The Real Twin Peaks

Last weekend (following this post) I drove to the great falls area to get some of that Twin Peaks atmosphere.
It just so happens that I went on a misty and sometimes rainy day which some would call bad luck but I kind of found the views more interesting on this weather (kind of the same gloomy weather they had when shooting the series).

I used the travel guide from the Twin Peaks Gazette which I found as kind of hard to follow at times and outdated (it was written at 1999…).

In any case, I started the trip by driving from Seattle to North Bend (~45 minutes drive) and stopping at the double-R, now known as Twede’s for the obvious Coffee and Cherry Pie (and some french toasts) breakfast.

From there I have to admit I kind of lost track of the guide and just drove around for a while to catch the scenery.
I really wanted to find the place where the Twin Peaks sign was shot at. The guide states as follows:

You might want to find a safe place to pull over because this intersection of Reining, Mill Pond and Meadowbrook is Sparkwood and 21.

…

Continue down and I can’t promise that you will find the actual spot where the sign was placed because it’s hard to find. It’s about halfway from that intersection to the end of Reining. If you reach another intersection, you’ve gone too far.

Once you actually find the Reining, Mill Pond and Meadowbrrok intersection, it gets easier to locate yourself and get to the places the guide talks about.

To find the real location where the Twin Peaks sign was located, you have to picture down on Reining from the intersection and shortly after you’ll see a crossroad where you need to take right to SE Reining Road. The location is a short ride from that right turn. Here is one of my shots compared to the real one:

What do you think? Same spot huh? Looks like both shots were taken on the same season too…
I also took a shott of the pole number to help future travelers locate the exact spot:

If you continue with Reining instead of taking the right to SE Reining Road you’ll see on your left what seems to me like the mill, though I can’t be sure:

From there I continued to the falls to take a pictures of the falls and “The Great Northern” which is actually Salish Lodge Dining Room:

There’s a very nice trail that leads to the bottom of the falls. You should take it if you’re there…

From there I went Falls City to see some more stuff (The Bookhouse etc.). I could not find Big Ed’s Gas Farm (I guess its not there anymore) and as it started getting dark and rainy I called it a day and went back to Seattle for dinner.

You can check out the rest of the photos on my Real Twin Peaks Flickr Set.