Where was Friday the 13th filmed?
1980
City Locations
New Jersey
Location Types
Cabins, Naturescapes, Diners
Location Styles
Cabin, Camper, Lake House
About Friday the 13th
Produced and directed by Sean S. Cunningham, Friday the 13th was the film that was his big break in the horror film genre. Considered a genre-defining film that began a long-running franchise, Friday the 13th is what many consider to be a “classic” horror film that upped the ante for future horror films to come.
Spoiler Alert: We will be discussing several exciting and even scary plot points that occur throughout this movie as we talk about the various locations used in Friday the 13th’s production.
The year is 1957 and a young boy drowns in Crystal Lake. One year later, two people are murdered at the camp that was set up next to the lake, with the killer never found. Friday the 13th revolves around a group of young counselors who visit Camp Crystal Lake, hoping to refurbish the cabins and the surrounding facilities as they plan to reopen the camp to the public. As a thunderstorm nears the camp, the various counselors split up, and some attempt to finish up their tasks while others get comfortable with each other.
One by one, the various counselors are singled out and killed by this mysterious killer through all sorts of heinous methods. With the counselors getting suspicious as to their missing friends, they decide to band together to look for the missing people. The mysterious killer gets more creative to eliminate the remaining counselors and does this by cutting off the power, cutting the phone lines, and scaring the remaining counselors by throwing the bodies of their deceased friends through windows.
With the film nearing its end, it is revealed that the killer is Jason Voorhees’ mother, who blames her son’s death in 1957 on the counselors that weren’t watching him. Mrs. Voorhees attempts to kill Alice Hardy, the last counselor alive, but fails and dies as a result. As Alice is exhausted from all the events that transpired, she falls asleep inside a canoe that drifts out to Crystal Lake, when suddenly the decomposing corpse of Jason Voorhees attacks her. She wakes up in a hospital and when her claims are verified, she realizes that Jason is still in Crystal Lake.
Friday the 13th Locations
The original Friday the 13th film showcased in 1980 was intended to be a standalone one and so, not a lot of the funds were put towards finding exotic locations. This led to a lot of the filming being done in New Jersey and the townships within the area. Most of the filming took place within Cunningham County, New Jersey, and as many would come to expect, Camp Crystal Lake is a fictional location. Although Camp Crystal Lake is a fictional creation, the original location for the filming of Friday the 13th took place at a camp in Hardwick called Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco.
Many of the Friday the 13th film scenes were shot in areas that weren’t too far from each other which means that if you happen to visit one, you could probably visit the rest of the locations where the shooting took place on the same day.
Fun Fact:
For how popular Friday the 13th was, the main antagonist Jason Voorhees has only a few quick scenes in the movie.
Gas pump scene in Friday the 13th
Blairstown, New Jersey
At the beginning of the movie, the audience is presented with one of the six counselors who are supposed to visit Camp Crystal Lake, Annie. She is seen walking up to two gas pumps and then talking to the dog who’s waiting by the pumps. She asks him, “You speak English? How far is it to Camp Crystal Lake?” What comes off as a bright and sunny introduction soon turns dark however with the beginning of the film not having the same energy as the ending.
The Friday the 13th film sets that were used in the introduction of the movie were set in Blairstown and although the gas pumps are no longer in their original location, various areas that were utilized before this scene can still be found today. In particular, the stone arches on Main Street that were featured in the 1980 film can still be visited today and to get there you can drive along the NJ-94 and then take a turn down Main Street. Along the street, you will be able to spot the stone arches used at the beginning of the film as well as several other locations used to show where Annie was walking at the beginning of the film.
Scout Newark Filming Locations
Annie meets Crazy Ralph scene in Friday the 13th
Walnut Street, Hope, New Jersey
On the way to Camp Crystal Lake, Annie, along with the truck driver bump into the town’s local “crazy man”. Nicknamed Crazy Ralph, he asks Annie, “You’re going to Camp Blood, ain’t you?” This irritates the truck driver who replies in turn and says, “Dammit Ralph, get outta here! Go on, get it! Leave people alone!” This scene begins to paint an ominous picture of the camp and helps build anticipation for the additional scenes to come in the movie.
Some of the filming locations on Friday the 13th were used as a one-time set and this scene is a great example of that. The first appearance of Crazy Ralph was filmed along the intersection of Walnut Street and High Street in the township of Hope in New Jersey. To get there, drive along Delaware Road which leads to High Street, and you’ll be able to see the intersection where Crazy Ralph appeared as you drive by Walnut Street.
Graveyard scene in Friday the 13th
Moravian Cemetery, Hope, New Jersey
On the way to Camp Crystal Lake, Annie hitches a ride with the Truck Driver. While on the way to where he is going to drop her off, they discuss what Camp Crystal Lake will be like, to which Annie mentions that “I’ll be cooking for 50 kids and 10 staff.” He then mentions that the camp is jinxed and that trying to reopen the camp will just be bad luck. However, as he drops Annie off at the cemetery, which is a rather gloomy foreshadowing of where the counselors will end up, he tells her, “Take care of yourself kid!”
Moravian Cemetery was the location of the graveyard scene in Friday the 13th and is a surprisingly short distance away from the location where Crazy Ralph confronted Annie. To get to the graveyard. You can drive along Delaware Road and you’ll be able to see the iconic Moravian Cemetery sign.
Uncover Newark Production Spaces
Camp Crystal Lake scene in Friday the 13th
Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco, Blairstown, New Jersey
As the rest of the characters begin to show up at Camp Crystal Lake, we get to see the future targets of the mysterious killer. With three of the counselors rolling up in their pickup truck, they get out and help the camp director uproot a tree stump. As we are introduced to the main characters of this film, the camp director Steve Christy says, “Welcome to Camp Crystal Lake.” With these words, the three counselors' fates are sealed as misfortune brews in the distance.
The location for Camp Crystal Lake is a real-life location named Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco which has been in operation since 1927, the oldest continually operating Scout camp in the state. While access to the camp is restricted, there are the occasional tours that occur on special dates, like Friday the 13th. This allows tourists and interested visitors to go on “Crystal Lake Tours” to visit the iconic set where many of Friday the 13th’s action scenes took place. To get to the camp, drive along Sand Pond Road before turning into Nobebosco Road which leads to the famous camp.
Blairstown Diner scene in Friday the 13th
Diner in Blairstown, New Jersey
Steve left the camp earlier in the day to get the supplies required for the coming reopening of the site. Before he heads back to the camp, which at this point is late at night, he stops by the diner in Crystal Lake and talks to the waitress. He mentions to her, “I’ve got six new counselors at camp.” Unbeknownst to him, at this point, only 2 of the 6 counselors he hired to help are still alive at Camp Crystal Lake because of the unknown killer. He oddly refers to the counselors he hired as “babes in the woods” to which he remembers that he urgently needs to return to the camp to find out how they’re faring and quickly heads out of the diner.
The diner used for this scene in Friday the 13th is still standing today, over 40 years after the film was made! The diner is located in Blairstown, where most of the film shooting in the introductory portion of the movie takes place. To get to the Blairstown diner, drive along NJ-94, and you’ll be coming across the diner in no time.
Jason pulls Alice into the water scene in Friday the 13th
Turkey Swamp Park, Freehold, New Jersey
Just when you think everything is over, with the main antagonist of the film dead, Alice falls asleep in a canoe that drifts out to the middle of Crystal Lake where Jason Voorhees died many years earlier. As the police call out to a freshly woken up Alice, she suddenly gets grabbed by the decomposing body of Jason Voorhees who tries to drag her into the water. She wakes up in a cold sweat at a hospital. The doctor present reassures her, “It’s all over. Everything’s over.” This makes Alice anxious as she mentions, “Then he’s still there.” She’s indicating that Jason still haunts the campground’s lake.
While most of the shooting took place at No-Be-Bo-Sco, the final sequence where Jason grabs Alice takes place at Turkey Swamp Park in Freehold. To get to the location where the final scene took place, you can drive along Georgia Road and then take a turn into Turkey Swamp Park Road.
Conclusion
With almost all the counselors gone in the first film of Friday the 13th, many wondered if any more counselors would befall the same fate. This led to many sequels with the Friday the 13th franchise amassing 13 films throughout the years and solidifying its status as a classic horror genre defining franchise. The following films not only explore the lore behind Camp Crystal Lake but also introduce new and exciting scenes for the new antagonist, Jason Voorhees, to appear.
This movie inspired a whole new genre of slash horror films and created the classic “final girl” trope which we still see in some movies today. So be sure that the next time you’re in and around the New Jersey area, make a stop and visit the famous Friday the 13th filming locations!