The perfect end to a Northern Michigan beach day? Keeping the outdoor fun going with fam-friendly movie watching at the Cherry Bowl Drive-In, one of the region’s most beloved vacation attractions.

Located in Honor on US-31 and 20 minutes west of Traverse City, the Cherry Bowl Drive-In has been showing first-run double features since 1953. Like a well-restored and loved T-bird, The Cherry Bowl still shines like the golden oldie she is; the sound system is still the original vacuum tube motiograph amplifiers—but you can hear it all on your car’s FM radio as well.

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With state-of-the-art digital technology, film fans can count on what they’ve loved for decades: back-to-back films, suitable for everyone in your family, each summer evening (only G, PG and some PG-13 films are shown). And movies aren’t the only reason to visit the Bowl—arrive well before show time to try your hips at Hula Hoops or play mini-golf. You just might be there for special pony rides or an appearance by Elvis. Snag dinner in the Cherry Bowl diner—hot dogs and homemade caramel corn, or make a meal out of popcorn with real creamery butter. When the lights flicker on the screen, beeline it for your car or for a place en plein air in the front row. You’re in for some of the best entertainment under the Northern stars.

This vintage drive-in indeed packs a high-quality punch: its state-of-the-art digital projector replaced the obsolete film projector the theater had previously used. As film studios had phased out celluloid film, the Cherry Bowl faced up to $80,000 in upgrading expenses; much of the funds to finance the upgrade to a digital projection system were acquired through Honda’s Project Drive-In, a crowd-sourced fundraising effort to help drive-in theaters to convert to digital.

For more information and the movie schedule, call 231.325.3413 or visit CherryBowlDriveIn.com.


More Northern Michigan Attractions:

Traverse City Film Festival

Explore Historic Fishtown in Leland, Michigan

Guide to a Scenic Michigan Getaway: M-119 Tunnel of Trees

Dinner at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island: 130 Years of Caviar and Aristocracy