reservations are 15 percent ahead of last year.

“It’s an affordable way to go on vacation,” she said.

Communities that depend on visitors have high hopes that even if people travel less or visit destinations closer to home, they will do well.

Saratoga Springs hopes to benefit in the next few months from being within a few hours’ drive of major Northeastern cities, and so does Lake George. Officials in both places say inquiries are up.

“We are ideally poised for destination in a great drive market. People are familiar with us,” said Kate Johnson, tourism director for Warren County, which includes Lake George.

A recent trend of more Canadian tourists coming to the Lake George area — due to the strength of the Canadian dollar — is expected to continue, she said.