The Friday the 13th prequel series Crystal Lake was shot entirely in New Jersey, and the real filming locations stretch across seven of the state's counties. If you've ever wanted to wander the grounds of Camp Blood — or at least drink a coffee in the same small town as the 1980 original — here's the map.
The big reveal for fans: while the original 1980 movie was filmed at Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco in Hardwick Township, Warren County, that active Scout camp no longer allows film crews. The showrunners scouted it — the buildings, including the boathouse, are reportedly unchanged — but the new Camp Crystal Lake was actually recreated at Camp Ocawasin in West Milford, a private timber-lodge venue on a lakefront. Other camp and woodland scenes were shot at Camp Winnebago in Rockaway, the former Camp Tamarack in Oakland, and the Skyline Lake Clubhouse in Ringwood. No-Be-Bo-Sco still runs limited tours of the original film site, so purists aren't left out.
The fictional town's main street is Blairstown, the same rural Warren County township (population around 5,800) that doubled for Crystal Lake in the original film. Hartung's Diner's exterior is a building housing the Blairstown Museum; interiors were shot on sets and in storefronts in Boonton and Hope. Elsewhere, the police department is a vacant building in Hawthorne, the gas station is on Rockaway Valley Road in Boonton Township, and the bowling alley is the Elks Lodge in Boonton, a fraternal hall dating to the 1920s.
Newark does heavy lifting for the series' urban scenes. The newspaper offices were recreated in the National Newark Building, a 35-floor Art Deco skyscraper that now hosts Newark Film Studios. Episode six uses the ornate Essex County Historic Courthouse interior, and episode seven's gala is staged at the former Toys "R" Us headquarters in Wayne, with conference scenes at William Paterson University nearby.
A few oddities round out the list: Rutt's Hut in Clifton, a gloriously old-school hot-dog joint, stands in for Bronco Beef Pit; the fair was filmed at Keansburg Amusement Park, open since 1904 on Raritan Bay; a bar in Manhattan's West Village plays Dan's Lounge; and two brief exteriors were actually stock footage — one from Vancouver, one from Long Beach, California.
For travellers, this is a ready-made fan itinerary through northwestern and northeastern New Jersey. Blairstown makes a natural base: it's tied to both the 1980 film and the new series, and you can tour the original camp nearby. Add Rutt's Hut and Keansburg for proper New Jersey atmosphere, and you've got a weekend that covers 45 years of slasher history without a single jump scare.
