MINI Takes the States Turns 20 by Splitting Into Three Weekend Rallies
California is done. MINI's 20th-anniversary owner rally heads to New York on October 23 and Florida in November, at $150 per person for each weekend.
MINI's signature U.S. owner rally now comes in weekend-size pieces. The 2026 edition of MINI Takes the States, which marks 20 years since the first rally, wrapped its California leg on Sunday and moves to New York on October 23–25 before finishing in Florida on November 13–15.
It lands at a soft moment for the brand. MINI's U.S. sales fell 10.2% in the third quarter to 6,531 vehicles, as covered in our breakdown of BMW of North America's Q3 2026 sales, while a recent enthusiast special, the $36,875 MINI 1998 GT Edition, opened for pre-orders in September.
One long trip becomes three short ones
Every previous edition ran as a single multi-day convoy. The 2024 rally covered more than 1,600 miles in nine days, from Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Seattle, crossing five states.
This year, MINI split the route into three regional long weekends of three cities each, all running Friday to Sunday. Owners can sign up for one, two, or all three, at $150 per person per weekend, according to MINI's registration announcement in April. The company says the goal is to make the rally accessible to more owners.
The opener started in Monterey on October 2, ran up the Pacific Coast Highway and over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sonoma, then crossed Napa wine country and Carson Pass to reach Lake Tahoe. Sugar Ray played a Saturday-night concert there, with The Paradox opening. MINI hasn't released turnout figures for California; it expects several thousand owners across all three weekends.
What's left: New York and Florida
- New York, October 23–25: Buffalo to Syracuse to Lake Placid, along Lake Ontario and past Niagara Falls before climbing into the Adirondacks. Smash Mouth headlines in Lake Placid on October 24, with Momo Boyd opening.
- Florida, November 13–15: Fort Myers across the Tamiami Trail to Miami, then down the Overseas Highway and the Seven Mile Bridge to Key West. Fitz and the Tantrums headline on November 14, with 8RO8 opening.
Registration for both weekends is still open on the official MINI Takes the States site. This year's charity partner is Best Friends Animal Society, which will take donations at stops on all three legs.
A smaller rally than it used to be
The new format follows a long decline in turnout. MINI's own event history lists more than 7,000 participants for the 2010 rally, the high-water mark, and roughly 2,200 for each of the 2022 and 2024 editions. In 2024, an average of 650 MINIs left each morning and more than 900 cars took part overall, according to MINI USA's 2024 wrap-up.
The rally began in 2006 to celebrate deliveries of the first MINI Cooper S with the John Cooper Works GP kit and has run every two years since, skipping only 2020. That makes this year's event the 10th. MINI hasn't said whether the weekend format will carry over to 2028; the Key West finale should show whether shorter trips bring more owners back.
