The real-life places where Twilight was filmed
For a story about sharp teeth, you really couldn't find a better setting than Forks, Washington (Prongs, Minnesota? Spikes, Oregon?). All vamping aside, it's hard to beat Forks, which is such a perfectly prickly small-town name that you'd be forgiven for thinking it sprung directly from writer Stephenie Meyer's imagination. But (unlike our attempts) you might be surprised to learn that Forks is a real place, and you can find it on any map of Washington state — population hovering around 3,000+ and cloudy as all get-out. The town sign featured in Twilight's opening minutes (the one with "Forks" cut out of wood like an 8th grade shop project) is the real thing too.
And while Twilight wasn't actually filmed in Forks, a place Bella describes as under "constant cover of clouds and rain," the locations were Forks-adjacent, mainly in Washington and Oregon. So, let's take a Twilight tour of the moody, magical, broodingly beautiful Pacific Northwest, where a beach day requires a raincoat and the dark skies give everything an extra (romantic? spooky?) edge.
The Cullen House (Portland, OR) and the Swan House (St. Helens, OR)
The movie version of Bella Swan's (Kristen Stewart) house is a white clapboard number in the quaint town of St. Helens, Oregon. The movie version of the mod manse where Edward (Robert Pattinson) lived with his Vam Fam is 30 miles away in Portland. Meaning? Edward (aka the fast vampire) could literally run to Bella's window in minutes! We know. Twilight is just a movie, vampires are fictional, love fades, yada yada yada, but STILL, details like this make the story feel real, and we love it.
Props to the location scouts, too, because the architectural styles of these homes practically tell full stories about their inhabitants without ever uttering a word. Take the Cullen place: this cold-but-gorgeous, angular, pale light filled home is like a brick and mortar version of Edward. The house also reflects Meyer's style, giving the vampire myth an update — no dusty, dark Victorian mansion here. The best part? You can easily visit the house (a private residence) because it's located on Quimby Str. in central PDX. Note: it is NOT covered with a giant tarp or fence or obnoxious "keep away" sign (like the Goonies house down the road in Astoria, sigh) so please, be respectful with your selfies.
Bella's home, a 1930s white clapboard two-story in St. Helens, also reflects who she is: modest, unassuming, with many hidden charms. Amazingly, this house is available for rent as an Airbnb (though it's booked out for the next few years).
Silver Falls State Park (Sublimity, OR)
Not to throw shade (get it?) on the entire set construction/CGI industry, but Mother Nature does a way better job at building forests. Take Silver Falls State Park, located in Sublimity, OR. This 9,000+ acre wooded wonderland features waterfalls, caves, wildlife (insert Werewolf joke here) and the most gorgeous flora and fauna you've ever seen. In other words? It's the perfect setting for Edward to take Bella to the top of a zillion-foot tree, and to deliver the best line in the movie ("wrap your legs around me like a spider monkey").
Location scouts be praised, because Silver Falls is a seriously moody (can we just call it "teenage-style"?) forest, going from the romantic bliss of the aforementioned scene to the dark, creepy vibe of the intro. Plus, Silver Falls is also the setting of Edward's bare-handed deer hunt. How could a sound stage ever compare? PS: the park even put up a commemorative sign honoring its role in Twilight.
Kalama High School (Kalama, WA) and Madison High School (Portland, OR)
Our obsession with cool movie schools goes way back, and Forks High is absolutely up there. The retro red brick seems designed to pop against the cloudy skies and evergreen trees, the narrow, two-story structure with the severe black roof feels appropriately emo, and the lovely, dorky, kerning-challenged sign out front brings on a nostalgia wave for a pre-digital world.
Forks High is actually two locations mashed into one, but they fit so seamlessly we wouldn't have guessed it. The majority of the exterior scenes (the big parking lot drama) were filmed at Kalama High School, in Kalama, WA, but the interiors were filmed at the slightly more light-filled, but still quaintly retro, Madison High School in Portland, OR. The science room in particular remains imprinted on our memories, site of that black lab table where Bella and Edward were forced to sit together like a pair of violently attracting/repelling magnets. Come to think of it, Bella and Edward's relationship was kind of like the ultimate science experiment.
Carver Cafe (Damascus, OR)
Meyer has said that choosing the town of Forks was supposed to signify Bella's "fork in the road" moment, and we can see that — going from Arizona to Oregon, from Mom to Dad, from girl to woman. But to us, it will always mean something sharp. Either way, some of the most earnest on-screen Forks moments happen in a cozy little diner called the Carver Cafe.
Lucky for hungry Twihards in desperate need of a bite (sorry), this is a real cafe located in a small Oregon town called Damascus, cute as a button and surrounded by towering evergreens. If you make the pilgrimage, you'll be able to sit right where Bella and her dad Charlie sat, and you can probably even order Bella's garden burger and her favorite childhood treat: the official dessert of the Pacific Northwest (berry cobbler).
In an unusual move for Hollywood big-budget productions, they used the inside and outside as-is. And here's an extra treat for eagle-eyed viewers — in the grand Stan Lee tradition, during the scene where Bella meets her dad for a meal, Stephenie Meyer is sitting at the counter writing on her laptop! The waitress even calls her by name while bringing her the secret to her success: a veggie plate (note to self: eat more veggies).
Indian Beach at Ecola State Park (Cannon Beach, OR)
The Oregon Coast gets its day in the sun (kidding… there's never any sun!) in a pivotal scene early on in the film. It's kind of hilarious how this walk with Bella and childhood friend/secondary love interest Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner) so perfectly encapsulates what a "Beach Day" in the Pacific Northwest is like — no sunscreen needed. Yes, this is the kind of beach where you'll be shivering under a raincoat as the dark sea crashes onto the damp sand under cloud-covered skies, which of course perfectly fits the whole Twi-vibe, and the unsettling Quileute legend that Jacob tells Bella about the "cold ones."
Though it's supposed to be "La Push" in the film, the spot is actually a place called Indian Beach, which is in Ecola State Park between Seaside and Cannon Beach. This whole area is so gorgeous, it's actually difficult to capture the true sense of drama you'll see (and feel) standing on the beach under the ever-changing sky. But, of course, watching Twilight is the next best thing to being there.
Thunderbird & Whale (St. Helens, OR)
The scene where Bella buys a book about Quileute legends is a valentine for bookstore nerds. It all starts when Bella, searching online for books to figure out what this "cold ones" thing is all about, notably clicks past Amazon to the little indie Thunderbird & Whale store in Port Angeles, WA. And when she arrives at the twinkly and magical spot, a little white cottage rising up out of the mist, elevated above the road, those of us who enjoyed the book series along with the movies can't help but geek out.
We should also mention this is the part of the story where Edward rushes in to save Bella from a pack of drunk guys, and then confesses he can't stay away from her… but let's get back to the really important stuff here — the bookstore. Tragically, the shop is a product of Meyer's imagination, and the location is actually a… lawyer's office in St. Helens, OR. But if there was such a thing as bookstore fan-fic, we'd totally read it.
The View Point Inn (Corbett, OR)
For a movie about vampires (and werewolves!) there sure are a LOT of fairy lights, including here, at the site of the endearingly romantic gazebo prom dance between Edward and Bella. Sure, it looks nothing like the gym-set prom in the book (or in any of our experiences) but it's so transcendent, we'll forgive this creative license. Filmed at the View Point Inn, a historic hotel and restaurant overlooking the Columbia River Gorge that closed in recent years after a tragic fire, it is set to re-open as a wellness center. We just hope they keep the gazebo.
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