You’re standing in a field in the middle of nowhere, Minnesota. Specifically, Kasota. It’s a tiny town with about 700 people and a whole lot of limestone. But right now, you aren’t looking at the rocks. You’re looking at 60 tons of British steel that’s currently idling with a low-frequency growl that vibrates through your actual teeth.
People think kasota minnesota tank driving is just some novelty "gift experience" for guys who watched too much Fury. Honestly? It's much weirder and more technical than that.
The Reality of Driving a Tank in the Midwest
When you pull up to the facility—aptly named Drive A Tank—you aren’t greeted by a sterile theme park. It’s a motor pool. It smells like diesel, old grease, and cold metal. Tony Borglum, the guy who started this whole thing back in 2007, didn’t just buy a few props. He imported actual Cold War-era hardware from the UK because the American Department of Defense doesn't exactly sell functional M1 Abrams to civilians.
Most people assume you just hop in and go. Wrong.
There’s a massive learning curve. You start with a safety briefing that’s less about "don't do this" and more about "here is how you don't accidentally crush a building." You don't just jump into the big Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) right away. They put you in an Abbot first. It’s technically a "self-propelled gun," not a tank, but to a civilian, it feels like a giant, tracked monster.
The controls? Forget everything you know about a steering wheel. You’ve got two tillers. Pull the left one, you slow down the left track and pivot left. Pull both, you stop. Sorta.
Why Kasota?
It seems random, right? Why would one of the only places in the world where you can drive a Chieftain be located 90 minutes south of Minneapolis?
Basically, it comes down to space and soil. The terrain in this part of Minnesota is rugged enough to handle tracks without turning into a total swamp instantly. Plus, the neighbors in Kasota are remarkably chill about the sound of 1,000-horsepower engines.
The Vehicles: More Than Just the Sherman
Everyone wants to drive the Sherman. It’s the icon. It’s the "Easy Eight" that Hollywood loves. And yeah, they have one. But the real heavy hitters in the fleet are the British beasts.
- The Chieftain MK10: This is the one they use for the car crushes. It is massive.
- The FV432 APC: This is an armored personnel carrier. The "combat" experience involves driving this through the woods using nothing but a periscope. Your field of vision is basically a tiny slit. It’s claustrophobic. It’s stressful. It’s exactly why real tankers are a different breed.
- The T-55: This is a Soviet legend. It feels different than the British armor—more utilitarian, rougher around the edges, and loud in a way that feels a bit more "Red Menace."
Crushing Cars is Harder Than It Looks
You’ve seen the videos. A tank rolls over a Chevy Lumina and the car disappears. But from inside the hatch of a kasota minnesota tank driving experience, the sensation is bizarre.
You expect a huge jolt.
You don't really get one.
👉 See also: Why the Kona Surf Hotel Big Island Hawaii Still Haunts Our Vacation Memories
When you’re in a Chieftain, the weight is so immense that the car offers almost zero resistance. You hear the glass pop—that’s the loudest part—and then the sound of metal being folded like an accordion. But the tank barely vibrates. It just climbs. One minute you’re looking at the hood of a car, the next you’re looking at the sky, and then crunch.
The instructors are sticklers for safety here. If you’re a few inches off-center, you could slip a track. Fixing a slipped track on a 50-ton vehicle is a nightmare that involves heavy-duty tools and several hours of swearing. They make sure you hit it dead center.
What Most People Miss: The Indoor Range
After you’re done playing General Patton in the woods, the experience usually moves inside. This is where the E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) of the staff really shows. They have an indoor range where you can fire historic machine guns.
We’re talking things like the M2 Browning .50 cal or the Sten gun. These aren’t replicas. They are real, functional pieces of history. The instructors explain the mechanics, the jam rates, and why these specific weapons changed the outcome of certain battles. It turns a "fun day out" into a legitimate history lesson.
Pricing and Expectations
Let's be real: this isn't a cheap hobby. Packages usually start around $500 for the basic Abbot drive and can skyrocket into the thousands if you want to drive multiple tanks and crush two cars.
Is it worth it?
If you’re looking for a "smooth ride," go to a Lexus dealership. If you want to understand the physical toll it takes to operate machinery that was designed to be "invincible" on a 1970s battlefield, then yeah, it’s worth every penny. It’s exhausting. You will be covered in dust. You will probably have a bruise from where your shoulder hit the frame of the hatch.
Safety and Requirements
You don't need a special license, but you do need to be able to follow directions. The age limit for driving is usually 14 or 15 (with a parent), and you need to be at least 5 feet tall to actually reach the controls.
- Closed-toe shoes are mandatory. No exceptions.
- Wear clothes you hate. The grease from these tanks doesn't come out. Ever.
- Size matters. If you’re over 6’6”, you might struggle to fit in the Chieftain. The interiors are "cozy," which is military-speak for "dangerously tight."
Actionable Next Steps
If you're actually planning to head down to Kasota for some tank driving, do these three things first:
- Book 2-3 months in advance. They are only open for the "tank season" (typically April through October) and the weekends fill up incredibly fast with bachelor parties and bucket-list travelers.
- Watch a tutorial on "Levers and Cleats." Understanding the basic concept of skid-steering will save you 15 minutes of confusion when you're actually in the driver's seat.
- Check the weather, but don't cancel. Driving these things in the mud is actually better than driving them on dry dirt. The tracks grip differently, and the "splash" factor when you hit a trench is half the fun.
The experience is a rare chance to touch history that hasn't been sanitized behind a museum rope. Just remember to breathe when they close that hatch. It gets real very quickly.