Portland, Oregon
Twilight Filming Locations

When director Catherine Hardwicke needed locations for the first Twilight film in 2008, the production scouted extensively across the Pacific Northwest before settling on Oregon as the primary filming base. The entire Pacific Northwest — Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia — would define the visual identity of the saga, but Portland and the surrounding Oregon towns carry a disproportionate share of the iconic imagery that fans remember.

Here is the complete guide to every Portland-area and Oregon Twilight filming location, what was filmed where, and how to visit them.

Oregon Twilight Locations at a Glance

1. The Cullen House — Hoke Road, Portland West Hills

The most iconic location in all of Oregon Twilight filming is the private modernist residence on Hoke Road in the West Hills of Portland, used as the Cullen family home in the first film. The house — designed by Portland architect Robert Harvey Oshatz — is a breathtaking piece of Pacific Northwest modernist architecture: glass walls, steel cantilevers, and natural wood, perched dramatically on a forested hillside with trees pressing against every window.

The Cullen house interiors and exteriors in the first film were shot here. The grand piano, Dr. Cullen's study, the dining room where the Cullen family stands frozen when Bella enters — all filmed in this Portland home. It was the perfect production design choice because the house didn't need to be dressed as the Cullen residence; it already looked like one.

Important: This is a private residence on a private road. Do not attempt to visit or access the property. Fan tour operators have historically offered driving routes through the West Hills area — search for current Portland Twilight tours if you want a guided experience.

2. St. Helens — Bella's Swan House & More

St. Helens, Oregon — a small historic river town about 30 miles northwest of Portland along the Columbia — served as the filming stand-in for multiple Forks locations. The town's historic riverfront, 1st Street alleyway, and surrounding residential areas were used for the Port Angeles alley scene (where Edward saves Bella), the bookstore exterior, and several other street-level shots.

Most significantly, Bella Swan's house — the home where she lives with Charlie, where Edward stands in the garden, and where so many key story moments take place — was a real residential property in St. Helens. The house is still standing on a quiet residential street. It is privately owned and not officially open to visitors, but it sits on a public road and is easily viewed from the street. St. Helens locals are generally accustomed to Twilight visitors.

3. The Carver Cafe — Carver, Oregon

The classic diner scenes set in Forks were filmed at the Carver Cafe, a real working diner in the small community of Carver in Clackamas County, southeast of Portland along the Clackamas River. The cafe featured in several scenes as the local diner where Forks residents gather — the kind of place Charlie Swan would eat regularly.

Unlike the Swan house and Cullen house, the Carver Cafe is a real, open, visitable restaurant. It serves classic American diner food and has fully embraced its Twilight heritage — there is Twilight memorabilia on the walls and the owners are welcoming to fans. This is the single most accessible Twilight filming location in the Portland area.

4. The Baseball Clearing — Near Vernonia, Oregon

One of the most visually stunning sequences in the first film — the Cullen family baseball game in the thunderstorm — was filmed in a large open field near Vernonia, Oregon, a small logging town in Columbia County about 45 miles northwest of Portland. The location was chosen for its dramatic juxtaposition: a wide open clearing completely surrounded by dense Pacific Northwest forest, with mountains visible in the distance, giving the scene the sense of a secret wilderness arena.

The field itself is in a rural area without public access infrastructure. However, the Vernonia area is a beautiful part of Oregon's Coast Range foothills and worth visiting for the scenery and the nearby Banks-Vernonia State Trail, a 21-mile recreational trail through the forest.

5. Silver Falls State Park — Forest Scenes

Silver Falls State Park, Oregon's largest state park, served as a location for several forest scenes requiring the ancient, dense old-growth temperate rainforest look that the Twilight books established as the defining landscape of Forks and its surroundings. The park, located about 60 miles south of Portland, contains some of the most spectacular old-growth Douglas fir and bigleaf maple forest in the Pacific Northwest — exactly the kind of forest that Edward runs through, that Bella wanders into, and that gives the Twilight world its deep, primeval atmosphere.

Planning a Portland Twilight Trip

Portland makes an excellent base for a multi-day Oregon Twilight filming tour. All of the Oregon locations are within a two-hour drive of the city center, and Portland itself is a highly walkable, hotel-rich city with easy access to Sea-Tac (Seattle) and PDX (Portland) airports.

• Day 1: Portland — explore the city, drive through the West Hills to see the Cullen house neighbourhood
• Day 2: St. Helens day trip — Swan house, 1st Street riverfront, Columbia River views (30 min from Portland)
• Day 3: Carver Cafe breakfast, then drive to Vernonia for the baseball clearing area and Columbia County forest roads
• Day 4: Silver Falls State Park — full day hiking the Trail of Ten Falls through old-growth forest

Where to Stay in Portland

We've already gone through the options so you don't have to spend an evening comparing hotels — here are six picks that actually make sense for a Portland Twilight trip, sorted by what they're best for.

Portland vs. Washington: What Was Filmed Where?

Many fans are surprised to learn that the story of Twilight — set entirely in Forks, Washington — was filmed almost entirely in Oregon and British Columbia. Here is a simple breakdown:

Beyond the Film Sites — Portland's Own Character

Portland is worth a visit independent of its Twilight connection. The city's West Hills — where the Cullen house is tucked among the trees — are known for dense forest canopy, dramatic elevation, and some of the most striking modernist residential architecture in the Pacific Northwest, which is exactly why location scouts picked the area in the first place.

Pair your trip: Portland's food scene, Powell's City of Books (the largest independent bookstore in the world), and Forest Park's hiking trails make excellent additions to a filming-locations day, especially if you're basing yourself in the city for a night or two.

Frequently Asked Questions