Mini->ke57 owners, pack your bags, get your car serviced and then get your butt to San Francisco; the Mini Takes the States road rally is back! This biennial event is the largest official Mini road rally->ke2369 covering 18 states, 15 cities and more than 5,000 miles. The trip will begin on Saturday July 26 in San Francisco California and will end two full weeks later on Sunday August 10 in Boston.

Along the way, you will get the chance to see much of our great country as the journey winds West into Colorado, then cuts south into Texas. From there you head towards Memphis, Tennessee and up to Chicago finishing with a northern detour to Buffalo, NY and finally arriving Boston. There are several more stops scattered through the middle as well.

While the cost for the trip will be what you make of it, Mini has thankfully made the entry and registration fees decidedly affordable at $45 per person with kids under 12 and all pets being freebies. If you decide that a 14-day cross-country vacation is not quite your cup of tea, Mini happily invites you to join for any portion of the festivities you prefer.

Whether you own a Cooper Hardtop->ke629, Clubman->ke2526, Countryman->ke3615 or any other member of the Mini brand, join in and have fun.

Click past the jump to read more about the Mini Takes The States Event.

Mini Takes The States

By our rough math, the entire trip will total just over 5,100 miles excluding any major detours or sightseeing trips. That is a lot of miles, but if you are a big fan of road trips, we can think of fewer better ways to spend the summer.

The full list of cities and dates for the journey includes:

7/26 - San Francisco, CA

7/27 - Reno, NV

7/28 - Wendover, UT

7/29 - Grand Junction, CO

7/30 - Albuquerque, NM (don't forget to hang a left here)

7/31 - Lubbock, TX

8/1 - Austin, TX

8/2 - Dallas, TX

8/3 - Memphis, TN

8/4 - St. Louis, MO

8/5 - Chicago, IL

8/6 - Cleveland, OH

8/7 - Buffalo, NY

8/8 - Bethlehem, PA

8/9 - Boston, MA

Along the way you will pass national treasures like the Bonneville salt flats, the Million Dollar Highway, alien-infested Roswell, Route 66, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Niagara Falls. Doesn't that sound like one hell of a vacation?

More details here: http://www.minitakesthestates.com/welcome