A Tour of Twin Peaks

As Twin Peaks: The Return ended on Sunday evening, it left many of its fans feeling bereft. David Lynch and Mark Frost’s supernatural murder-mystery was an utter masterpiece. Season three broke as much new ground as the original Twin Peaks, Seasons One and Two, did back in 1990/1991. Although aired on Showtime as a TV series, Lynch and Frost were always adamant that it wasn’t TV but “one film broken down into 18 parts.”

Straight narratives were cast aside in favour of loops, repetitions, avant-garde editing, surrealist elements, dreams within dreams, some of the most brilliant and inventive sound, monsters in glass boxes, billowing red velvet curtains, whirling chevron floors, a giant, a giant bug, a talking arm, dirty bearded men, a talking tea pot spouting industrial amounts of steam, lots of damn fine coffee, towering fortresses, black oceans, gold spray-painted shovels, dopplegangers, atom bombs, and of course, there was Episode 8 which defies description. As they so boldly and beautifully changed the face of the TV medium 27 years ago, David Lynch and Mark Frost have done it again.

Season 3 was filmed out on location wherever possible, only using a soundstage in LA for the segments of live music performed at The Roadhouse, and for various other interiors such as the Red Room, and Black and White Lodges. But many of the exterior scenes were filmed in and around Washington State in the neighbouring towns of Snoqualmie, North Bend and Fall City, and a little further away in Seattle, a 30 minute drive away.

We were so excited when Twin Peaks Tour recently invited us to Washington State to take a guided tour of the town of Twin Peaks. David Israel, a local resident of the area, and a Twin Peaks and David Lynch expert, is the perfect person to conduct the tour as he is so knowledgeable about the local towns, the show, and the exact filming locations. The tour takes around 3-4 hours in total, and is a memorable meander through the dramatic Lynchian landscapes, visiting approx 29 locations.

Here some of our highlights below:

Our base for the visit was the Salish Lodge & Spa which stood in for The Great Northern Hotel and sits atop the majestic Snoqualmie Falls:

Exteriors of the Bang Bang Bar at The Roadhouse were shot here (this bar is also called The Roadhouse!). Many of the episodes ended with a different band performing, including Chromatics, Nine Inch Nails and Sharon Van Etten.

These traffic lights were seen in many episodes and eerily dangled in pitch darkness – but are now fixed to a bar. Lynch could be using the lights as an establishing shot – an exterior shot between two interiors – or it could be something more intentional and evocative i.e. red for danger.

Twedes Cafe stands in for the Double R Diner, and both the exterior and interior shots of the diner were filmed there. Twedes homemade cherry pie is as delicious as it looks, and out back by the restroom, there is a fascinating montage of on location photographs and news articles from Twin Peaks Seasons One and Two, and also from Fire Walk With Me.

The legendary cherry pie tastes as good as it looks. ‘This must be where pies go when they die.” – Agent Dale Cooper.

The Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Department is currently home to Dirtfish Rally School but you can see Lucy’s desk and other rooms.

Big Ed’s Gas Farm.

The Mount Si Motel stands in for The Red Diamond City Motel which has featured so prominently in Fire Walk With Me and also in The Return.

Room no. 8 on the far left of the picture, is where Mr. C (Bad Coop) is seen entering a motel room – the portal to where he meets Phillip Jeffries who has morphed into a giant teapot.

This bridge was where the character known as Ronette Pulaski in Season One of Twin Peaks, is seen wandering down the rail tracks in bloody tattered clothing, the morning after Laura Palmer was murdered.

The giant log in seen in in the opening credits in the show is a 400 year-old Douglas Fir.

The city of Snoqualmie installed its very own Welcome To Twin Peaks sign this year, but unfortunately, it was knocked down by traffic a couple of times, so David stepped in and made his own replica sign which allows guests to capture that iconic shot.

There are several locations which I haven’t mentioned including the picturesque beauty spot where Laura, Donna and James had a picnic from Season One, Nadine’s Run Silent Run Drapes Store, the Fat Trout Trailer Park, The Packard Sawmill etc. David also plays the latest Twin Peaks soundtrack as we drive around. Dreamy soundscapes and lots of dark synths out on the open road. Monica Bellucci’s “ancient phrase” comes to mind: “We are like the dreamer who dreams and then lives inside the dream”.

For further information, please visit: www.twinpeakstour.com

To purchase a copy of The Secret History of Twin Peaks visit “>here

CELLOPHANELAND* were guests of Twin Peaks Tour.

All images by CELLOPHANELAND*