The Route

Chicago → Santa Monica

The Mother Road turns one hundred this year. The rally answers with 2,211 miles of it — nine driving days, one Vegas breather, and the Pacific at the end.

Tap a shield to see the stage. Two fingers to move the map.

The profile

Sea level is earned

From the prairie to the Continental Divide and down the Mojave to the pier — scrub the line to see what the cars are climbing.

Elevation · sea level → 7,395 ft

— mi · — ft

Ten legs

Stage by stage

Stage 01
The Send-Off
Chicago / Willowbrook, IL → St. Louis, MO
A hundred years after the first mile marker went up, the rally rolls out of Chicagoland.
300 mi5h 13m drive850 ft peak
Stage 02
Gateway West
St. Louis, MO → Springfield, MO
Under the Arch and into the Ozarks — caves, springs, and the road's first real hills.
215 mi4h 06m drive1,499 ft peak
Stage 03
Three-State Run
Springfield, MO → Tulsa, OK
Missouri, a corner of Kansas, and into Oklahoma — the shortest states, the densest lore.
181 mi3h 18m drive1,365 ft peak
Stage 04
Mother Road Country
Tulsa, OK → Oklahoma City, OK
The shortest day of the rally — and the heart of the Mother Road.
107 mi1h 54m drive1,230 ft peak
Stage 05
The Panhandle
Oklahoma City, OK → Amarillo, TX
The horizon flattens, the sky takes over, and Cadillacs grow out of the ground.
258 mi4h 29m drive3,678 ft peak
Stage 06
High Plains
Amarillo, TX → Albuquerque, NM
Out of Texas, over the caprock, and into New Mexico's neon oasis country.
290 mi4h 56m drive7,067 ft peak
Stage 07
The Divide
Albuquerque, NM → Flagstaff, AZ
The monster leg — 325 miles over the Continental Divide and up into the pines.
325 mi5h 32m drive7,247 ft peak
Stage 08
Desert Lights
Flagstaff, AZ → Las Vegas, NV
A hundred-year-old road takes one glittering detour — over Hoover Dam country to Vegas.
255 mi4h 39m drive7,395 ft peak
Stage 09
Neon Pitstop: Vegas
Las Vegas — the rally catches its breath.
The rally catches its breath — pick-up interviews, pit repairs, and one night off the clock.
0 mi — rest, wrenches & neon
Stage 10
To the Pier and Beyond
Las Vegas, NV → Santa Monica, CA
One last desert, one last climb, and the road ends where the continent does.
280 mi5h 14m drive4,603 ft peak