Certainly, plenty of famous TV shows and movies have filmed in established destinations. But to add a unique flash to your next family vacation and help kids better connect with a destination consider exploring the locations from one of their favorite movies or TV shows. Here are five spots with rich Hollywood connections that kids and teens will love.
Light, Camera, Vacation
“The Hunger Games”: North Carolina
To walk in the shoes of the warriors in “The Hunger Games,” you’ll have to do a little hiking in the lushly treed area between Asheville and Charlotte. At the 10,400-acre Dupont State Forest, you can see where Katniss gets thwarted by a forest fire, and where the wounded Peeta is discovered at Triple Falls. You can also check out the site where the survival games happened, along edge of the North Fork Reservoir.
“Walking Dead”: Atlanta environs
You can’t tour the studio where much of the series films, but a number of Georgia towns are making the most of their undead connections. About 35 miles south of Atlanta, the town of Senoia doubles as the town of Woodbury, while Haralson (which also has its share of Civil War history), five miles further south, features the local Cotton Gin Complex that stands in as the Esco Feed Mill on the show. Meanwhile, 24 miles west of Senoia, in Grantville, there’s a zombie-phile gift shop, and the mayor of the town gives free walking tours on weekends.
The Twilight Series: Forks, WA
This Olympic Peninsula town, 140 miles west of Seattle, boasts of being the rainiest place in America. Perhaps that’s what makes it an ideal spot for solar-phobic vampires to thrive. The hometown of the “Twilight” books and movies makes it easy for fans to explore by detailing locations on the local tourism website.
The Amazing Race,” “Pirates of the Caribbean”: Kauai
Hollywood meets paradise in Kauai, and the Hawaiian tourist board website proudly lists all of its TV and movie connections: The Napali Coast claims scenes of “Pirates of the Caribbean”; and Wailua Falls has been the site for “The Amazing Race.
“Gossip Girl”: New York City
One tour by On Location ($42 per person) takes you on a close-up look of the Van de Woodsens’ stomping grounds on the Upper East Side, including the Nightingale-Bamford School, the alma mater of “Gossip Girl” author Cecily von Ziegesar.