Welcome
to the unofficial
"mostly complete" guide to the filming locations of the 1993
blockbuster film, "Jurassic Park"! This is an attempt to
once-and-for-all get an accurate guide together to clear up rumors,
confusion and misinformation. Believe me, there is lots of it out
there. This guide is the combined efforts of myself and my friend who
goes by the name "Stitch" on the forums at jptoys.com. Stitch was the
first person to identify and visit all of the Kauai locations, and
spent countless months before his trip gathering insider information
and establishing the right contacts to get him access to all of the off
limits / private property areas. Many of these areas are no longer
accessible to tourists. He has graciously allowed me to use his
pictures and I have thrown in some of my own from my personal trip as
well. Please do not use them without permission or at least linking
back to the original source here! I will not be doing this style guide
for the other movies in the series as this took me months to put
together and I have other projects.
Also
please note that this
yellow page being shown everywhere as a production location guide is
actually just proposal ideas from a pre-production binder and a LOT of
these locations were shot elsewhere by the time filming commenced!
Don't use it as a guide!
THE MAP! Please click the icon in the
upper left to open the list of
locations. Scroll down for detailed information about each one.
To open the map in a new window, click
HERE.
Velociraptor
Pen National
Tropical Botanical
Garden, Limahuli Garden, 5-8291 Kuhio Highway, Kauai, HI
The
Velociraptor enclosure was
erected at the National Tropical Botanical Garden "Limahuli Garden".
The National Tropical Botanical Gardens have two locations on Kauai and
this one is on the North shore, near the end of where you can travel
with a car. The visitor center for the gardens is now directly on where
the Velociraptor pen once stood.
The little ledge that separates the
building surface with the small parking lot would have been the edge
where the dinosaur crate was loaded on to in the opening scene.
To the
left of the area is the curved road that Grant walks down on his way to
the pen, made to look like they just came from the park visitor center. Limahuli
Gardens have a
website here: http://ntbg.org/gardens/limahuli.php.
If
they are closed when you
visit, you can still walk up the short path to the visitor center area.
Mano
de
Dios Amber Mine Hoopii
Falls, Kapaa, Kauai, HI
The
"amber mine" was actually
a waterfall known as Hoopii Falls on Kauai.
It requires some hiking to
get to it but is one of the easier waterfall hikes on the island. It is
usually flowing with way more water than was seen in the movie. The
waterfall flows into the stream that Genarro gets pulled up by rope on.
There
is a good guide on the hike here:
http://www.hikerly.com/hoopii-falls-hike2-2-miles-563-feet/.
Please be
aware of rain as this area can flood rather quickly. "Badlands"
Dig Site Red
Rock Canyon State Park, CA
The
Badlands dig wasn't filmed
anywhere near the real Badlands. It was filmed in Red Rock Canyon State
Park in California. (Overlook
shot from
youtube user "JP Jeep 12" video HERE)
You
will need a 4X4 if you
want to get to this location by vehicle. Take the Tufa Point turn off
(unmarked) approximately 1/2 mile north on Highway 14 from the Abbott
Drive intersection. Follow the signs for Scenic Cliffs. After about 3/4
of a mile, there will be a small turnout where you can park and hike
north about 100 yards to be at the old set location. These directions
would be the same for hiking, just make sure you park right off the
exit from Highway 14 as the road quickly gets difficult for standard
cars and SUVs. Approximate GPS coordinates are 35.373N, 117.971W. "San
Jose, Costa Rica" Al
Pastor Tacos, 4-1620
Kuhio Hwy, Kapaa, HI
The
location where Nedry and
Dodgson meet at the outdoor restaurant is actually just off the side of
the main road in Kauai. Dodgson's taxi dropoff was filmed in front of
what is now Otsuka's Furniture store.
The meeting scene was filmed on the grass that is
between Al Pastor Tacos and Otsukas Furniture store. The palm trees
seen in the movie are now
fully grown but you can tell which ones they were by the curvature of
their trunks.
The original
building in the background in the movie is not there anymore and has
been replaced by Otsukas. Helicopter
Arrival Shoreline
Rock Keopuka
Rock, Maui, HI
Keopuka
Rock, also known as
Jurassic rock, was featured in the arrival scene of the film when they
first get to the island. The rock is located at Puohokamoa Valley on
the northeast shore of Maui.
The rock can be seen if you take a
helicopter tour around the island, otherwise you can view it from the
Garden of Eden Arboretum which is on the extremely curvy "Road to
Hana".
There will be signs directing you to the garden. The view is
pretty far from the shoreline but it's a must for the die-hard fan.
They falsely label the rock as being from the "opening sequence" of the
movie.
The
garden is breathtaking itself too. There is an entrance fee. Helicopter
Valley and
Background Falls Honokohau
Valley, Maui, HI
When
the shot switches to the
helicopter navigating the lush green valley, there is a smaller set of
waterfalls that are seen in the background, as the helicopter lowers
down behind into the trees. These falls are known as Honokohau Falls
and both the valley and falls are only visible via helicopter.
These
filler shots needed to be filmed on neighboring Maui because of the
storm that ravaged Kauai while filming. Helicopter
Landing Pad
Waterfall Manawaiopuna
Falls, Hanapepe
Valley, Kauai, HI
The
giant waterfall with the
landing pad at its base is on a completely different island than the
valley the helicopter just flew through. It is back on Kauai, in the
middle of nowhere.
The waterfall is known as Manawaiopuna Falls and it
is on privately owned land, only accessible via helicopter. Most
helicopter companies will take you past the falls, but there is only
one company authorized to land you right there and they are Island
Helicopters (https://www.islandhelicopters.com/falls.html).
The helicopter lands several hundred feet from
the falls on a clearing just downstream from the waterfall.
To get to the falls, you get to walk up the path where you see
the
jeeps
leaving from in the movie.
They have you wear protective covering on your shoes as
to not disturb the nature and keep this area as beautiful as it can be.
Once you come around the bend, the giant waterfall comes into view. You can still see
the
structural supports for the landing pad in the little dam wall.
The landing
pad is long gone, but pieces of it's rubble are
still in the pool below. You
get to spend about 15
minutes of the hour long tour here. They also play the Jurassic Park
theme through your headphones as you
arrive, just as the falls come into view. Brachiosaurus
Encounter Pu`u
Ka Ele Reservoir,
Jurassic Kahili Ranch, Kilauea, Kauai, HI
The
first sighting of a real
dinosaur was filmed at a working horse ranch, known as Jurassic Kahili
Ranch.
It is on the north shore of Kauai. The dinosaur encounter with
the two jeeps was filmed among a group of trees here and the shot with
the lake in the distance and the herds of dinosaurs was as well, just a
little bit to the west.
The area where the jeeps are zipping between the trees is still dotted
with the same trees, now bigger. The
spot where the jeeps stop
is immediately recognizable.
The spot where the Brachiosaurus is first seen eating leaves is
instantly recognizable as well. The three trees it was behind still
look almost exactly the same.
Pan a little to the left and you have the same angle from where Grant
asks "How'd you do this?".
This
ranch is private property
and they do not let visitors on their grounds. Any contact with them
will result in a solid "we do not give tours", and that's it. The
property is just off the main road that goes around Kauai, but you can
not see any of the actual filming locations from public property.
There is a gate to the ranch that you can drive up to and get a good
look at the fields leading up to the filming locations though, but do
not proceed any farther.
Your best bet would be to see this property
from the air via helicopter. Jurassic
Kahili Ranch does
have a website: http://www.jkr-kauai.com/ Parasaurolophus
Lake Pu`u
Ka Ele Reservoir,
Jurassic Kahili Ranch, Kilauea, Kauai, HI
Located
a half mile to the
west on the Jurassic Kahili Ranch property is where there used to be a
small lake that was used for the scene where Grant sees the dinosaur
"herds".
It was known as Pu'u Ka Ele Reservoir and is now mostly empty after a
massive flood due to a reservoir burst a while back. The shot in the
movie was edited to make it look as if they were staring at this lake
from the site they encountered the Brachiosaurus from but in reality it
is a bit farther away. When they show Grant sitting in the grass
staring off at the lake, that was all special effects and the actors
were never really there.
As mentioned
before, your best bet would be to see this property from the air via
helicopter. Visitor
Center Exterior Valley
House Plantation
Estate, 6191 Hauaala Road, Kealia, Kauai, HI
The
giant visitor center was
constructed at a private estate on Kauai known as the "Valley House
Plantation Estate". This estate is now home to three residences, covers
over 100 acres and has 2 private waterfalls. The visitor center was
constructed near a scenic pond on the property but only the exterior
was erected for filming.
The spot where the center stood is now a grass
lot and the road that lead around the front has been covered as well.
If you stand on the opposite side of the pond, you can recreate the
tracking shot as the jeeps arrive at the center.
The Valley House is a very secluded and private estate and does not
offer tours of any kind. Please kindly respect the privacy of the new
owners. Visitor
Center Lobby &
Rotunda Stage
12, Universal Studios,
Hollywood, CA
The
visitor center exterior
was just a facade. All of the interior scenes with the stairs and
dinosaur skeletons were built at stage 12 in Universal Studios,
Hollywood, CA.
(Picture from
thestudiotour.com, please see here)
The studio tram tour takes you past this building. Visitor
Center Control Room,
Theater, & Hatchery Stage
28, Universal Studios,
Hollywood, CA
All
of the other internal
visitor center and control room sets were constructed at stage 28 in
Universal Studios, Hollywood, CA. (Picture
from
thestudiotour.com, please see here) Stage
28 was demolished in
2014 and
is now a parking lot. The studio tram tour takes you past where this
building stood. This
map shows the tram route,
however it is a bit outdated and shows studio 28 as still standing: Departure
Trees Valley
House Plantation
Estate, 6191 Hauaala Road, Kealia, Kauai, HI
Behind
the spot where the
visitor center was constructed, there is a small grove of Lychee trees
that can briefly be seen through the Explorer windows as the tour cars
begin their journey. Jurassic
Park Gates Waikoko
Forest Management
Road, Kauai, HI
The
main gates to the park
that the Explorers drive through as they embark on their tour were
constructed pretty much in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the
island of Kauai, 8 miles down a bumpy dirt forest management road. You
have to ford a few streams and possibly move some fallen trees at times
so don't take your rental car here, it voids your agreement anyway.
Rather than explain the lengthy process of how to get to the spot where
the gates were here, there are numerous guides out on the internet.
Here are a few: http://kauaitravel.net/jurassic-park-gate-kauai/ http://on-walkabout.com/2014/05/03/on-walkabout-on-the-waikoko-road-to-the-jurassic-park-gate/ http://www.hawaii-guide.com/kauai/hiking_trails/waialeale_blue_hole_hike If
you do not want to attempt
this trip on your own, there is one company that does an excellent job
of taking tourists by 4WD cargo van directly up to the gates location: http://alohakauaitours.com/hiking-tours/ And
now, for the important
part... There are two giant posts sticking up from the dirt that every
tour guide and internet site out there will tell you are the remnants
of the original gates used in the movie.... They
aren't. The
actual gates
were constructed about 300 feet past this location.
When you see it in
person, you will realize that the existing poles don't match up to the
movie scene gate,
which has a long section of dirt trail beforeleading up to it. The
currently
existing poles are on top of a short, small hill, overlooking a dirt
cul-de-sac. Dilophosaurus
Paddock National
Tropical Botanical
Garden, Allerton Garden, 4425 Lawai Road, Koloa, Kauai, HI
The
quick view we see from the
Explorer tour vehicle into the Dilophosaurus paddock was shot at the
Allerton Garden, part of the National Tropical Botanical Garden on the
south shore of Kauai (http://ntbg.org/tours/kauai-south/).
The National
Tropical Botanical Gardens have two locations on Kauai and this one is
on the South shore.
This garden is a huge plot of land with tons of
plants and foliage from all around the world, displayed beautifully.
You need to pay and take the bus tour to get down to the gardens. There
is no way to reach this by foot because it is all on private property.
The bus takes you down the hill to the gardens and then you get out and
walk around all of the trails on a 2.5 hour guided tour. When you reach
the giant fig trees (where Grant finds the egg shells, more on that
later), the shot looking into the Dilophosaurus paddock was taken from
the road
across the little stream, looking back at the position you are standing
at.
You cannot see the stream in the movie, just the trees on the other
side of the stream..
The tour doesn't go over to
that side of the stream anymore however, but at the fig trees, you are
technically
standing IN the Dilophosaurus paddock, which is still pretty cool. The
shot in the movie from the tour vehicles is actually looking over to
the stream to the same trees that Grant
and the kids find the egg shells, but more on that later. T-Rex
Paddock Waikoko
Forest Management
Road, Kauai, HI
See
above for instructions on
getting to the Jurassic Park "gates" location. The T-Rex paddock scene
was filmed about a mile past the gates location where the dirt path
ends at another large cul-de-sac type flat area.
You will see a little
electrical box of some sort on one side of the clearing.
As you face
the mountains in the distance, the tunnel that the Explorers came out
of would have been on the left and the electric fence and goat cage
would have been to the right. Just past the "tunnel" area there is a
little stream that flows into a little ravine around the cul-de-sac
area.
The streams path pretty much follows the same arc that the fence was
constructed in.
The mountain peaks still match up perfectly as well. Sick
Triceratops Valley
House Plantation
Estate, 6191 Hauaala Road, Kealia, Kauai, HI
The
sick Triceratops scene was
filmed on the same giant estate land as the visitor center exterior set
and was set up behind the set, just to the west, near a small stream.
There is a little road that leads there. The field doesn't look much
like it did in the movie anymore however.
All the dirt and grass that
the Triceratops was laying in was just added to the set for the
shooting and to cover the pit that Winston's crew were hiding in under
the puppet. It is all just a mowed lawn now.
The little stream that you
see behind Grant as he's laying on the side of the Triceratops is still
visible, down a little slope behind where the it was laying.
The area
where they found the "big pile of s**t" as well as the scene where they
all get out of the Explorer is further out to the North and Northwest
of this field, but they are all pretty unrecognizable now. Once
again though, this estate
is privately owned land and gaining access here is now next to
impossible. Storm
Jetty Nawiliwili
Bay, Lihue, Kauai,
HI
As
you land in Kauai, if you
are on the left side of the airplane, you will see this breakwater
sticking out into Nawiliwili Bay.
The actual shot in the film was taken
from the Marriot resort on Kalapaki Beach. If you follow the road past
the resort and take a right on Kalapaki Circle, the road ends at an
overlook that gets you closer to the jetty.
The Marriot hotel is where
Spielberg and his crew stayed during filming and where they camped out
during hurricane Iniki. Dilophosaurus
Attack Stage
27, Universal Studios,
Hollywood, CA
The
Dilophosaurus attack on
Nedry scene was filmed at stage 27 in Universal Studios, Hollywood, CA.
(Picture
from
thestudiotour.com, please see here) This
same set was used for the
Explorer in the tree, the Brachiosaurus
visit and Muldoon's "clever girl" scene. The studio tram tour takes you
past this building. This
map shows the tram route: T-Rex
Attack Stage
16, Warner Brothers
Studios, Hollywood, CA
A
replica of the T-Rex paddock
electric fence was built inside stage 16 at Warner Brothers Studios,
Hollywood, CA, so they wouldn't have to bring the giant animatronic
T-Rex all the way out to Hawaii and could also have control of the
weather.
At the time of filming, studio 16 was the tallest indoor
sound stage available anywhere. All of the shots featuring the actual
physical T-Rex at night were filmed here. (Please note this is Warner
Brothers Studios, not Universal!) The studio tram tour should take you
past this building, but their route changes daily depending on current
active filming. Explorer
In Tree Stage
27, Universal Studios,
Hollywood, CA
Tim
and Grant's tree scenes
with the Explorer falling from branch to branch were filmed at stage 27
in Universal Studios, Hollywood, CA. (Picture
from
thestudiotour.com, please see here) This
same set was used for the
Dilophosaurus attack, Brachiosaurus visit and Muldoon's "clever girl"
scene. The studio tram tour takes you past this building. This
map shows the tram route: T-Rex
Chase Road The
"Jungle", Warner Brothers
Studios, Hollywood, CA
Due
to hurricane Iniki,
filming for the scene with the T-Rex chasing the Jeep was done at
Warner Brothers Studios in a lot on the Eastern side of the property
known as "The Jungle".
The studio tour takes you down this road. It is a short stretch of road
but you can see in the film how they used it over and over. Be
aware that lots of tour guides in Hawaii will falsely tell you that the
scene was filmed "right here!" when you are on hiking tours etc.
(Please note this is Warner Brothers Studios, not Universal!) Brachiosaurus
Visit Stage
27, Universal Studios,
Hollywood, CA
The
morning Brachiosaurus
scene was filmed at stage 27 in Universal Studios, Hollywood, CA. (Picture
from
thestudiotour.com, please see here) This
same set was used for the Dilophosaurus attack, the Explorer in the
tree and Muldoon's "clever girl" scene. The studio tram tour takes you
past this building. This
map shows the tram route: Egg
Shell Trees National
Tropical Botanical
Garden, Allerton Garden, 4425 Lawai Road, Koloa, Kauai, HI
See
the "Dilophosaurus
Paddock" entry for more information about the location of this one. It
is in the same botanical garden, Allerton Garden at the National
Tropical Botanical Garden in Kauai (http://ntbg.org/tours/kauai-south/). The
guided tour stops directly
at these trees and depending on your tour guide, they should tell you
where the exact spot Grant found the egg shells is.
Just in case
though, there are 3 three fig trees and the correct location is in the
middle tree, on a little cupped off area of roots that points to the
walking path.
When you see it, you will know. As mentioned before, you are standing
in the Dilophosaurus paddock and if you look across the stream, you can
see the road that the Explorers went down. Gallimimus
Stampede Tree Kaaawa
Valley, Kualoa Ranch,
Kaaawa, Oahu, HI
Because
of hurricane Iniki,
filming for the Gallimimus scene had to be done on the neighboring
island of Oahu. Filming was done at Kualoa Ranch (http://www.kualoa.com)
on the East side of
the island.
You can take tours here and they still have the original
driftwood log that Grant, Tim and Lex hid behind, complete with a small
Jurassic Park logo sign indicating that it is the one from the movie.
It is right beside a walking path now and very easy to get to. Emergency
Bunker Exterior Valley
House Plantation
Estate, 6191 Hauaala Road, Kealia, Kauai, HI
The
emergency bunker location
that Ellie and Muldoon come out of on their way to the maintenance shed
is on the east side of the pond that is directly in front of where the
visitor center was, which is also where Ellie runs up and leaps into
Grant's arms after escaping the raptor in the maintenance shed.
Once
again, this is private property and gaining access here is next to
impossible. The interior shots were filmed on an unknown sound stage in
Universal Studios, Hollywood, CA. Electric
Fence Climb Olokele
Canyon, Kauai, HI
Trivia:
This is actually the
first scene shot for the movie. The
giant electric fence that
Grant, Tim and Lex climb was erected far into the canyons of Olokele
Valley in Kauai.
There is no way to reach this location by foot.
Luckily, like the landing pad waterfall, there is one helicopter
company that will land you there and that is Safari Helicopters
(http://www.safarihelicopters.com/).
They land you at the exact spot
the fence was put up, overlooking the canyon.
In the movie the
characters clothes are all dirty and reddish brown and that is because
the dirt here is very clay-like and almost red in color and will stain
things, so be careful! Maintenance
Shed Exterior National
Tropical Botanical
Garden, Allerton Garden, 4425 Lawai Road, Koloa, Kauai, HI
See
the previous Allerton
Garden notes for instructions on getting to the gardens. When you are
on the walking tour, just before you get to the "egg shell" fig trees,
you will stop at a little water feature in the form of a "pulsating"
pool of sorts (hard to describe). Just on the other side of the trees
is where the maintenance shed exterior was constructed and where the
path leading to it that Ellie ran down is.
The tour does not go here
and will walk quickly past it to get to the fig trees just down the
path, so get your pics as quick as possible. Maintenance
Shed Interior Stage
23, Universal Studios,
Hollywood, CA
The
interior shots of the
Maintenance shed were filmed at stage 23 in Universal Studios,
Hollywood, CA. (Picture
from
thestudiotour.com, please see here) The
studio tram tour takes you
past this building. This
map shows the tram route: "Clever
Girl" Hunt Stage
27, Universal Studios,
Hollywood, CA
Muldoon's
hunt for the "clever
girl" Velociraptor was scene was filmed at stage 27 in Universal
Studios, Hollywood, CA. (Picture
from
thestudiotour.com, please see here) This
same set was used for the
Dilophosaurus
attack, the Explorer in the tree and the Brachiosaurus visit. The
studio tram tour takes you past this building. This
map shows the tram route: Grant
& Ellie Reunite Valley
House Plantation
Estate, 6191 Hauaala Road, Kealia, Kauai, HI
Just
next to the spot where
the emergency bunker exterior was constructed on the Valley House
Plantation Estate grounds, near the pond, is a small hill that Ellie
climbs up runs to Grant where they then embrace after seeing each other
for the first time since the Triceratops scene. Velociraptor
Kitchen Attack Stage
24, Universal Studios,
Hollywood, CA
The
scene with kids being
stalked by the raptors in the kitchen was filmed at stage 24 in
Universal Studios, Hollywood, CA. (Picture
from
thestudiotour.com, please see here) The
studio tram tour takes you
past
this building. This
map shows the tram route:
