The Ultimate Guide to Stranger Things Filming Locations
To say we’re huge fans of Stranger Things would be an understatement, so when I found out that Stranger Things: The Experience was coming to Atlanta, I knew we had to go. Most of the series is filmed in the Atlanta area, so we decided to visit as many of the Stranger Things filming locations as we could pack into a quick weekend trip.
I don’t want to give away too many details about Stranger Things: The Experience as to not ruin it for those who haven’t been yet, but it’s super cool! It’s an all immersive experience that places you in a Stranger Things episode. The setting is the Hawkins National Laboratory and you’re there to participate in a sleep study. Your favorite Stranger Things characters are there virtually via a video feed. They help you escape the lab and things get intense thanks to 3D special effects.
What I will share lots of details about is our visits to multiple Stranger Things filming locations! Who’s ready for a trip to Hawkins?!?!?
The Creel House
Our first stop was the infamous Creel House! I swear “Running up that Hill” was playing on Bluetooth at the exact moment the house came into view. The house is absolutely magnificent in person! Located about 70 miles northwest of Atlanta at 906 E. 2nd Avenue in Rome, GA, the 140 year old mansion built in 1882 is currently on the market for $1.5MM.
A full renovation was done on the house following filming which included a new paint color. We took photos on the same steps where the famous cast picture was taken.
Hopper’s Cabin
Then we were back on the road heading to Hopper’s cabin. The cabin in on private property at Sleepy Hollow Farm located at 628 Sleepy Hollow Road in Powder Springs, GA. The farm was also the site of the rotten pumpkin patch from season 2. We stumbled upon an actual sign used in the show (as well as a few rotten pumpkins) when we got off track trying to locate the cabin.
You have to call ahead and make a reservation to tour the cabin. The $20 guided tour includes seeing the outside and inside of the cabin. We met our guide at Hopper’s Hangout and walked to the cabin set back in the woods. Although the cabin looks like it’s 100+ years old, it was built for the show and weathered to look much older.
Most of the interior scenes were filmed on set, but the inside looks almost exactly like it does on the show. Only the scene from the season 4 where they’re cleaning the cabin for Hopper’s return was filmed on location. But they’ve decorated the cabin so well that you’d never know all the scenes weren’t filmed there! There’s a deer head on the wall, a hodge podge of vintage furniture and a two-seater table in the kitchen. We even found a box of Eggos in the retro fridge, and a small red lamp with a picture of Mike next to it in El’s room.
The Palace Arcade & Family Video
Our next stop was The Palace Arcade and Family Video. They are located next to each other at 6501 Church Street in Douglasville, GA. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the same 80s vibe that it did on the show. The signage is gone and the paint is peeling off the front of the building but it’s still recognizable if you use your imagination!
There’s a good place for a photo op around the right side of the building where the arcade’s trademark purple and orange lightening bolt is still intact.
You can still see the blue ceiling tiles and checkerboard floor inside but we couldn’t try to beat Max’s score on Dig Dug as all the video games are gone….
Here’s Sophie in the very spot where Will wandered out of the arcade in a trance when he saw the Mind Flayer looming in the distance.
Benny’s Burgers
Next we headed to Benny’s Burgers. This is the restaurant where Eleven goes for a hamburger after escaping from the lab. It also serves as the Tiger’s Lair hangout for the basketball team in season 4. These scenes were filmed on location at Tiffany’s Kitchen located at 7413 Lee Road in Lithia Springs, GA.
Mike’s, Lucas’s & Dustin’s Houses
Then we headed to Mike’s, Lucas’s and Dustin’s houses which are in a residential neighborhood in East Point. We almost didn’t stop here after being warned by an Atlanta native to stay far away from East Point due to the dangerously high crime rate, but the lure of seeing Mike’s house was just too great! So we decided to take our chances but be very aware of our surroundings.
Coming from west Atlanta, we didn’t even have to pass through downtown East Point to get to the boy’s houses. The neighborhood was nice, quiet and felt very safe. Mike’s house is at the end of a cul du sac, and looks exactly like it does in the show. I almost expected to see the boys riding down the driveway on their bikes!
Lucas’s house is two doors down from Mike’s at 2550 Piney Wood Lane.
Dustin’s house is right around the corner at 2886 Piney Wood Drive.
These are private residences so please be considerate of the families who own them and respect the no trespassing signs.
Hawkins Community Pool
We had time for one more stop before dark — the South Bend Pool located at 2000 Lakewood Avenue SE in Atlanta. This location served as the Hawkins Community Pool where Billy was a lifeguard. The pool was closed for the season, and Billy was not on duty.
Stranger Things: The Experience
After grabbing a quick dinner, we checked into our hotel and headed to Stranger Things: The Experience which is located at Pullman Yards in Atlanta.
You’re not allowed to take any pictures during The Experience but I can share some photos we took afterwards. You exit into an 80s themed area with food, drinks, cool photo-ops and lots and lots of Stranger Things merchandise.
Of course we had to have our pictures taken with Vecna and the Demogorgan!
Then we went upside down in the Byers living room.
The highlight was having ice cream at Scoops Ahoy!
They also had areas set up like The Palace Arcade, Surfer Boy Pizza, Starcourt Mall, Family Video, and Hawkins High School.
Hawkins National Laboratory
The next morning, we visited the Hawkins National Laboratory. The lab is located at 1256 Briarcliff Road NE on the campus of Emory University in Atlanta. The building looks just as scary in person as it does on the show, and is a former psychiatric hospital. It’s now vacant and will soon be demolished and replaced with a senior living community.
When you turn into the property from Briarcliff Road there’s a parking arm preventing you from driving into the very large parking lot that separates the road from the building. We decided to ignore the no trespassing signs so we could get closer for a better photo op. I would have never done that at a private residence but we didn’t see any harm in doing so since this building is deserted.
We got pretty close to the building, and snapped a few pictures before hearing the police siren. The officer said we were on private property and needed to leave immediately, so we complied of course. I’m sure the poor Emory University cops have to deal with Stranger Things fans ALL THE TIME. I’m sorry we didn’t follow the rules but it was totally worth it to get these pictures!
Hawkins High School
After leaving the lab, we headed to Hawkins High School, which is the former Patrick Henry High School located at 109 South Lee Street in Stockbridge, GA. This building served as the location for both Hawkins Middle and Hawkins High Schools, and is still painted with the Hawkins High School logo.
There was police presence at this Stranger Things filming location as well. Unfortunately fans have vandalized the school by writing all over of the bricks. A cop is stationed there to make sure the graffiti doesn’t get any worse before season 5 starts filming. Sadly, the school is also slated to be torn down after season 5 wraps so I’m so glad we got to see it. I only wish we’d been able to see the tiger mural inside the gym.
Downtown Hawkins
Our final Stranger Things filming locations visit was Jackson, GA, which serves as the town of Hawkins in the series. Jackson is such a cute small town about 40 miles southeast of Atlanta, and they’ve really embraced their connection to Stranger Things.
At the center of the town square is a courthouse that serves as the Hawkins Library in the show. Look closely at the banner hanging above the door.
Joyce’s workplace, Melvald’s General Store, is located next to the square at 4 2nd Street.
The Radio Shack where Bob worked has been torn down, but the sign was preserved and moved to an outdoor patio at 34 Mulberry Street. This is in front of the entrance to an ice cream shop called Buddy Blu’s, and to the right of the town square. There is also a huge Stranger Things mural here picturing Max, Lucas, Mike, Eleven, Will and Dustin. A few doors down at 22 Mulberry St is the Gold Lion Farm which is an all natural bath and body shop that also has a lot of cool Stranger Things merchandise.
Steve and Jonathan’s fight scene was filmed in an alley that runs from W. 2nd Street to W. 3rd Street between Oak and Pittman Streets. Sophie and Audrey had fun recreating the fight scene!
There’s also a cool Stranger Things mural on the wall of Roots Outdoors sporting goods at 38 Oak Street. The mural is on the side of the building that runs along 3rd Street.
Other Stranger Things Filming Locations
We collected many other Stranger Things filing locations when we prepared for this trip but there just wasn’t enough time to see it all. I’m including some of the other addresses here in case you have more time than we did!
- Starcourt Mall | Gwinnett Place Mall, 2100 Pleasant Hill Road, Duluth, GA
- Bradley’s Big Buy (where Eleven buys Eggos) | 504 Center Street, Palmetto, GA
- Will Byer’s House | 149 Coastline Road, Fayetteville, GA
- Stone Mountain Park (where the kids walk along the train tracks) | Stone Mountain, GA
- Forest Hills Trailer Park (where Eddie & Max live in season 4) | Ponderosa MH St. & Minter Rd., Griffin, GA
- Billy & Max’s House | 5280 Moore Street, Stone Mountain, GA
- Barb Holland’s House | 2980 Piney Wood Drive, East Point, GA
- Steve Harrington’s House | 8253 Carlton Road, Riverdale, GA
- Brimborn Steel Works (The Mind Flayer’s lair) | 2903 RN Martin Street, East Point, GA
- Skull Rock (Eddie’s hide-out) | Boat Rock Bouldering Area, 1221 Boat Rock Road, Atlanta, GA
- Pennhurst Mental Hospital | Berry College, 2277 Martha Berry Hwy NW, Mt Berry, GA
- The Hawkins Post | 6980 Main Street, Lithonia, GA
- Hawkins Town Hall | 2777 E. Point Street, East Point City Hall, East Point, GA
- Sattler Quarry | Bellwood Quarry, Chappell Rd NW, Atlanta, GA
- Hawk Theater | 2 Oak Street, Jackson, GA
- Bethany Cemetery (site of Will’s funeral) | 607 Rivers Road, Fayetteville, GA
- Billy’s Grave | Stone Mountain Cemetery, 1025 Silver Hill Road, Stone Mountain, GA
So where do you want to visit from this list of Stranger Things filming locations? Let me know in the comments below!
