A Guide To “Outer Banks” Filming Locations

Situated in Beaufort County, S.C., the Hunting Island State Park acted as the driftwood-riddled filming location for the Boneyard in the season one pilot episode. In the “OBX” Netflix universe, the Boneyard is a neutral territory on the Cut, where Pogues live, on the opposite side of the island from Figure 8, where the wealthy Kooks reside, though both locations are set in Kildare County.  Every so often, the Kooks, Pogues and Tourons (a wholesome combination of the words “tourist” and “moron”) come together for keggers and obligatory quarrels here — ahem, John B (Chase Stokes) and Topper (Austin North). Whether Big John (Charles Halford) spent time here in his youth, we’ll never know. In reality, Hunting Island State Park covers 5,000 acres on a barrier island roughly 88 miles from downtown Charleston. The real life Hunting Island State Park lighthouse was built in 1859, destroyed thanks to the Civil War, and rebuilt in 1875. It served as the interior filming location for the Redfield lighthouse, while the exterior shots were filmed at the Morris Island lighthouse on Folly Beach near Charleston. Entrance fees for the park cost less than $10 for adults, children and seniors, making it a great day trip from downtown Charleston.

Countless quotable scenes were filmed at John B’s marsh-side home, respectfully known as the Chateau, a place where he spent his youth forging a bond with his father, Big John. Between run-ins with the Kildare County officers and square groupers, sleepovers with Pogues and nights spent under the string lights in JJ’s (Rudy Pankow) hot tub, a.k.a. the Cat’s Ass, the Chateau has acted as the headquarters for the gang and the HMS Pogue throughout the series. It may be located in the Cut far from Figure 8 on Kildare County Island on the show, but the scenes at the Chateau were filmed in the heart of the ultra-secluded Secessionville Historic District in real life, which extends into Charleston. Visit the storied area to soak in the essence of the Chateau before visiting Fort Lamar and the site of the American Civil War Battle of Secessionville, not far from downtown Charleston.

John B and Sarah Cameron’s (Madelyn Cline) day trip to Chapel Hill marked a turning point in the star-crossed lovers’ relationship. Their stated destination was UNC Chapel Hill law library in search of more clues about the Royal Merchant and Denmark Tanny, though like many filming locations, the scenes of the university’s exterior were actually filmed in downtown Charleston far from the fictional Kildare County outside of the Charleston Gaillard Center in real life. Visit the nonprofit arts center to watch the Charleston Symphony play while living out your treasure quest fantasy like Big John. Other downtown Charleston filming locations used for John B and Sarah’s day trip include the Ben Silver Collection, where John B can be seen donning seersucker, and the lush and bucolic Washington Square Park, a fantastic place to explore after your law library excursion.

After John B and Sarah secretly meet up at Midsummers, the pair make a plan to rendezvous later in the evening at the Hawk’s Nest Tower, where they’re caught together by Sarah’s boyfriend, Topper (a.k.a. Kildare County’s teacher’s pet), who inadvertently pushes John B off the 50-foot tower. You can visit the real life observation tower where the dramatic scene was filmed at Mt. Pleasant’s Palmetto Islands County Park. Admission to the 943-acre park is just $2 and gets you access to boardwalk trails, tidal creek fishing, a real life crabbing dock and the infamous observation tower where you’re in for sweeping views of the Lowcountry marsh. The park is luckily just a 21-minute drive from downtown Charleston.

Located on Shem Creek (more on that later) roughly seven miles from downtown Charleston, Geechie Seafood is a treasured Mt. Pleasant seafood shack selling freshly caught shrimp from the creek. The modest shack stars as Heyward’s Seafood in Outer Banks and is owned by Pope’s (Jonathan Daviss) father, Bobby Heyward (E. Roger Mitchell), where he sells fresh seafood and groceries to people across Kildare County. Pope can be seen helping his dad out at the store, delivering seafood to Kooks on Figure 8 and shucking oysters at soirees like Midsummers with Heyward. We imagine Heyward’s was a favorite spot of Big John before his disappearance. If you’re visiting the Charleston area and have access to a kitchen, pick up some blue crab for dinner at the real life seafood shack in honor of the fan favorite.

Aside from the white-columned Tanneyhill Plantation, Kooklandia, a.k.a. Figure 8, is known for its luxe, landscaped golf clubs like the Island Club, where the annual Midsummers party is held and Kildare County snobs hang out. You’ll remember this scene for Kiara’s (Madison Bailey) look, which is giving bourgeoisie pig, and JJ’s run-in with Rafe (Drew Starkey) and his merry band of Kooks. It’s also the first time that John B and Sarah Cameron are reunited after their day trip to the law library. You can visit the real life Ocean Course at the Kiawah Island Golf Resort and dine at one of their seven restaurants or make a weekend of it and check in at the Sanctuary hotel. It may not be a place that Big John would hang out, but in real life, it’s just a 39-minute drive from downtown Charleston.

In the Outer Banks universe, Shem Creek is the sun around which all other filming locations orbit. The creek is located in the real life  suburban hub of Mount Pleasant, just seven miles east of downtown Charleston by way of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge. Most of the scenes on the water in the fictional Kildare County Harbor were filmed on Shem Creek in real life, including many of the Pogue boating scenes. We recommend visiting Shem Creek’s waterfront in the late afternoon and staying to watch the paintbrush sunsets. Elsewhere, Pitt Street in Mount Pleasant’s Old Village Historic District is featured heavily as downtown Kildare County and is where John B famously yeeted over a chain on a stolen bike, inevitably leading him to embark on a law library excursion with Sarah Cameron. Stop by St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, where Sheriff Peterkin (Adina Porter) met with Lana Grubbs (CC Castillo) just before the sheriff’s untimely death, before heading over to Pitt Street Pharmacy for a milkshake and BLT.

After Hurricane Agatha blew through and cut electricity to Kildare County Island, John B, JJ, Kiara and Pope left Big John’s Chateau and took the HMS Pogue out through the marshes and found a sunken boat containing a key to room 229 at the Summer Winds Motel. The Pogues eventually visited the motel in search of the boat’s owner, but instead found ominous clues leading to more shenanigans. Today, you can stay in room 229 at the real life Creekside Lands Inn, where the scenes were filmed, on the banks of Long Branch Creek in Charleston; just make sure to do a better job of hiding from the cops than John B and JJ did.

Situated on the banks of the Ashley River close to downtown Charleston, the historic Lowndes Grove Estate served as the real life filming location for the Tanneyhill Plantation, also known as the Cameron estate, where Kook princess Sarah Cameron lives with her villainous father Ward (Charles Esten) – loathed enemy of Big John – and psychotic brother Rafe in Kildare County. The real life white mansion has late 18th-century, old South architecture, huge lawns on 14 acres surrounded by live oak trees and the infamous 700-foot-long dock where Ward’s My Druthers yacht exploded in season two. The estate is primarily used as a venue for wedding receptions and events, and was once visited by President Theodore Roosevelt. After you take in the estate, head into downtown Charleston to relive John B and Sarah Cameron’s law library adventure.

We love a two-for-one food-centric filming location so we can imagine feasting on seafood surrounded by our favorite characters. On Outer Banks, the Wreck is a “total cash cow for tourists” owned by Kiara’s family and a place where she can be seen waiting tables and begging her parents to feed Pogues. Thankfully, the restaurant is fully operational in real life, though its official name is the Wreck of the Richard and Charlene in honor of a boat wreck that occurred at the site during Category Four Hurricane Hugo in 1989. Like so many other iconic spots, the Wreck of the Richard and Charlene is located on the banks of Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant not far from downtown Charleston and serves up Lowcountry favorites like fried, grilled or boiled seafood platters with red rice, coleslaw, hush puppies and fried hominy squares. We like to think that it’s where Big John would dine upon returning to Kildare County.

The Pogues are no strangers to the law, with each member of the clan having had their fair share of run-ins with Kildare County officers throughout the series. While the late Sheriff Peterkin of the Kildare County Sheriff’s Department was on their side at the end of the first season, other Kildare County officers like Acting Sheriff Victor Shoupe (Cullen Moss) and Deputy Thomas (Rob Mars) have proved harder nuts to crack. The Kildare County officers can be seen all over Figure Eight and The Cut throughout the series, but in real life, the exterior shots of the Kildare County Sheriff’s Station were filmed at a bright white condominium at 218 Venning Street in the Old Village of Mount Pleasant. Just a 14 minute drive from downtown Charleston, we recommend snapping a few photos outside of the black-shuttered Kildare County Sheriff’s Station before exploring Mount Pleasant’s historic district.

Whether you’re counting down the days to season four and the return of the Pogues, Kooks, and Big John, or if you’re a casual watcher of the show, or even if you’ve never seen Outer Banks (why are you reading this?) you should make visiting the Charleston Museum a priority. The real life legendary museum was founded back in 1773 in downtown Charleston and its collection comprises historic objects and art – like artifacts John B and Sarah Cameron would find at the law library – along with a pair of landmark Charlestown houses. During the season three episode “Heists,” John B and Big John visit downtown Charleston to “liberate” the Gnomon of Solana. Permanent collections at the museum include Lowcountry textiles, Charleston furniture, Egyptian artifacts and more. It may be a far cry from Kildare County, but it’s worth a real life visit when you’re in the area.