Added on September 15, 2014  ronnieangel  Astoria , filming locations , oregon , The Goonies

On Location with Ronnie Angel: The Goonies

For my second journey into the land of filming locations, I have chosen one that is sure to please the masses. If you’re a child of the eighties like myself, chances are you too grew up with this one as one of your favorites. Let’s face it, The Goonies is an all out modern classic. Who didn’t dream of going on an adventure like that as a kid? Who didn’t make up a backyard adventure like that complete with made up treasure maps and buried “treasure.” I know I did. Be honest, you still think about The Goonies every time you see a Baby Ruth.

Of course, the town that is synonymous with The Goonies name has not forgotten about it. In fact, Astoria Oregon, where it was filmed, seems to relish the notoriety brought on by this and other filmings in the town. Astoria itself is a beautiful city situated on the Oregon Coast at the mouth of the Columbia River, an hour of two northwest of Portland. The town itself is like a little San Francisco, complete with steep hills and cool looking old Victorian buildings.

For our first location, we head to the place that is still highly regarded as the quintessential Goonies location: the house of our main Goonie, Mikey and his brother Brand, where the adventure began. The house itself is incredibly easy to find. Coming into town, all it takes is a left hand turn off of the main road onto 37th St. Take another left on Duane St, ironically passing by another iconic location, the school from Kindergarten Cop. That’s one for my next article on the other Astoria filming locations. Once on Duane, Just follow it a couple blocks to the road end and park and walk up the hill. There’s a sign there making it easy. It’s that easy!

The house is located a very short walk up the hill at 368 38th St. As you can tell by the sign, the owners are very welcome to the fact that it’s a Goonies location and welcoming to fans. When I was there, tourists were walking up in droves to check out the place. It’s nice knowing that they’re open to the fans. Just don’t get too close to the house and respect their privacy still.

Yes, I did debate doing the Truffle Shuffle in front of the house!

An interesting note, the house right next door served as Data’s house on the film. You can clearly see the window that he ziplined out of and the trail it followed into Mikey’s house across the driveway. Another funny thing to note is that I was standing on the spot where Brand stole Data’s sisters bike in the film. How cool is that?

One hell of a view from the house!

Our next location is just down the street from the house. It’s the field where Andy was leading the cheerleading squad in practice at the start of the film. The field is located just off of 20th St, right across from the hospital. It’s called Warren Field. Just get on the main road heading back to Astoria and take a left across on 20th. See, these are easy to find!

For our next location, we head downtown in Astoria. The roads are a bit nutty down there, with tons of one ways, so you will have to plan ahead. The location are on Duane between 10th and 9th St. The historic Clatsop County jail served as the opening escape scene with The Fratelli family. It now houses the Oregon Film Museum. It’s worth a stop in to check out some of the cool pictures, articles and memorabilia. It’s a definite must for fellow film nerds like myself. Directly across from the Jail is the historic Flavel House, which can be seen when the boys are riding past on their bikes. It served as the museum where Mikey’s dad works and he can be seen raising the flag outside in the scene.

Does that car look familiar in front of the Museum? It damn well should! Here’s a hint:

ORV….Bullet holes! Yep. It’s there! The Fratelli’s escape vehicle!

Another view of the historic Flavel House Museum, where Mikey’s dad worked.

For our last location, we cruise down the cruise, possibly downing some brews. This last one brings us to the amazing Cannon Beach. Haystack Rock is a local landmark right on the beach here and stood out in all its glory on the beautiful day I visited it. This is where many of the later scenes take place, such as the famous three rocks scene before they find the entrance to the tunnels. Its also where one eyed Willie’s ship sailed off into the sunset and where the final beach scenes take place. No visit to the area would be complete without stopping at this awesome spot.

Just a short drive away, near the entrance to Cannon Beach, take the Ecola Road to visit another location. This is where the kids road their bikes on the winding forest trail and it was also where the old restaurant was set up, which has since been torn down. I didn’t go that day, but have been many times before. It’s another amazing drive. For those paranormal fans out there, it’s also worth noting the the Ecola area is home to a cool ghost called Bandage Man that breaks out the windows of travelling cars, eats dogs and has supposedly been responsible for the disappearance of several people over the years. Creepy stuff. Look it up for more info!

Well, that’s it for now. I hope you enjoyed my look into The Goonies. I shall return soon with an additional article on Astoria filming locations.