Filmed in Oregon: Willamette Valley on the Silver Screen

Set in the fictional town of Castle Rock, Stand By Me was filmed in 1985 in Brownsville, OR. Stand By Me is a coming-of-age story of four young men who set off together on an overnight adventure.

Today, Main Street still looks much as it did when the movie was filmed there 40 years ago. You can find Oregon Film Trail placards around town that highlight key locations from the film. On the fourth Saturday of every July, Brownsville hosts its annual Stand By Me Day, complete with pie sales, games, and a classic car show.

Filmed in 2016 in Eugene and relying heavily on the University of Oregon campus, Tracktown is a small indie film written, directed, and produced by Jeremy Teicher and Alexi Pappas, who also stars in the film. The coming-of-age sports film tells the story of an Olympic distance runner forced to rest between Olympic trials due to an injury. Her days off prompt her to question and re-evaluate her life goals. 

The University of Oregon's Hayward Field figures prominently in the film. Pappas, a U of O student, invited other Oregon runners to play the parts of other distance runners trying out for the United States Olympic team. Learn more about Eugene's legacy as Track Town U.S.A. and its storied history as a track-and-field hotspot. Afterward, explore outdoor adventures around Eugene.

Silver Falls State Park was host to the film crew and stunt doubles for several scenes in The Twilight Saga between 2008-2012. Based on the popular book series by Stephenie Meyer, The Twilight Saga tells the story of Bella Swan, an ordinary human, who falls in love with vampire Edward Cullen.

The park, roughly 20 miles east of Salem and near Silverton, was the location for scenes of Bella and Edward flying through the trees and a scene where Edward catches a deer. An Oregon Film Trail marker is at the Howard Creek Trailhead parking area near the campground. Other attractions at the park include dozens of miles of hiking and mountain biking trails, including the Trail of Ten Falls, and overnight stays at Smith Creek Village.

National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) is credited with defining and launching the gross-out film genre.

Set in the fictional Faber College, Animal House was filmed at actual University of Oregon fraternity houses in Eugene. Interior scenes were filmed at the Phi Kappa Psi house and the Sigma Nu house on East 11th Avenue. After being turned down by numerous colleges across the country, Animal House producers found a friend in William Beaty Boyd, the then president of the University of Oregon, who agreed to allow filming on campus. The film's parade scene was filmed in Cottage Grove, just south of Eugene. Check out day trips around Eugene for more fun in the area.

Filmed partly at the Oregon State Hospital in Salem, the Academy Award-winning One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) stars Jack Nicholson as Randle McMurphy. Sentenced to serve time on a prison farm following an assault charge, McMurphy is transferred to the mental institution despite having no mental illness.

Filming took place at the Oregon State Hospital. Actors spent time at the hospital prior to filming, and residents and staff worked as extras in the film. Today, the Oregon State Hospital Museum of Mental Health welcomes visitors with film artifacts and exhibits on the hospital's history. While you're in the area, check out our guide to spending a long weekend in Salem.

Despite its name, Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940) was filmed in Eugene. It tells the story of Lincoln's life before he became president. Moving from New Salem, Illinois, to Springfield, Abe Lincoln is pulled into politics thanks to his down-to-earth character and likability.

Adapted from the play of the same name, the movie, like the play, stars Raymond Massey as Lincoln. Massey received an Oscar nomination for his performance in the movie.

Filmed in Eugene by University of Oregon students with the help of Cecil B DeMille, Ed's Coed is a silent film that offers a wonderful glimpse of university life in the 1920s, with the University of Oregon serving as a the backdrop for many of the movie's scenes. An original music soundtrack was composed for the film in 2012 by Professor Brian McWhorter of the UO School of Music and Dance.

Through the generosity of the University of Oregon's Knight Library, Ed's Coed is available free on YouTube.

The 1926 silent film The General was shot in and around Cottage Grove, which stands in for Georgia in the film. It stars Buster Keaton as an engineer who must retrieve his train after it's stolen during the Civil War. The General received mixed reviews upon release but subsequently gained a foothold with critics and audiences over the following decades, thanks to a groundbreaking blend of physical comedy and daring action sequences; eventually, it was added to the American Film Institute's list of the 100 Greatest American Films Of All Time.

Today, a mural of Buster Keaton from the film is one of several murals in downtown Cottage Grove.

Oregon Film, the OregonMade Creative Foundation, Travel Oregon, Oregon Coast Visitors Association, and the Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce are working together to establish the Oregon Film Trail, a statewide network of trail markers that highlight filming locations across Oregon. 

The first film location trail marker was installed in 2018 at Gleneden Beach State Park. It celebrates the 1971 production of Sometimes a Great Notion, which was filmed on beaches nearby and at a house on the Siletz River only a few miles away.

A handy film trail map is available to help you plan your Oregon Film Trail road trip.