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Saturday, March 25, 2017

Exploring the USA -- "Dirty Dancing" Locations


A video made by Mobile Instinct and provided on a YouTube page with this explanation:
Seeing the Dirty Dancing filming locations for the first time is a pretty incredible experience provided you are into the movie Dirty Dancing AND you love seeing movie locations. ....

There are lots of opinions about this scene and where exactly [the water-lift scene] was filmed. Lake Lure in North Carolina (a truly amazingly beautiful place) has claimed for years that it was filmed in Firefly Cove.

There used to be an old Boy Scout camp in the woods and the cabins were used in the movie as the staff’s bunks. The stairs and bridge that Baby dances on were also located there. HOWEVER there are still staff at Mountain Lake Hotel in Virginia who say it was absolutely filmed there, so who knows?

At this point it will probably be varying opinions forever due to the fact that both areas enjoy the revenue from Dirty Dancing visitors so both will keep claiming it was at their location. ...

Shortly after filming this I visited Lake Lure in North Carolina to see for myself what was left. The short answer is, not much. The Boy Scout camp was torn down years ago and is now a community of beautiful homes. I believe one of the homes was built on the original foundation of Johnny's cabin which is pretty cool. The long staircase exists as well and I was able to snap a photo of them. Unfortunately this is about all that's left.

However if you get the chance you should definitely check both locations out. Lake Lure is such a cool area with tons of outdoorsy things to do. Also, make sure you check out Mountain Lake Hotel in Virginia. Come for the amazing Dirty Dancing filming locations and stay for the incredible Hotel experience!

I had planned on visiting Mountain Lake Hotel for many years however it is so far off "the beaten path" that one must truly work a day into a trip to see this beautiful place. Trust me though, it is worth seeing if not for the hotel itself. Beautiful stone and wood work everywhere, beautiful views and of course the view of Baby's cabin! The hotel definitely embraces the movie and loves for visitors to stop in and look around. Keep an eye out for the little shed-like building in the parking lot that houses lots of movie memorabilia and information about what can be seen and where.

The lake mystery - I have to be honest, I hadn't done much research at all on the lake before I got there and was pretty surprised to see it almost completely gone. There are lots of rumors about what happened to it but the real truth is it is a scientific marvel. Extremely rare indeed. Apparently it is a natural occurrence for the lake to drain itself and then years and years later it will fill back up again. There is a video on the Mountain Lake Hotel website explaining this in more detail than my brain can muster up for you. But never the less, it is still such an awesome place!
The YouTube webpage includes this comment:
The lift scene was filmed at Lake Lure NC.. Firefly cove near where the old Boys Camp was located but has since been leveled for housing sites... Sorry dude but the lake where she danced out over the water on the elevated wooden deck & where the lift scene was filmed is in North Carolina and quite full of water.

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