Shrimp boats moored on Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant, marsh grass in the foreground – the harbour of Kildare Island in Outer Banks.

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Series · 2020–2026

Where wasOuter Banksfilmed?

Not one scene was shot on the Outer Banks. Netflix refused to film in North Carolina because of its 2016 'bathroom bill', so Kildare Island was assembled 500 km south from Shem Creek, the Old Village of Mount Pleasant, a 1786 estate on the Ashley River and a lighthouse in a state park. The harbour and the town are public; the Cameron house and John B's Chateau are private, and the owners mean it.

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11 locations1 countries6 tours

Tours from $250★ 5.0 · 183 reviews

Photo: Lightbulb Noob, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

COLD OPEN

Outer Banks is set on the barrier islands of North Carolina and was filmed almost entirely in South Carolina. The creators wanted Wilmington, their home turf; Netflix refused to shoot in the state because of its 2016 'bathroom bill' HB2 and moved the production to Charleston, where it stayed for all five seasons between 2019 and 2025. Kildare Island is a collage: Shem Creek and the Old Village in Mount Pleasant, a 1786 estate on the Ashley River, a state-park lighthouse near Beaufort and a swamp garden up the Cooper River. Most of it is public or a working business; the two houses that matter most are private and the owners have had enough of visitors.

SC 00 · MAP OF THE FILMING LOCATIONS

Where Outer Banks was filmed: 11 locations you can visit

United States1Shem Creek 2The Wreck of the Richard & Charlene 3Pitt Street Bridge 4Old Village, Mount Pleasant 5Lowndes Grove 6Hunting Island State Park 7Morris Island Lighthouse 8Cypress Gardens 9Old Bethel AME Church 10Palmetto Islands County Park 11Bowens Island Restaurant

ACT IUnited States11 locations

Lightbulb Noob · CC BY-SA 4.0

EXT. SHEM CREEK – MOUNT PLEASANT

Shem Creek

as Kildare harbour – the Pogues' boat scenes and Heyward's Seafood

Most of the boat scenes from season one onwards: the HMS Pogue on the water, the docks, the shrimp boats behind the Pogues in almost every harbour shot. The commercial dock Geechie Seafood on the creek plays Heyward's, the business of Pope's father.

VISITING

Shem Creek Park on Coleman Boulevard has a public boardwalk of about 670 m along the marsh to the mouth of the creek, open 5 am to midnight, parking free but limited. The seafood docks are working premises – stay on the public parts and buy shrimp if you want to talk to anyone. Kayak and paddleboard rentals launch from the park.

NOTECome for the last hour before sunset, when the shrimp boats are in and the light is what the series looks like. Then walk to The Wreck for dinner.

4 tours · from $59 →

An old wooden hull rotting in the undergrowth by the marsh at Mount Pleasant – not the show's prop, but the setting where the Pogues' wreck stood

Mark Cowell · CC BY 3.0

INT. THE WRECK OF THE RICHARD & CHARLENE – MOUNT PLEASANT

The Wreck of the Richard & Charlene

as The restaurant of Kiara's parents

Kiara's family restaurant, under its real name, at 106 Haddrell Street on the south bank of Shem Creek. Season-one scenes of Kie at work and the family arguments; the exterior recurs in later seasons.

VISITING

A real seafood restaurant that has been serving fried shrimp on paper plates for decades. Dinner only, Tuesday to Sunday from 5 pm to 8.30 pm, closed Mondays, no reservations, and the operator adds a 4 percent fee for card payments. Expect a queue on summer evenings.

NOTEIt is hidden behind the seafood sheds at the end of Haddrell Street and easy to drive past. Park where the signs say, not on the dock.

2 tours · from $250 →

The paved causeway of Pitt Street Bridge running out through the marsh towards Charleston Harbor – JJ's dirt-bike ride in season three.

Dmitri Nassyrov · CC BY 3.0

EXT. PITT STREET BRIDGE – MOUNT PLEASANT

Pitt Street Bridge

as The causeway into Charleston Harbor – JJ's dirt-bike ride

Establishing shots across the marsh in every season and JJ's ride out along the old causeway in season three. The bridge once carried the road and a trolley from Mount Pleasant to Sullivan's Island; the road was cut in 1945 and the stub is a linear park.

VISITING

Free public park at 972 Pitt Street, open year round. A paved path runs about 700 m out to a fishing pier with views of the Ravenel Bridge, Fort Sumter and the Charleston skyline. Roadside parking at the entrance fills on weekend evenings. Dogs on leads.

NOTEWalk to the very end for the wide harbour shot; the e-bike tours come this way and it is the easiest of all the locations to do without a car if you are staying in the Old Village.

2 tours · from $250 →

Pitt Street in the Old Village of Mount Pleasant with the pharmacy and small shops – dressed as the main street of Kildare.

Mark Cowell · CC BY 3.0

EXT. OLD VILLAGE, MOUNT PLEASANT – MOUNT PLEASANT

Old Village, Mount Pleasant

as Downtown Kildare – the sheriff's station and Pitt Street Pharmacy

Pitt Street and the blocks around it are dressed as Kildare's main street with fictional shopfronts. The building at 281 Venning Street plays the Kildare County Sheriff's station; Pitt Street Pharmacy is where Sarah buys the pregnancy test and JJ breaks a window.

VISITING

A residential neighbourhood with a two-block commercial strip, open to walk any time. The pharmacy is a working shop with an old soda fountain; lunch and milkshakes at the counter. The sheriff's station is a private building – look from the pavement.

NOTEDo not photograph private homes or block driveways; the town runs a 'Keep it Pleasant' campaign because of the volume of fans. Kiara's season-three house on McCants Drive is one of those homes.

2 tours · from $250 →

The white 1786 house of Lowndes Grove with its columned porch above the lawn on the Ashley River – Tannyhill, the Cameron estate.

w_lemay · CC0

EXT. LOWNDES GROVE – CHARLESTON

Lowndes Grove

as Tannyhill – the Cameron family estate

Sarah Cameron's home and the Kooks' parties on the lawn above the Ashley River, from the first episode to the final season. The house at 266 St Margaret Street dates from about 1786 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

VISITING

A private, gated wedding and event venue owned by the Patrick family since 2007. Not open to the public and no tours; you can see the gate and part of the grounds from St Margaret Street in a quiet residential neighbourhood. Most weekends there is a wedding in progress.

NOTEThe lawn and the river front, which is what you know from the series, face away from the street. The best views are from the water: a harbour or Ashley River boat tour passes it.

2 tours · from $250 →

The black-and-white Hunting Island Lighthouse rising above the palmettos of the state park – the Redfield Lighthouse of season one.

Roger Vreeland · CC0

EXT. HUNTING ISLAND STATE PARK – HUNTING ISLAND, NEAR BEAUFORT

Hunting Island State Park

as The Redfield Lighthouse and the Boneyard

The black-and-white lighthouse that stands in for Redfield Lighthouse in season one, and the dead-tree beach where the Pogues drink and fight in the pilot – the park's own 'Boneyard'. The production came back to the lighthouse for two days in 2024 for season four.

VISITING

State park about 25 km east of Beaufort and 130 km south-west of Charleston. Open daily 6 am to 6 pm, until 9 pm in daylight-saving time; admission 8 USD per adult, 4 USD for children 6 to 15. The lighthouse was closed for restoration from February 2022 and reopened on 26 May 2026; climbs of its 167 steps cost 5 USD, first come first served from 9.30 am to 4.30 pm, and the park may close it in bad weather. The boneyard beach at the north end can be cut off at high tide.

NOTEMake it a day trip with Beaufort, not a detour from Charleston – it is 90 minutes each way. Check the park's alerts before you go; the footbridge to Little Hunting Island closes on high tides.

Morris Island Lighthouse standing alone in the water off Folly Beach at low tide – the lighthouse in the wide shots.

Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0

EXT. MORRIS ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE – FOLLY BEACH

Morris Island Lighthouse

as Redfield Lighthouse in the wide shots

The 49 m tower standing alone in the water off the north end of Folly Beach appears in the harbour shots and b-roll as the show's lighthouse; the close-ups are Hunting Island. Built in 1876 on dry land, it lost its island to erosion after jetties were built in 1889.

VISITING

You cannot enter it – it stands several hundred metres offshore and the non-profit Save the Light lists its condition as critical. View it from Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve: park at the end of East Ashley Avenue on Folly Beach with all four wheels off the tarmac, then walk about 600 m along the old road to the beach. Open sunrise to sunset, small fee at the kiosk, no toilets, no swimming, no dogs.

NOTELow tide gives you the sandbar and the best foreground; the currents in the inlet are dangerous, so stay out of the water. The 90-minute boat tour from Bowens Island circles the tower.

2 tours · from $250 →

Bald cypresses standing in black water at Cypress Gardens with a flat rowing boat – the swamp the Pogues paddle through in season two.

ProfReader · CC BY-SA 4.0

EXT. CYPRESS GARDENS – MONCKS CORNER

Cypress Gardens

as The swamp of season two

The blackwater cypress swamp about 40 km north of Charleston that the Pogues paddle through in season two; the same water carried Noah and Allie's rowing boat in The Notebook and scenes of The Patriot and Cold Mountain.

VISITING

A Berkeley County park at 3030 Cypress Gardens Road, open daily 9 am to 5 pm with last admission at 4 pm; admission charged. Flat-bottomed boats can be rowed yourself on the swamp trail, and there are garden paths, a butterfly house and a small aquarium. Allow two to three hours including the drive.

NOTERow the boat: it is the only way to be in the frame rather than beside it. Spring, when the azaleas are out, is the busy season; autumn light on the black water is closer to the series.

The small boarded-up wooden Old Bethel AME Church in McClellanville under live oaks – John B's secret place in The Cut.

w_lemay · CC0

EXT. OLD BETHEL AME CHURCH – MCCLELLANVILLE

Old Bethel AME Church

as John B's secret place in The Cut

The abandoned wooden church, built in 1872 and closed since 1979, where John B takes Sarah in episode seven of season one. The fishing village of McClellanville, 65 km up the coast, plays The Cut, the Pogues' side of Kildare; the old public school was Kildare County High.

VISITING

Still owned by the congregation of Bethel AME. Within weeks of the premiere fans broke windows and wrote characters' names on the door; the building has since been boarded up and the sheriff's office patrols it. The pastor has said people are welcome to stop and look from outside – nobody goes in.

NOTECombine it with a walk along Pinckney Street and the shrimp docks at Jeremy Creek; McClellanville is small and has one or two places to eat. Do not touch the church.

The wooden observation tower over the marsh in Palmetto Islands County Park – the Hawk's Nest where Topper pushes John B.

Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0

EXT. PALMETTO ISLANDS COUNTY PARK – MOUNT PLEASANT

Palmetto Islands County Park

as The Hawk's Nest – where Topper pushes John B off the tower

The wooden observation tower in the marsh plays the Hawk's Nest in season one, the spot after the Midsummers party where Topper and John B fight and John B falls.

VISITING

County park at 444 Needlerush Parkway, open from 8 am to sunset for most of the year and to 8 pm from May to Labor Day; admission 2 USD per person. The tower is about 800 m along the trail from the car park, some 15 m high, with stairs to a platform over the marsh.

NOTEGo early on a weekday; the park has a water park and playground and fills with families in summer. The tower is not the drama of the scene – it is a pleasant lookout, nothing more.

The cinder-block Bowens Island Restaurant on stilts above the marsh south of James Island – the Rockfish bar of season four.

ProfReader · CC BY-SA 4.0

INT. BOWENS ISLAND RESTAURANT – JAMES ISLAND, CHARLESTON

Bowens Island Restaurant

as The Rockfish bar of season four – and the boat tours' dock

The cinder-block oyster shack on the marsh south of James Island doubles as the Rockfish bar; the boat-tour operator points to scenes from seasons two and three at its dock. The creeks around it appear in the boat scenes, and John B's house is a short run by water.

VISITING

A working restaurant at 1870 Bowens Island Road, open Tuesday to Thursday 11 am to 9 pm and Friday and Saturday to 9.30 pm, steamed oysters from 4 pm. The Outer Banks boat tour by Charleston Outdoor Adventures leaves from the dock next door, 90 minutes, 47 USD per adult.

NOTEBook the boat for late afternoon and eat oysters afterwards. It is the only way to see the Chateau, John B's house, whose owners have asked that the address not be published.

2 tours · from $250 →

SC 12 · BOOK THE SCENE

Outer Banks tours in Charleston, with ratings

A private half-day car tour with a former background actor covers 15-plus locations from Lowndes Grove to The Wreck; an e-bike tour does the Mount Pleasant side; a 90-minute boat from Bowens Island is the only way to see John B's house and the Morris Island Lighthouse. The locations stretch over 60 km of coast, so the car tour or a rental car is the realistic choice.

Free cancellation on most toursReal review counts from the booking partnerSame price as booking direct

Outer Banks filming location tours in Charleston

Three kinds. The private three-hour drive – a guide who worked as a background actor, up to four people in one car, 15-plus stops including Lowndes Grove, the Old Village and The Wreck – is the one with the reviews, from about 250 USD per group. The e-bike tour covers the Mount Pleasant side only: Shem Creek, the Old Village and Pitt Street Bridge, cheaper and outdoors. The 90-minute boat tour from Bowens Island is the only way to see John B's house and the Morris Island Lighthouse from the water.

Most booked

Outer Banks Film Locations Tour

★ 5.0 · 183 reviews

from$250Check availability

Outer Banks Film Location eBike Tour in Charleston

★ 4.9 · 26 reviews

from$139Check availability

Shem Creek boat and kayak tours

Not filming tours, but the creek from the water is the harbour of the series. Kayak and paddleboard trips leave from Shem Creek Park and go out to the harbour mouth and Crab Bank; the small boat tours add the Ravenel Bridge and, at dusk, the shrimp fleet coming in. Two hours is enough.

Most booked

Charleston: Harbor Sunset Cruise from Shem Creek - Music

★ 4.8 · 41 reviews1h 30mvia GetYourGuide

from$59Check availability

Charleston: Shem Creek Culture Tour

★ 5.0 · 30 reviews1h 30mvia GetYourGuide

from$29Check availability

Semi Private Party Boat Cruise Shem Creek to Charleston Harbor

★ 5.0 · 4 reviewsvia Viator

from$78Check availability

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Charleston Harbor Day Cruise from Shem Creek

★ 5.0 · 1 reviews1h 30mvia GetYourGuide

from$60Check

Booked through GetYourGuide, Viator or Tiqets (affiliate links, advertising). Most tours can be cancelled free of charge up to 24 hours ahead. Prices in US dollars as of 23 September 2026; the checkout shows your currency.

LOCATION MANAGER'S NOTES

Tips before you go

Base yourself in Mount Pleasant or downtown Charleston. Shem Creek, the Old Village and Pitt Street Bridge are within 3 km of each other; Lowndes Grove is 15 minutes across the Ravenel Bridge.
The Chateau, John B's house, is a private home in the Secessionville district of James Island. The owners asked publications to remove the address after years of trespassing. See it from the boat tour or not at all.
Hunting Island and Cypress Gardens are each a half-day: 90 minutes' drive south-west to Beaufort, 45 minutes north to Moncks Corner. Do not try both on one day with the Charleston stops.
The real Outer Banks – Nags Head, Kitty Hawk, Manteo – are 700 km away in North Carolina and have no locations. Tours sold there are wild-horse and lighthouse tours, not Pogue tours.
The Wreck is dinner only and closes at 8.30 pm; Bowens Island is closed Sunday and Monday. Check both before building a day around them.
Summer is hot, humid and the storm season; the show's golden light is spring and October. The Ravenel Bridge has a footpath, Wonders' Way, for the harbour panorama you see in the drone shots.

CONTINUITY ERRORS

What the internet gets wrong

~~Outer Banks was filmed on the Outer Banks~~Actually

Nothing was. The show is set on a fictional Kildare Island off North Carolina and shot in and around Charleston, South Carolina; season four added a few beach and pier scenes in the Wilmington area, the first time the production set foot in the state.

~~Netflix chose Charleston for the scenery~~Actually

The creators wanted Wilmington, North Carolina, where they grew up. Netflix declined to film in the state because of its HB2 'bathroom bill' and Charleston got the production and its tens of millions of dollars per season.

~~You can climb the Redfield Lighthouse~~Actually

There are two. Morris Island Lighthouse stands in the sea and cannot be entered. Hunting Island's tower can be climbed for a small fee when the park opens it; it was closed for restoration from 2022 and is listed as open again in 2026.

~~The Bahamas episodes were shot in the Bahamas~~Actually

Nassau in season two is Bridgetown, Barbados, and the Careenage; Poguelandia is Bathsheba on the island's east coast. Morocco in season four (Essaouira and Ouarzazate) and Croatia in season five (Dubrovnik) were the real thing.

PRODUCTION LOG

Production notes

2016: North Carolina passes HB2, the 'bathroom bill'. Netflix later refuses to film the series in the state because of it, and the Wilmington plan of the creators is dropped for Charleston.
2019: Filming of the first season begins in Charleston on 1 May, with Shem Creek, Lowndes Grove, Hunting Island and Morris Island Lighthouse.
2020: The series premieres on 15 April in the first weeks of the pandemic. Within a month, fans have vandalised the Old Bethel AME Church in McClellanville.
2021: Season two, shot between August 2020 and April 2021 in Charleston, at Cypress Gardens and in Barbados, is released on 30 July.
2023: Season three arrives on 23 February. Filming of season four starts in June and is paused by the SAG-AFTRA strike until November.
2024: Season four shoots in Morocco in February, returns to Hunting Island in the summer and is released in two parts in October and November; the fifth and final season is announced on 4 November.
2025–2026: The final season films from June to 19 December 2025 in Charleston, Myrtle Beach and Dubrovnik and is released on 20 August 2026.