I was 6, going on 7, the first time I saw Stand by Me. I was 34, going on 35, the first time I visited the Stand by Me filming locations.



Vivid memories from my first viewing of Stand By Me are still with me. In particular, the Stand by Me puke scene where lard ass throws up. That scene startled me so bad that I jumped from the floor to the couch and into my mom's arms.

As I grew up, with every viewing, there would be more and more dialog that I would catch and understand. There are a few movies similar to Stand by Me, but for me, none compare. So, since I was driving through Oregon and California with my family recently, I had to look at a few.

Stand by Me was filmed in several parts of Oregon and California.

• Brownsville, Oregon
  
• Cottage Grove, Oregon
  
• Eugene, Oregon
  
• Franklin, Oregon
  
• Veneta, Oregon
  
• Junction City, Oregon
  

• Burney, California
• McCloud, California
• Yreka, California (unable to confirm)
• Pasadena, California

Brownsville, Oregon served as Castle Rock Oregon in the movie Stand by Me.

When old Gordie (Richard Dryfus) first flashes back in the story, we see young Gordie at a store. After he purchases the magazine, he exits into Downtown Castle Rock at 419 N. Main St. Brownsville, OR. 97327. This is also where Ace and Gordie have their confrontation after Ace steals the hat that Gordie's brother Denny gave him.

I walked around the corner to get a better look at the building in the background. A man was smoking a cigarette outside his house. I asked him where a specific location was, the shot immediately after the image above. He looked at the picture below that I had on my phone.

He said he wasn't sure, but pointed to his right and said, "That's where the gunshot happened." As a result, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up. The scene he spoke of was when Gordie accidentally fires the gun that Chris "hawked from his old man." I could see it from where I was standing.

If you walk in the same direction that Gordie does in the movie, you'll run right into this street. So, you can actually walk in Gordie's footsteps, if you want.

One of the most memorable scenes in the film is when Gordie fires the gun in the alley behind Blue Point Diner. The location is just around the corner from where he emerges from the store. Who could forget their faces when that gun when off!

We jumped in the car and drove a short 2 minutes to Gordie Lachance's house. There was a group of people working in the front yard outside across the street. I pointed at the home and asked if they knew if anybody lived there. They said yes and that the owner was working out on the other side of the house.

In my fantasy world, Wil Wheaton himself owned the house. So, I worked up the courage to go to the front door and knock to see if Wil Wheaton was there! I've never spoken or written about it until just now.

A man came to the door, and I peeked behind him to check for Wil Wheaton before I said, "I'm a Stand by Me fan, and I was hoping I could take a picture of the back." "Sure, of course," he said. We walked around the house. He pointed to a spot in front of us and then towards a parked truck. "That's where the flower bed was and over by my truck is probably where the camera was."

I walked towards the truck and turned around. "That second window over there is where Gordie was sticking his head out. I've done some work up there since the movie came out," he said as I snapped a couple of pictures.

I thanked him for letting me take a few pictures, and as we walked back towards the street, I think I thanked him another 20 times. "Did you get the $5," I heard someone yell from across the street. We laughed, and I hurried back to the car to drive another 3 minutes up the road to Stand by Me bad boy Ace Merrill's house.

The property looks a lot different from the movie, yet I could tell by the top of the house that this was indeed Ace Merrill's place.

The first gentleman I spoke to warned me that the Treehouse was on private property. We drove near the area to see if we could get a glimpse, but we began to see "No Trespassing" signs, and I didn't want to push my luck.

Before we left, I took a picture of the bridge that the boys cross at the end of their journey. This was actually the first thing I saw as we drove into the town, and I have to admit, I got teary-eyed.

This is also the bridge where Vern's brother Billy tells Eyeball Chambers to "Swear on your mother's good name that you won't tell anyone." Right before telling Eyeball, he knows where the body of Ray Brower is located.

My favorite character from Stand by Me is Vern. As he takes his exit to return home, he finds a penny as he's crossing the street. "Hey, look, a penny," he says. The city of Brownsville actually embedded a penny in the road to celebrate the movie's 30th anniversary.

Don't be like me, folks! I didn't do my research before visiting Brownsville. As a result, I missed some important landmarks, like the embedded penny! After my visit, I saw that the city has walking tour maps that you can download on the Brownsville website. Due to my mistake, I also missed Pioneer Park, where the Pie Eating Contest was held. Even Gordie and Chris say goodbye to Teddy at the end of their adventure! It was right behind me when I was taking the picture above.

I wasn't able to find any information on the filming locations in Eugene, Oregon. Therefore, I skipped Eugene. They do exist, though, and stories have been told.

I decided to skip the Castle Rock Salvage too because I was scared of running into Chopper. Besides, based on other pictures I saw online, it didn't look the same to me. So we continued driving to Cottage Grove, Oregon.

If you drive 45 minutes south from Brownsville, Oregon on I-5, you'll find yourself in Cottage Grove, Oregon. You can see the first bridge the boys cross as they begin their journey, the location where Teddy dodges the train, and a few others.

The bridge where Gordie, Chris, Teddy, and Vern start their journey is pretty easy to find. A few websites have this location listed in many different places, but take my word for it, if you use my area above, it'll lead you right to it. This address will lead you to a parking lot, park here. Get out of your car and walk up the path. You will see the route and the bridge from the parking lot. You can actually cross the bridge, which crosses a river.

I snapped a few pictures of the bridge from afar to give you an idea of what it looks like. I convinced my loving wife (who allowed me to take this journey on Mother's Day) and my daughter to memorialize this scene with me the best possible.

Once again (sigh), I did not do my research, and, consequently, I missed some more locations! It turns out that there were a few scenes that were filmed in Cottage Grove, and apparently you can get to them quickly. There are lots of train tracks out there, so it's no wonder. What am I supposed to do, think of everything? I brought the comb!

California Filming Locations - Stand by Me 1986

A few websites report that Yreka in Northern California is a filming location. I'm here to tell you that I am not sure. I asked a few locals and called the Yreka museum to ask, but they all said they didn't know. We moved on because I had bigger fish to fry. I had a date with another Stand by Me Bridge.

This is another one of those locations that I missed. Stand by me Water Tower is located in McCloud, CA. There is no address, just an area that doesn't look too hard to get to. That being said, I do not know the condition of the water stop/water station. Yes, that is the actual name of a water tower for trains, and I've written them for the Foamers out there reading this and yelling at the screen, "That's not the proper name!" Click here for a map of the Stand by Me Water Tower location.

The video below was posted by the Brownsville Chamber of Commerce concerning the Stand by Me Water Tower.

The end of our journey brought us to a most unique location at Eagle Mountain Ln in Burney, CA, near Lake Britton. Who else's heart was about to burst the first time you saw Gordie and Vern outrun the train!?

The trestle bridge is probably the most challenging location to get to, therefore the most pleasing find. Quick warning: You do have to do some brief off-roading to get to the bridge. I made it in my 2014 Honda CRV with a trailer hitch attached, so it's not too bad.

I did not visit this location because this location is not even visible from the street. At the end of the movie, we see Richard Dryfus portraying Gordie Lachance as an Adult again. His kids are begging him to take them to a previously agreed upon location. He has just finished writing his story, and that's where the movie ends.

I kept it family-friendly and restricted myself to 10 Famous Quotes.