Twilight Movie Road Trip – Quest for Filming Locations in the Northwest

My daughter’s 13th birthday was marked by a “Twilight Movie Road Trip” that was all about finding Twilight movie filming locations. It was so much fun that even my husband had a good time, but don’t let that get out.  I’ve received a lot of questions about our itinerary, so here it is.  Have fun!

Originally posted 2014, locations updated September 2024 for the Twilight Movie Road Trip Guide To Filming Locations eBook. 

Twilight movie filming locations Day 1: Port Angeles, Bella’s house and the exterior School of Dance and Forks High School

We left the Seattle-area Friday afternoon, our first stop was Bella’s house located in St. Helens, Oregon, about 2 hours 45 minutes from Seattle and 40 minutes from Portland. In addition to Bella’s house, the “Port Angeles” scenes were filmed here, which included “Petite Jolie,” the shop where Bella helps Jessica and Angela find their prom dresses, the parking lot where Edward rescued Bella from a group of boys, the Bloated Toad restaurant where Edward revealed his mind-reading abilities, and Thunderbird & Whale bookstore.

As we turned the corner toward Bella’s house, we strained to look up the road, not knowing what to expect. We drove past the house and turned around at the end of the road, then snapped a few photos drive-by style, never getting out of our car. It looked just like it did in the movie, with the exception of a friendly note on the tree in front of the house, reminding us that it is a private residence, not to peek in windows. Visiting a film location like this is a lot different than visiting a studio set; people actually live here, which kind of made us feel like the paparazzi. At first this made us all a little uneasy, but honestly it didn’t take long for us to all really get in to it.

After seeing the Twilight sites in St. Helens, Oregon we retraced our path up to the Lewis and Clark Bridge and crossed back into Washington. Bridges across the Columbia are few and far between, and after doing some research I found that is was indeed faster to double back 30-ish minutes to cross the Columbia River the same way we came to continue to Portland. An added bonus, Kalama High School, used for the outside scenes of Forks High School, was an easy stop right on the way.

With the sun beginning to set, we headed into Portland for our final stop of the day, the site of Mimi’s School of Dance. The scene in Twilight with the final confrontation between Edward and James takes place at the ballet studio from Bella’s childhood.

A few short minutes later we pulled up the Portland Hotel Monaco, our accommodations for the night. The Hotel Monaco is a luxury hotel with a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor.  The Monaco is kid-friendly, pet-friendly, and located in the center of Downtown Portland. We found out that the cast of “Twilight” stayed there during the filming of the movie.

Twilight movie filming locations Day 2: Café, prom and Cullen’s house

After a restful night of sleep and a relaxing morning, we were back on the road to our next stop: the Carver Café, where Bella and her dad ate dinner a couple of times. It looked exactly like it did in the movie, but don’t expect to order Charlie’s favorites, those items aren’t on the menu.

Back on the road, we were headed to the View Point Inn, the scene of Bella and Edward’s prom. Unfortunately the View Point Inn had a fire last year, but the stunning views of the Columbia Gorge remain.

After exploring the View Point Inn and some of the Columbia Scenic Highway, we made our way back to Portland to see the Cullen’s house, home to Edward and his vampire family. Driving through the idyllic hillside neighborhood consisting primarily of Craftsman and Old Portland-style homes, the Cullen’s house was a stark contrast with its sleek, modern design. There is a family that lives here, they welcome Twilight fans to take photos, but ask that you stay at the end of their drive way.

Now mid-afternoon, we had enjoyed seeing the sites, but were ready to head to the last destination on our list, and one of our favorite places to visit: Cannon Beach. Located an hour and a half from Portland, Canon Beach is beautiful, relaxing and a welcome way to wrap up our Twilight Road Trip. We pulled up next to the lovely Ocean Lodge at Cannon Beach where we were staying and soaked in the fresh salt air, warm sunshine and incredible views.

Twilight movie filming locations Day 3: La Push surfing and beach scene

Another surprise when doing my research for our “Twilight” movie filming locations road trip – the La Push beach scenes were actually filmed over 200 miles away at Indian Beach just north of Cannon Beach.

After a late lunch and a little shopping in Cannon Beach, we stopped by Bruce’s Candy Shop for road trip sustenance – our family tradition. Then we headed back home, full of conversation for a memorable 13th road trip birthday finding Twilight movie filming locations.

Disclaimer: Hotel Monaco Portland and Ocean Lodge at Cannon Beach provided accommodations for our hotel review. The opinions and experiences are my own.