An evening at the Long Drive-In, one of the last drive-in theaters in Minnesota

My 12-year-old daughter and a friend bopped a volleyball around our campsite, a nicely shaded corner beauty at the edge of a meadow. My teenage son and another friend were off exploring on foot. I was pulling together blankets, bug spray and other necessities for our evening at the Long Drive-In, just down the road.

I’d imagined we’d all head down together when the gate opened at 7:30 to stake out a prime spot — only the first three rows have carside speakers — until my son texted.

“mom … people are already lining up … you should go like now.”

The girls and I picked up the pace, and soon we pulled into the line of cars filling the long approach and snaking out the entrance, 10 minutes before gate time. We stalled near the marquee, which advertised the night’s double feature in classic red plastic letters: “Inside Out 2″ and “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes.”

Finally, brake lights ahead flashed like fireflies and we inched forward, one car-length at a time, gravel crunching under the tires, to the ticket booth. A tidy green field spread out before us, and at the far end, a giant white screen rose up higher than the trees.

The front rows were filling up, but we still had options. We backed into the second row, mid-screen, directly in front of the concessions building. Perfect.

On the upswing

This is the Long Drive-In’s 68th season. It was built on the outskirts of central Minnesota’s Long Prairie (pop. 3,600) in 1956, when drive-in theaters were America’s latest obsession. Minnesota boasted around 80 drive-ins at peak popularity. In the 1980s, as cars shrunk and movie nights shifted into living rooms, many drive-ins were shuttered. The Long endured. It’s now one of five left in the state.

“It definitely cycles,” said owner Michelle Claseman of the business. She’s run the drive-in alongside her family through peaks and valleys, like her parents before her. Special events helped create the current upswing, she said, like last fall’s “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” screening, when Claseman stocked a big table outside of the concession stand with friendship bracelet-making supplies, or the annual Classic Car Cruise (coming Aug. 24), when the types of vehicles this experience was created for fill the front rows before a retro movie selection.

Another smart move: After Claseman learned that many moviegoers were traveling an hour or more, she cleared some space at the edge of the field for bare-bones campsites that regularly sell out on weekends.

Making a day of it

We’d considered reserving one of the drive-in’s last available sites, but opted instead for Camp S’More a half-mile away. The campground’s bathroom/shower building, pickleball courts, tubing trips and other perks won us over.

“It looks like the Microsoft home screen,” one of the kids marveled about the gently rolling meadow topped in blue sky at the edge of our site. He wasn’t wrong. As we set up camp, one of the owners came around on a golf cart with little bags of fresh popcorn. We were happy with our choice.

I stopped to chat with a couple of RV-ing sisters hanging out with their four little dogs inside a portable fence. When I asked what they like to do around here, they didn’t hesitate: the drive-in. “It doesn’t even matter what’s playing,” one said.

Tubing was off the table for us, due to flooding on the Long Prairie River. We were content to explore the tidy campground, and the garage sales around town, until it was time for the movie.

Dinner and a movie

I popped the liftback, laid the third row of seats flat, shook out blankets and unfolded chairs. My daughter and her friend grabbed our Frisbee and joined the crowd of other kids in the green space in front of the screen, with their soccer balls, footballs and ladder toss. The Jackson 5′s “ABC” blared from the concession stand. The groups that scored front-row spots sat at picnic tables and prepped blow-up mattresses. It was opening night for the Disney/Pixar “Inside Out” sequel, bolstering both the attendance and wholesome family vibes.

An announcement over the loudspeaker encouraged ordering pre-show food ASAP, so I hopped into the short line to get dinner for our group. The menu and its prices contributed beautifully to the throwback theme: Hot dogs were $2, root beer floats $3.50 and sno-cones $1.50. I fed the five of us, including the two bottomless teen boys who’d finally caught up, for just under $40. By the time we set our haul down on a table outside the stand, the line was out the door and down the row of cars.

We cozied into our setup as the sky finally darkened enough for the first feature to start. It felt unique and beautiful to make this effort. Not to pluck something off a digital menu in our living room, or even pay a premium to sit in an immersive air-conditioned box, but to instead drive all this way, together, with our blankets and pillows and chairs.

To settle into this communal experience, where pre-show games, crackling vintage speakers, the stars overhead and chirping crickets are all part of the show.

Getting there

The Long Drive-In, outside Long Prairie, Minn., is two hours northwest of the Twin Cities. Showing July 25-28: “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Twisters” (separate admission for each). $8 adults, $5 ages 5-11, free for 4 and younger (thelongdrivein.com).

Where else to stay

The Prairie Ridge Inn in town is a basic option with recently remodeled rooms. The drive-in website and locals recommended the Long Prairie Treehouse, a unique cabin perched in oaks and maples (but sold out until 2025).

More drive-ins

Minnesota’s other four drive-in theaters are the Starlite Drive-In (Litchfield); Elko Drive-In (Elko New Market); Verne Drive-In (Luverne); and Sky-Vu Drive-In (Warren).

Also within road-trip distance: the Stardust Drive-In (Chetek, Wis.); and the Superior 71 Drive-In (Spirit Lake, Iowa).

Berit Thorkelson is a St. Paul-based freelance writer.