Twilight

Multnomah Falls is featured in the baseball scene of Twilight

My daughters and I are big fans of the Twilight series.  I planned to someday make a visit to Forks, Washington and check out the various filming sites. Little did I know that a lot of the filming sites from the movie are actually in Oregon.  Luckily I discovered this while I was visiting Portland so that I could visit some of these filming sites while I was there.  Here are some of the places that we visited:

*    Multnomah Falls, Oregon (baseball scene)

*    Indian Beach, Oregon (stands in for La Push Beach)

*    3333 NW Quimby Street in Portland (the Cullen residence)

Multnomah Falls

Multnomah Falls is one of the most recognizable waterfalls in the world, because of the Benson Bridge at 105 feet above the ground, lending a beautiful view of the 620 foot waterfall.  Multnomah Falls has been featured in a few movies, most notably Twilight.  It can be seen in the background during the baseball scene.  

Multnomah Falls is in view behind Carlisle

You can watch Multnomah Falls in the baseball scene here:  Multnomah Falls in Twilight

The google maps location of Multnomah Falls is here:  Multnomah Falls  You can access parking for the falls a couple different ways -- exit 31 off of highway 84, which we tried first.  You have to have already purchased a timed entry before arriving, or else you're not likely to get in to see the falls because they only allow a limited number of people in from this parking lot.  Here is the website to purchase your timed entry:  Multnomah Falls Timed Entry

Luckily one of the workers told me to go back on Highway 84 to exit 35 (you could also use exit 28) and take the Historic Columbia River Highway instead.  This brought us to a different parking area right next to Multnomah Falls.  I'd recommend using this old highway in the first place because the views are beautiful and you can access other waterfalls and scenic places, like Vista House.  The parking is limited at this other Multnomah Falls parking area on the old highway.  Luckily when we arrived, there was one spot in the lot, so we got to park and go in.  It costs $20 to park for as long as you want.  From this lot it is only a short walk to the Multnomah Falls Lodge and the falls themselves, much closer than the other lot would have been.

We started our visit by eating lunch at the lodge, which was delicious.  Then we walked to the bathrooms, which were porta-potties outside, since they are remodeling the lodge.  And finally we headed over to view the Falls.  We hiked up to Benson Bridge to enjoy the views of the beautiful Multnomah Falls from there.  Then we decided to hike the trail, including all 11 switchbacks, all the way to the top.  It was a little bit scary for me because of my fear of heights, and as you climb up the switchbacks you are on a paved trail with the mountain on one side, and a steep drop-off on the other side.  There are a few places you can stop and view the falls as you climb up.  When we finally reached the top, the effort had been well worth it.  There is a viewpoint with a fence around it where you can look down on the top of the falls.  I was surprised that I couldn't see this viewpoint from the ground, or from the Benson Bridge.  It is well hidden on top of the waterfall.  If you have the energy, I highly recommend walking this trail all the way to the top.

Google Maps screenshot of the two parking areas for Multnomah Falls and the falls themselves

Exit 31 will take you to a parking area for Multnomah Falls, which is great if you've already purchased a timed entry.  Otherwise, I'd recommend taking exit 35 and following the Historic Columbia River Highway to another parking area, which is first-come-first-serve and is much closer to the falls.

Our view from the parking lot off of exit 31 on highway 84

This is where we were turned away because we hadn't already purchased a timed entry

view of the falls from the farther parking lot

We went back on highway 84 and took exit 35, then headed on the Historic Columbia River Highway towards the other Multnomah Falls parking area

driving on the old highway was very beautiful

The Multnomah Falls Lodge, which was under construction when we visited in June of 2026

We were lucky to get the last parking spot in the old highway parking area for the falls.  We paid at this machine, $20 for as long as we wanted to stay.

view of the falls from the closer parking lot off of the old highway

We ate lunch at the lodge before going to visit the falls

my husband and I eating lunch inside the lodge

the food was delicious and the wait wasn't too long

view of the falls and the Benson Bridge

the bathroom area, since the lodge was under construction

The Benson Bridge and Multnomah Falls

view of the bridge and the falls

hiking up to the Benson Bridge

The bridge is only a .2 mile hike -- definitely don't miss out on that!  Also, the 1 mile hike to the top of the falls is well worth it!

view of the Falls as we hiked to the bridge

beautiful foliage along the way

the hike to the bridge

heading onto the bridge

view of the Falls from the bridge

starting the hike up to the top

view of the falls from a viewpoint along the way

my husband and I at the viewpoint

view of the Columbia River and the highways from the falls viewpoint

looking down on the two parking areas

There are switchback signs all the way up the mile-long trail

the creek that runs into the waterfall

the falls above the falls that you can see from the ground or the bridge

the upper falls

the top of Multnomah Falls, looking down from the look-out area

view from the top of the falls

view from the top of the falls down at the parking lots

looking down from the top

My husband and I at the top of the waterfall

we started our trek down from the top

watch out for the poison oak

back to the viewpoint again

view from the trail down at the bridge

view of the falls from the trail

looking up at the top of the falls from the bridge - no sign of the overlook

view of the falls from the bridge

view down from the bridge

walking on the bridge

this is posted beside the bridge

looking down from the bridge

off the other side of the bridge, looking down

My husband took these photos of me on the bridge, from the viewpoint down below

view down from the bridge

signs on the way down from the bridge

view of the falls

last look up at the falls and the bridge

signs at the viewpoint

leaving the parking lot and heading out on the old highway

My Map my Run app showed that the distance to the top of Multnomah Falls was actually 1.25 miles

This is what the hike looked like on my Map My Run app

You can watch a video of our visit to Multnomah Falls here:  Multnomah Falls

Indian Beach, Oregon

In June 2026 we went on a trip to Portland.  I planned a lot of hikes to arches, waterfalls, and beaches.  I am a fan of the movie & book series Twilight, so I wanted to visit the beach that doubled as La Push Beach in the first Twilight movie.  It is actually called Indian Beach and is on the northern Oregon coast, not in Washington like the movie portrays.  Indian Beach is located here:  Indian Beach

There is a large paved parking lot with a machine to pay for parking.  We parked in the overflow lot since there were a lot of people there when we visited.  We paid at the machine and then took the parking receipt back to our car to display in the windshield.

As we were walking through the parking lot towards the path to head down to the beach, I looked over at the beach and instantly spotted a large sea arch in the water!  I was shocked, because I had searched online for arches to visit along the coast, and this one was not mentioned anywhere.  I also couldn't believe that I had watched Twilight countless times and had never noticed the arch at "La Push Beach."  But there it was!  And when I went back and watched the movie after my visit to the beach, there was the arch in the movie too:

Twilight Scene at Indian Beach

Screenshot from the Twilight movie, you can see Sea Lion Arch on the far right of the screen

This movie screenshot from the parking lot area shows Sea Lion Arch in the center top

During our visit in late June of 2026, the beach was very crowded with lots of people walking or sitting, or even surfing.  We walked to the southern end of the beach hoping to get a better view of the arch.  Then my husband tried climbing up the rocks on the southern end of the beach.  There was an obvious trail, but it was extremely steep and slippery with wet mud and loose rocks.  He was able to climb up, and I stayed below and waited to see if the view was worth it.  He came back to collect me, telling it was a sight not to be missed.  We went through some switch-backs in the very thick vegetation instead of straight up the steepest part of the climb.  I was wearing shorts, so I'm surprised I didn't end up with rashes from the vegetation that was up to my chest as we walked through it.  After the vegetation ended, we had no other choice but to make our way up the slippery mud and over the remaining rocks to the top.  Slowly but surely, and with my husband's help, I made it to the top.  The view was definitely worth it.  I was able to get some great photos of the arch, which I later learned is named Sea Lion Arch because of its resemblance to a sea lion.  Incidentally, part of Goonies was filmed on Indian Beach as well, although the most notorious beach scene was shot on Cannon Beach at Haystack Rock.

The viewpoint where we took photos of and viewed the arch is located here:  Sea Lion Arch Viewpoint  Getting down from our viewpoint was just as complicated as getting up, although we made it without sliding down or falling.  When we walked back across the beach we noticed that someone had written a line from Twilight in the sand near the southern end of the beach:  "Bella, where the hell have you been, Loca?"  I would guess that a lot of the popularity of this beach is due to Twilight, because the beach itself wasn't any more spectacular than any other beach we visited that day.  The main difference was the very large parking lot.

The location of Sea Lion Rock

When we hiked back up to the parking lot, we found a large sign that we hadn't seen before we went down to the beach.  It showed exact filming locations of the movies filmed on Indian Beach, including Twilight and Goonies, and it also had Sea Lion Arch labeled, which is how I found out the name of the arch, which up until that point I was calling "Indian Beach Arch."  It had a QR code that you could scan and see exact film locations.  

When we left Indian Beach, we went to Cannon Beach and admired Haystack Rock (filming site for Goonies), then on to Rockaway Beach to see Twin Rocks Arch, and finally to Oceanside Beach and Tunnel Beach to see Three Arch Rocks.  We also went to the lighthouse on Cape Meares, which is the best place to view the openings of Three Arch Rocks.  Earlier in the day we had gone to Arch Cape Beach and were lucky enough to arrive at a low tide so we could see Arch Cape Arch.  It was a very full and very fun day.

heading for Indian Beach on the 101 highway

It is amazing to drive along the 101 highway knowing that you are right next to the ocean, but not being able to see it because of all of the tall trees.  

the large upper parking lot for Indian Beach

the lower parking lot for Indian Beach, and where some of the Twilight filming took place

We paid for parking at this pay station, and then put the receipt in our windshield.  It cost $12

the pay station

This was my first view of Sea Lion Arch.  Before that, I didn't even know there was an arch at Indian Beach.

view of Sea Lion Arch from the parking lot above the beach

walking down to the beach

coming out onto the beach, once again spotting Sea Lion Arch

The beach was pretty crowded

There's a small creek to cross on Indian Beach

looking over at the northern end of Indian Beach

Sea Lion Arch

looking towards the southern end of Indian Beach

This is the Twilight filming spot:  La Push Beach in Twilight

view down at Crescent Beach from Bald Point

Crescent Beach

looking down from Bald Point

the trail up on Bald Point

This is what we climbed up to get up onto Bald Point

We took the "switchback" instead of the direct way to the top - on the left you can see the vague trail through the brush

getting down was tricky, but we made it without falling

someone had written in the sand at the Twilight filming spot on the beach

The Twilight filming spot from behind

the stairs back up to the parking lot

There is a billboard at the top of the trail with information about filming on Indian Beach

3333 NW Quimby Street in Portland

This was used as the Cullen residence in Twilight.  We drove to the residence, but you can't really see much other than a locked gate and cameras.  It is completely surrounded by vegetation.  It appears that they use the house for weddings occasionally, as there was a large white tent set up on the property.  

There is another "Cullen house" in Forks, Washington, that claims to be the actual home from the books, although not used in the movies.  It is an Airbnb at this link:  Cullen Residence in Forks  To stay for 5 nights costs nearly $6K!  

Here are the photos that we got when we visited the actual filming site of the Cullen house in June of 2026:  

the locked gate blocking the driveway, complete with plenty of No Trespassing signs

The house is just barely visible through the trees

There are other locations that I hope to visit someday.  I wanted to eat at Belle's diner, but it was closed on the day that we planned to visit:

*    Silver Falls State Park where 4 scenes were shot for Twilight:  the deer chase, the spider monkey, Edward reveals that he's a vampire, and Bella drives her red truck over the bridge to school.  I was in the vicinity of Silver Falls State Park when I hiked to Natural Rock Arch and I didn't realize it was a Twilight filming site at the time, so I didn't stop!  I will have to go back to Oregon!

*    Carver Cafe in Damascus, Oregon was Bella's and Charlie's diner in Twilight.  I wanted to visit while I was in the area, but they were closed for the day.  It is closed all day Monday and Tuesday, and closes every other day at 2 p.m.

*    The Twilight Swan House in St. Helens, Oregon, was Bella and Charlie's house in Twilight, and can be booked for five nights at around $2,500 here:  Airbnb Swan House

*    Forks Hospital in Portland is where Bella goes after nearly being hit by the van

*    Forks Police Station in Vernonia, Oregon where Bella visited Charlie

*    Prom Dress Store in "Port Angeles" was actually on 1st Street in St. Helens, Oregon.  

*    The Edward Rescue Scene in Port Angeles was also filmed in St. Helens, Oregon in front of the Columbia Theater.  The bookstore that Bella went to, as well as the restaurant that Bella and Edward ate at are also on this same block in St. Helens near the theater.