Who doesn’t love a good road trip? Getting packed into the family car, hours of sitting, wondering how far it is to the next rest area, and bored groans of “are we there yet?” While these clichés of this great American pastime will likely never go away, and despite these clichés, road trips and family excursions are often memorable. It’s the opportunity to visit interesting places and to see unexpected things along the way. Sometimes, however, we need a little inspiration. And what’s a better place to look for inspiration than popular culture? I’m talking movies! We all see those interesting and varied locations, but what makes them even better is that there are many places anyone can visit.
- Badlands National Park Wolfgang Staudt / Amazing Photos / CC BY
Where do you start? Well, honestly, wherever you want. For the sake of this list were going to start in the central U.S. with:
Badlands National Park
The Badlands feature some of the most unique and stark terrain in the U.S. Some of it is downright bleak, yet simultaneously fascinating. The Badlands, along with many other parts of South Dakota, served as the backdrop to the 1990 Kevin Costner-directed epic Dances with Wolves. TI’s a very introspective location, a place just to sit and take it all in and marvel at the wonder of the natural world.
Now we’re off to:
Mount Rushmore National Monument
Not far from the Badlands, most people know exactly what film uses the Mount Rushmore iconography: North by Northwest, Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 classic. The monument of carved and blasted granite depicting the faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln, was “completed” in 1941, when funding ran dry.
Next up:
Devils Tower National Monument
Again, Devils Tower is a relatively short drive from Mount Rushmore, situated in ancient hills of northeastern Wyoming. Devils Tower, the first national monument thanks to President Theodore Roosevelt, is often overlooked, largely due to its out of the way location. Of course, thanks to the 1977 Steven Spielberg sci-fi tale, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, it’s been cemented in pop culture history and a must visit for all film-lovers.
While those last three locations were situated fairly close to one another, our next destination takes us to the Pacific Northwest:
Astoria, Oregon
Astoria has a long and storied relationship with Hollywood productions. It serves as the backdrop to a few classics. The most popular example? The Goonies! The 1985 Richard Donner film makes excellent use of Astoria’s neighborhoods and surrounding costal area.
After visiting Astoria, we head south to California to:
Redwood National and State Parks
This one’s easy, yub nub. Everyone knows what 1983 film made use of the majestic redwoods of this northern California park. Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. Redwood National Park stood in for the forest moon of Endor, populated by the short, but stout Ewok, where they assisted the Rebel Alliance in defeating the occupying Imperial ground troops in order to deactivate the shield surrounding the Death Star.
And we’re done! For now… I know, you’re thinking there are so many other places that could have appeared on this list, and you’re absolutely right. Honestly, there are so many more wondrous places, they don’t all deserve to be stuffed into one list. These represent some of the most memorable for the scenes the various filmmakers were able to conjure to capture our imaginations.
