Planning Cross Country Road Trip
 

Hi,

I am planning to do something this summer that I have always wanted to do. I plan on buying a new Mini Cooper S (my dream car) and taking a month and a half long cross country road trip to the West Coast and back. I live in Yonkers, NY. Some of the places I plan to visit are Baltimore, Skyline Drive, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Asheville, The Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, San Antonio, Tucson, Phoenix, The Grand Canyon National Park, Las Vegas, San Diego, Los Angeles, then up the California coast to San Francisco, and continue up the Pacific Coast, visiting Portland and Seattle. On the way back East, I plan on visiting Yellowstone, Mount Rushmore, Badlands National Park, the Field of Dreams movie site in Iowa, Chicago, and Cleveland. Has anybody ever done a road trip like this in a MINI? I am an average sized guy, so I don't think it will matter too much that it is a small car.

I have done similar trips in smaller cars and honestly, as long as the seats are comfortable and you can find a good driving position for those long stretches, you will find that any small car will do! I have a Countryman and have to say that the seats are very comfortable and every bit as nice as my wife's new Q7 and any manner of other cars we've had with good seats (A4, TT, Q5, 320i xDrive...). Plus you will have the added bonus of having a car that's nimble, fun to drive, sips gas and puts an ear-to-ear smile on your face! Of course, that might be the only discomfort you have.....that smile! The face muscles will start quivering after a while LOL.

Sounds like a wonderful trip. Make sure you take pictures and post them! Oh, and have you bought that MINI Cooper S?

Not yet. I am not looking for a Countryman. Probably just an S 2 door. I have a 2013 VW GTI now and I will probably trade it in. I went to Mini of Manhattan and I found out that if I have to factory order it, I should allow 3 months to be safe, so I will order no later than the end of March if I want to leave around the 4th of July.

We've made several trips like that, the longest just short of 7K miles. Over time we've streamlined our packing and lifestyle making the journey the objective eliminating much of the process. Have a great time, take lots of pictures and keep your wheels between the ditches and the greasy side down.

I did PA to Los Angeles and back on motorcycles with a friend a couple summers ago. It was awesome. We've done PA to Key West and planning on Seattle and back this summer.

AirBnB is great but not available everywhere. We typically try to use AirBnB first, then hotels if there is not anything available. We've found some great spots that beat staying in hotels next to the highway.

On the East Coast:
- Lancaster County - Come see the Amish, beats Baltimore. :lol:
- The National Aquarium in Baltimore
- Blue Ridge Parkway is very pretty, but budget plenty of time, it is slow.
- The Dragon in Deals Gap, NC
- Wheels Through Time in Maggie Valley, NC

Down South:
- Barber Racing Museum in Tuscaloosa, AL
- NASA Space Center in Houston, TX
- If you are going to Houston, I'd recommend going to/spending the night in Galveston.
- Eat at Whataburger
- New Orleans was fun, Bourbon St is very touristy and smells like a pissed soaked version of Duval St. I enjoyed New Orleans more during the day than the nightlife. Use the streetcars to get around.

Out West:
- If you are going to the Grand Canyon, you should take a few days in the Northern AZ, Southern UT area. In that area you have Bryce, Arches, Zion, Monument Valley, Moab, and The Four Corners. This was probably my favorite section of our trip, it was just amazing.
- The San Antonio to Tuscan run is a pretty long run, and it is sparse but pretty. Van Horn, Texas was the shittiest place we stopped on our trip, second was St. Louis. We did San Antonio to El Paso to Bisbee to Tuscon. Partially because we were staying with friends in Bisbee but I'd recommend checking out southern AZ if you're inclined to get off the beaten path. That was a pretty place to get off I-10.
- Tombstone is a total tourist trap but it was fun to see and say we had been there.
- Hottest part of the trip was Southern Cali. We road through the Imperial Valley going west and Death Valley going East to Vegas. Baker, CA was 119F the day we were there.
- Vegas was OK, just wasn't my style.
- The PCH was a nice ride, I would definitely say try and run the coast but I also have a desire to see the central valley.
- Watch for motorcycles in LA, lane splitting is legal and utilized. :thumbsup:
- Walking around Hollywood was fun, I wouldn't try to drive around LA.

As part of our northern route planning this year we are looking at going to:
- Harley Davidson Museum and Plant in Milwaukee
- National Motorcycle Museum in Anamosa, IA
- All the aforementioned National Parks

Derek, I've been to Amish Country. That place is the biggest tourist trap in the country.

2005 R50 MINI Cooper w/160k miles on it!
 

Put Tombstone, AZ as a very close competitor. :lol:

We did something similar, though broke it into 2 trips. I retired in 2012 and bought my wife a 2012 MCS hatch. The first summer went from Phx to east coast and back -

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-and-back.html

The following summer went from Phx to San Diego, then took the PCH all the way to Seattle, then down thru Wyoming to spend time at Yellowstone. What you are proposing is a LONG trip, sounds like a lot of fun. No problem at all driving a Mini long distances.

I am a touring motorcyclist and a MINI owner...if you get out west, don't miss US-12 in Utah, Beartooth/Chief Joseph Highways (WY-212 & WY-296), Lolo Pass (US-12 from Lolo, MT to Kooskia, ID), and US-395 from Burns, OR to Pendleton, WA...some of the greatest driving/scenery in the U.S.
If Colorado is in your plans, don't miss CO-145, CO-149, CO-114, CO-139, and US-550....those aren't the only ones but they are some of the best...
Once you get to California, the possibilites are endless...maybe some Left Coasters will chime in...

Glad you chimed in here. You went on a road trip for 2 people, and it will be just me. Also, the Mini Cooper was smaller in 2012 than it is now.

I'll jump in again. West bound, I'd strongly recommend US 60 across southern MO then 160 a bit west of Joplin all the way to Durango. You'll kick yourself for not driving the million dollar highway up to Montrose, a rocky mountain dragon tail, then up to Grand Junction and in to Moab. Spend 2 or 3 days there. Dead Horse canyon is where the girls went flying off the cliff.

I'll second Derek86's suggestion to visit Moab. We did a Utah trip a few years ago to hit some of the National Parks. Canyonlands was my favorite. No crowds and spectacular views.

I ordered my new Mini today at Mini of Manhattan. A 2019 Mini Cooper S, Electric Blue with white top and white bonnet stripes and Cosmos Silver Spoke wheels. I should be getting it by the end of May. Now I'm $34,000 poorer, but looking forward to my trip.

Oh what a happy smile! It makes me slughtly jealous while looking at your photo. Good luck on the road and don't forhet to check the weather (https://ru.needcalc.com/weather/spain is a great service, weather availiable anywhere in the world).

Did you make your trip?

I'll back up 'Husky' and quote an old NAM veteran, "Without pictures, it didn't happen".

We live in such a beautiful country that it would take hundreds of pages to denounce the destinations as also lets not forget the famous quote "it is not the destination but the Journey"!
In my humble opinion, what you might start missing will be the capability to go off road. Tourists mainly stay on paved roads circling the attractions while the hundred foot long buses await... There is so much beauty and the facets of raw Nature. I fully understand that the CS is your dream car, as it is also mine, but if you have not yet bought it, maybe consider something you take off road? I personally have a Jeep and a JCW. In my opinion the best of both worlds and if I had to give one up I honestly would not know which!!!
I did 14 years across the country by the way with my dog "Spirit" on a motorcycle and sidecar. Over 5000 nights in a tent and never spent a penny for camping. BLM and National Forests are here for us for that purpose!

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.nor...77c69d5d4f.jpg
A sunny but cold winter day in Big Bend, Texas... I could hear Spirit say "I don't give a damn..." as he looked away!

Hi,
I’m in CT and I got my 2023 Mini Cooper S in December and I did a factory order and it only took 8 weeks.

Thank you for this! Am contemplating a road trip from CA to ???? soon in my 2010 Mini with almost 130,000 miles. Was looking into buying a newer model but mine has no problems (just higher mileage is concerning.) Thought of packing a small tent but wondered about ability to sleep in car (I'm 5'1".) This looks good! Recently widowed and restless for travel. Husband always wanted to do MTTS-I may just take out on my own! Figured some hotels but wanted the ability to camp as well. Hmmm....we'll see!