Where was War for the Planet of the Apes filmed? Guide to all the Filming Locations
Posted by Ra Moon
War for the Planet of the Apes was filmed primarily in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. Some filming was also done in Washington State and California.
The third chapter of the Planet of the Apes franchise takes place two years after the end of the last film, Dawn.
War for the Planet of the Apes was filmed primarily in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. Some filming was also done in Washington State and California.
The third chapter of the Planet of the Apes franchise takes place two years after the end of the last film, Dawn.
This time Caesar and his apes must fight the army of the bloody human leader, the Colonel, to decide the fate of the planet.
Beneath all those layers of visual effects, you'll find actor Andy Serkis (Gollum from The Hobbit) as Caesar, and Woody Harrelson (The Hunger Games, Zombieland) as the Colonel.
Here is our spoiler-free guide to all the filming locations of War for the Planet of the Apes. We’ve broken the movie down into the key sites, ordered by first appearance.
The War for the Planet of the Apes locations
The ape outpost was filmed at the Othello Tunnels in Coquihalla Canyon Park near the town of Hope.
These tunnels were originally built for the Kettle Valley Railway in the early 1900s and were part of a route that connected the Kootenays with the coast.
(You can open all the locations on Google Maps by clicking on the links below in the captions ↴)
Image courtesy of 20th Century Studios and GoToVan - Map
Image courtesy of 20th Century Studios and GoToVan - Map
According to an interview in Slashfilm with producer Dylan Clark, the waterfall is a CGI creation, using footage from Alouette Lake in Golden Ears Provincial Park near Maple Ridge.
Image courtesy of 20th Century Studios - Map
It seems that the passage leading to the hidden ape fortress was inspired by the Othello Tunnels.
However, the sequence was actually shot in a massive indoor cave set built at Bridge Studios in Burnaby.
Image courtesy of Sony Pictures and Jeroen van Luin
A large film crew landed on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The movie was filmed around the towns of Tofino and Ucluelet, including the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, First Nations land, and some private property.
This is the same place where the Apple series See starring Jason Momoa was filmed. It happens that both projects share the same producers.
Image courtesy of 20th Century Studios - Map
The beach scene, reminiscent of the end of the original 1968 Planet of the Apes, was filmed at Long Beach on Vancouver Island.
Long Beach stretches about 10 miles (16 kilometers) between the towns of Tofino and Ucluelet.
Image courtesy of Sony Pictures - Map
The snow-covered mountain area with the old chair lifts was shot on a set built near the Mount Seymour ski resort.
This is a popular ski resort located in the North Shore Mountains of British Columbia.
Image courtesy of 20th Century Studios - Map
The snowed lodge seems a CGI creation inspired by The Overlook Hotel from The Shining, the Timberline Lodge in Oregon (pictured below), and the Banff Springs Hotel in Banff.
This complex was also one of the inspirations of the hotel in Kehoe, Colorado, featured in the 2019 movie Cold Pursuit.
Image by Sony Pictures and Google Maps
As you can see in this image from the behind-the-scenes video, the interior of the snowy, abandoned Kettle Ridge Lodge was a set built in the studios.
As Hollywood North Buzz reported, the filmmakers built the massive sets of Tower Rock, the California border quarantine facility on Triangle Road in South Richmond, near SilverCity Riverport Cinemas.
Image courtesy of 20th Century Studios - Map
Pictured, the Tower Rock Armoury set from a different perspective.
In the movie, the human military base is located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California.
At the end of the movie, there is a scene featuring the Trona Pinnacles, towering rock formations rising from the dry bed of Searles Lake in the Mojave Desert, California.
This geological wonder was formed over thousands of years through calcium carbonate deposits.
Image courtesy of 20th Century Studios - Map
The final destination is Mount St. Helens and Spirit Lake in Skamania County, Washington estate.
Spirit Lake sits at the base of Mount St. Helens, which was dramatically affected by the famous devastating eruption in 1980.
Image courtesy of Sony Pictures - Map
The production made extensive use of keyframe animation technology to film the apes.
In this caption, the actors run around the studio while the software translates their movements into a virtual world in real time.
Can you help to improve this article about the shooting locations of War for the Planet of the Apes?
To complete and correct this report, any feedback, info, or images that you may have are more than welcome, thank you!
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To complete and correct this report, any feedback, info, or images that you may have are more than welcome, thank you!
NOTICE: If you’re using this information on your website, please credit and link to this page as a source.
*****
Ra Moon
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I just returned from watching the film. I recognized many of the various locations throughout the movie.
ReplyDeleteI checked out this article to confirm my guesses.
There are some slight errors that I have corrected below:
"According to an interview with producer Dylan Clark, the waterfall is basically a CGI creation. Also he says that they shot at Allowen Lake, but it may be a typo as we could not find any place called this way anywhere."
The correct name of the lake is Alouette Lake in Golden Ears Provincial Park, Maple Ridge, BC.
The inspiration for the ruins of the hotel with the cherry tree in blossom out front is the Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta not Kananaskis. They are two different towns.
It would appear that the forest scenes were shot around the Squamish area.
Thanks a lot, it must be Alouette Lake. The forest scenes look very much like Squamish, but we can't confirm this - they may have been filmed in Vancouver Island.
DeleteThe article states that a set was built at Mt. Seymour- that's actually Fortress Mountain Resort/KPOW! Cat Skiing in the Canadian Rockies. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI've skied Fortress when it still had lifts. Therefore the abandoned lifts. Very rustic base station though. Could have been used as the abandoned lodge (though it was not).
Deletewhere was the final scene filmed, it looked like Spirit Lake and My Saint Helens but I wasn't sure.
ReplyDeleteYes, to Mount St. Helens - I saw the same thing. And I've been there in the last year. It was definitely Spirit Lake and Mount St. Helens.
ReplyDeleteI saw the film today and noticed that as well. And one of the most popular tourist attractions in that area is the legendary...Ape Cave.
DeleteThank you, everyone. Updated!
DeleteThere is a scene when they set of to walk (before they meet the girl), they walk on a big snow covered meadow between the trees, and a huge electric tower is behind, I am wondering if this is in Port Coquitlam, west of Lougheed Highway (before you turn right to go to Maple Ridge)
ReplyDeleteI was positive that is the trail head leading up to Wallace falls in Gold Bar Washington.
DeleteThe passages leading to the hidden-fortress were not in fact the Othello tunnels, but were actually a massive indoor cave set built in Burnaby. Many of the most impressive scenes built for this film were left out of the final cut.
ReplyDeleteThanks, very interesting point. Updated!
DeleteThe Cold Pursuit hotel appears to be the Chateau Lake Louise.
ReplyDeletePart of the first scenes involving the tunnels and bridge were shot in Othello. I know for a fact as I was raised near those tunnels. The massive waterfall is CG, and the wooden bridges were covered in moss to make them look aged.
ReplyDeleteAll comments are reviewed prior to publication