Visiting the Twin Peaks Filming Locations [11/18]

The TV show "Twin Peaks" has been an obsession of mine for over ten years. It was a mystery show that ran for two seasons on ABC in the 1990s, had a feature film after that and after 25 years was brought back for a third season on Showtime in 2017. But it's so much more then a TV show and it's so much more then just a mystery. Twin Peaks has had a cult following pretty much since the day the pilot episode aired. During our road trip in the Pacific Northwest we also had a chance to visit North Bend and Snoqualmie in Washington State where most of the original locations from the show can be visited. In this post I will try to show the most special locations from the show, but also make it an interesting road trip for those of you who haven't seen the show. Each location is shown with a map and I also tried to include the location as shown in the series.

This is only a part of our travel series to the Pacific Northwest

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Welcome to Twin Peaks sign

In the original run of the show the main title sequence featured the "Welcome to Twin Peaks" sign. This is the road, the main character Dale Cooper uses to get into town. On google maps the location is shown as being "closed", which is not true. The road is open, just the big sign is missing, which is a real shame. I loved this spot from which you can gleam upwards towards the mountains, which were covered with a light sprinkling of snow. This place is very serene, as the Snoqualmie river flows quietly next to it. 

Twin Peaks Sherrif's Station

The Twin Peaks Sherrif's Station is actually a building used by the company DirtFish. They organize car rallies. But this location features three things Twin Peaks fans will enjoy. First up is the exterior of the main building. The colors are a bit different then in the show, but pretty much everything is the same.

The second thing is the Old Twin Peaks Mill, which is just across the parking lot of DirtFish. They do advise not to go into the valley, as race cars can speed up and it can be dangerous. But you can see it all from up there.

Third is the Twin Peaks Sherrif's car, used in the show. One car was left there and you can take  pictures of it, come up and look inside. The original logo is on the car. For true fans, who want to know more: it's a Ford Bronco.

What's really cool about this location is that Dirtfish lets you enter, walk around and take pictures. They feature a gift shop, but no Twin Peaks memorabilia can be found there. Fans of the show will notice that the rooms are pretty much the same, except the part where the gift shop is. That section is closed off in the show, now it's all open.

The Great Northern Hotel

The Great Northern Hotel as featured in Twin Peaks is actually the Salish Lodge and Spa resort. It's located right on the majestic Snoqualmie Falls. This location will be interesting for everybody, not only Twin Peaks fans. Tip: When you arrive at the hotel, take the parking on the right, it's free. The one next to the hotel and park is payed parking. There are two observation decks from which you can admire the waterfalls. They are truly impressive and the surroundings are heavenly. I would have loved to spend the night there (though it's a bit pricey).

Double R Diner in Twin Peaks

This is truly the heaven for Twin Peaks fans: the Double R Diner. A location which is afunctioning place, where you can eat the famous cherry pie and drink a cup of black coffee, where you can feel the spirit of the show, sit in the booths and touch the walls and tables. It's actually called Twede's Cafe. The pie is very delicious. Coffee is great too. I wasn't that fond of the savory food to be completely honest and the prices are a bit steep for diner food, which of course is to be expected from such a high profile location. They do sell Twin Peaks memorabilia here, but again, the prices were so high that I didn't buy anything. 20$ for a coffee cup? No thank you. :) All of that aside it's probably the best location, the walls are filled with Twin Peaks stuff, from signed pictures of the cast to rare trading cards from the 90s.

The Palmer House

This location is not in North Bend or Snoqualmie, but rather in Everett, which is a city further north towards the Canadian border. But we didn't mind driving up to a strangers house. Well, stranger not so much, since the real owner of the  house was featured in the last five minutes of the last episode of Season 3. And without giving too much away, true Twin Peaks fans will get a chuckle out of the name on the license plate. :) Of course I didn't roam in front of someones house and we were very respectful. I did feel like a private investigator though, since there was no one on the street and I was taking pictures of the houses. Twin Peaks revolves (in the beginning) about the murder of a young girl named Laura Palmer, and this was the house she lived in. The house was featured prominently in the show (all seasons) as well as in the feature film "Fire Walk with Me".

Ronette's Bridge

Back in North Bend, we visited the old railroad bridge called Reining Bridge. Nowadays the old railroad doesn't traverse over it any longer, but the bridge is still there and leads into the forest, where you can take a hike. Parking is right next to the bridge (on the side of the road). I will not show the somewhat bloody image from the show that goes alongside of this, but you can imagine a sole survivor of a brutal attack emerging from the forest and crossing the bridge just as the day begins. Again, it's a very serene place in nature, you will want to explore further.

The Big Log

The last location I want to show you is the Big Log in Snoqualmie. I will explore this town further in my next post since it's very picturesque, but for now I will share this shot of the huge log in the center of town. It's the Snoqualmie Centennial Log and is featured in the show briefly in the opening titles. But Twin Peaks is known for many logs, from the one Laura Palmer's body was discovered next to, to the small log carried by the Log Lady. It's a location interesting even for non Twin Peaks fans.

Thank you so much for coming along. I hope that this post will serve as a guide to Twin Peaks fans as they make their own journey into the Pacific Northwest.

End of Part Eleven

To be continued...

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