The 1898 Butts County Courthouse on the square in Jackson, Georgia – Hawkins Public Library and the centre of downtown Hawkins in Stranger Things

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Series · 2016–2025

Where wasStranger Thingsfilmed?

Hawkins is Jackson, Georgia, an hour south of Atlanta, and the town square still looks like the show. The rest of Hawkins is scattered across the suburbs: private houses in East Point and Fayetteville, a supermarket in Palmetto, a quarry that is now a city park. The lab is being demolished, the school is gone and the mall is shut – so the list matters more than it used to.

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Tours from $175★ 5.0 · 388 reviews

Photo: Michael Rivera, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

COLD OPEN

Hawkins, Indiana does not exist. Stranger Things was shot in and around Atlanta from late 2015 to December 2024 because Georgia's film tax credit made it cheap and the region had small towns that still looked like 1983. Downtown Hawkins is the courthouse square of Jackson, 75 km south of Atlanta; the houses, the school, the mall and the lab are scattered across the suburbs. Jackson, the grocery store, the burger diner and the quarry park are open to anyone. The lab is being torn down, the school is gone, the mall is shut, and the houses are private.

SC 00 · MAP OF THE FILMING LOCATIONS

Where Stranger Things was filmed: 11 locations you can visit

United States1Butts County Courthouse, Jackson 2Hawkins National Laboratory (Emory Briarcliff campus)3The Wheeler house 4The Byers house 5Hawkins Middle and High School 6Starcourt Mall (Gwinnett Place Mall)7Palace Arcade and Family Video 8Benny's Burgers (Tiffany's Kitchen)9Bradley's Big Buy (Piggly Wiggly)10The quarry (Westside Park)11Stone Mountain Park

ACT IUnited States11 locations

Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 3.0

EXT. BUTTS COUNTY COURTHOUSE, JACKSON – JACKSON, GEORGIA

Butts County Courthouse, Jackson

as Hawkins Public Library and the town square

The 1898 courthouse in the middle of the square is the library where Hopper digs through the archives in season one and where the town gathers in later seasons. The streets around it – 2nd Street, 3rd Street, Oak Street, Mulberry Street – are downtown Hawkins: Melvald's General Store where Joyce works (4 2nd Street), the Hawk theatre (Bradley's Olde Tavern, 2 Oak Street), the alley where Steve fights Billy.

VISITING

A working town centre, free to walk at any hour. The courthouse stopped hearing cases in 2019 and now holds the Butts County welcome centre at 25 3rd Street. Hawkins Headquarters, a fan shop at 101 E 2nd Street, is open daily 10:00 to 18:00 and runs a 90-minute walking tour of the square (adults USD 35, children USD 25, booked direct, not through the partners). Park on the square or a side street.

NOTEJackson is an hour by car from Atlanta and there is no public transport worth mentioning. Go in the morning, do the walking tour, eat on the square, drive back.

1 tours · from $175 →

The concrete towers of the former Georgia Mental Health Institute on Emory's Briarcliff campus, Atlanta – the exterior of Hawkins National Laboratory

Counse · CC BY 2.0

EXT. HAWKINS NATIONAL LABORATORY (EMORY BRIARCLIFF CAMPUS) – DRUID HILLS, ATLANTA

Hawkins National Laboratory (Emory Briarcliff campus)

as The lab where Eleven grew up

The former Georgia Mental Health Institute at 1256 Briarcliff Road NE, a 1965 state hospital that closed in 1997 and was bought by Emory University. Its concrete towers are the exterior of the lab in every season; the gate scenes and the tunnels were shot on the grounds.

VISITING

Closed. Emory leased most of the 42-acre site to a senior-living developer in 2022; the hospital buildings have stood empty since 2024 and have been under demolition since 2025; the whole property is fenced, with no-trespassing signs. Whatever is still standing can be glimpsed from Briarcliff Road. A 19-year-old died falling from the empty building in December 2025. Do not climb the fence.

NOTECheck before you go – by the time you read this the towers may be rubble.

1 tours · from $175 →

A suburban street of 1970s houses in East Point, Georgia – Piney Wood Lane, where the Wheeler, Sinclair and Henderson houses stand

Vincerelli86 · CC BY-SA 4.0

EXT. THE WHEELER HOUSE – EAST POINT

The Wheeler house

as Mike's house, the basement, the cul-de-sac

2530 Piney Wood Lane in East Point, south-west of Atlanta. The Sinclair house is two doors down at 2550, the Henderson house at 2886 Piney Wood Drive. The boys' bike rides through Hawkins start on these streets. The basement was a set at the studio.

VISITING

Private homes on a quiet residential street. Look from the pavement, keep the car moving, do not knock. The Atlanta tours drive this loop for exactly that reason.

1 tours · from $175 →

A wooded country road outside Fayetteville, Georgia, near the small house used as the Byers home

Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 4.0

EXT. THE BYERS HOUSE – FAYETTEVILLE

The Byers house

as Joyce, Will and Jonathan's house with the Christmas lights

A small wooden house on six acres at 149 Coastline Road in Fayetteville, used for exteriors in seasons one to three. The lights-on-the-wall room was built at the studio.

VISITING

Private. Since October 2024 the house belongs to the investment platform Arrived, which restored it to its screen look – alphabet wall, the boys' bedrooms – and rents it on Airbnb for a few nights a year. Unless you have a booking, you have no business on the driveway; the road is narrow and the neighbours have complained for years.

NOTEIf you want in, book the Airbnb months ahead. There is no walk-up access.

The former Patrick Henry High School in Stockbridge, Georgia, which played Hawkins Middle and High School until its demolition in 2024

edkohler · CC BY 2.0

EXT. HAWKINS MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL – STOCKBRIDGE

Hawkins Middle and High School

as The school, the gym, the Snow Ball

Patrick Henry High School at 109 South Lee Street, Stockbridge, closed in 2015 and played both schools from season one onwards; the exterior still said 'Hawkins High School – Home of the Tigers' in 2022.

VISITING

Gone. Demolition started in September 2024, weeks after season five wrapped there, and by early 2025 nothing was left. A county STEM high school is being built on the site for 2027. There is nothing to see beyond a construction fence.

1 tours · from $175 →

The closed Gwinnett Place Mall in Duluth, Georgia, inside which the Starcourt Mall set was built for season three

MikeKalasnik · CC BY-SA 2.0

EXT. STARCOURT MALL (GWINNETT PLACE MALL) – DULUTH

Starcourt Mall (Gwinnett Place Mall)

as The season three mall, Scoops Ahoy, the Russian base beneath

A dead wing and the food court of Gwinnett Place Mall at 2100 Pleasant Hill Road were dressed as a 1985 mall for filming in 2018. The set was stripped out in 2019 to stop fans breaking in.

VISITING

The mall closed in April 2021; Gwinnett County has bought most of the site and is picking a developer to demolish and rebuild over the next two decades. The car park is accessible, the doors are not. Nothing of Starcourt survives inside.

NOTENot worth the 45-minute drive north unless you are passing on I-85.

Church Street in downtown Douglasville, Georgia, with the striped former laundrette that served as the Palace Arcade

Blastoids · CC BY-SA 3.0

EXT. PALACE ARCADE AND FAMILY VIDEO – DOUGLASVILLE

Palace Arcade and Family Video

as Dustin's Dig Dug record; Steve and Robin's video shop

A former laundrette at 6501 Church Street in downtown Douglasville, painted in purple and orange stripes for season two. The shop next door at 6503 became Family Video in season four. Hopper's police station was around the corner on Courthouse Square; that building, the old city hall, closed in December 2025 and is being cleared for a new city hall.

VISITING

Exterior only. The stripes are still on the wall and the chequered floor shows through the window; the building is not an arcade and is not open. Douglasville's old town square is a five-minute walk with cafés and parking.

A roadside diner at Lithia Springs, Georgia – Tiffany's Kitchen, Benny's Burgers in the first episode

John Phelan · CC BY 4.0

INT. BENNY'S BURGERS (TIFFANY'S KITCHEN) – LITHIA SPRINGS

Benny's Burgers (Tiffany's Kitchen)

as The diner where Eleven eats her first meal

Tiffany's Kitchen at 7413 Lee Road, Lithia Springs, is Benny's diner in the first episode and turns up again in season four. The interior was shot on site.

VISITING

A working country diner with a breakfast trade, open Tuesday to Sunday 06:00 to 21:00, closed Mondays. Order something, sit down, keep the camera discreet around other customers. Ten minutes from Sweetwater Creek State Park, so combine the two.

The Piggly Wiggly supermarket on Center Street in Palmetto, Georgia – Bradley's Big Buy, where Eleven takes the Eggos

Michael Rivera · CC BY-SA 4.0

INT. BRADLEY'S BIG BUY (PIGGLY WIGGLY) – PALMETTO

Bradley's Big Buy (Piggly Wiggly)

as The supermarket where Eleven steals the Eggos

The Piggly Wiggly at 504 Center Street in Palmetto, 45 km south-west of Atlanta, is the shop Eleven walks out of with the waffles in season one and returns to in season three.

VISITING

An ordinary open supermarket. Buy a box of Eggos – the store has been selling them to fans since 2016 and does not mind photos in the aisle. No tour needed.

The flooded Bellwood Quarry in Westside Park, Atlanta, with its granite cliffs – the quarry from season one

Tyler Lahti · CC BY-SA 4.0

EXT. THE QUARRY (WESTSIDE PARK) – ATLANTA

The quarry (Westside Park)

as Where Will's 'body' is pulled from the water and Eleven throws Troy

Bellwood Quarry on the west side of Atlanta, filmed in 2015 while it was still a disused granite pit. The city flooded it as a reservoir and opened Westside Park (now Shirley Clarke Franklin Park) around it in 2021.

VISITING

A free city park, open daily, with two entrances and free car parks off Johnson Road NW at about 1600 and 1660. The overlook above the water is the viewpoint; the reservoir itself is fenced and swimming is forbidden. The cliffs look as they did on screen, the water level does not.

Railway tracks running through the woods of Stone Mountain Park, Georgia – the line the boys walk with Eleven

Dsdugan · CC0

EXT. STONE MOUNTAIN PARK – STONE MOUNTAIN

Stone Mountain Park

as The railway tracks and the Hawkins woods

The boys walk the tracks with Eleven in season one, Dustin and Steve lay the meat trail along the same line in season two. The rails belong to the park's scenic railroad and run beside Cherokee Trail; other forest scenes were shot in the park's woods. Barb's funeral is at Stone Mountain Cemetery in the village outside the gate.

VISITING

A state-owned park east of Atlanta charging a parking fee per vehicle (USD 20 online in 2026, more at the gate; annual pass USD 40). The tracks are in use – do not walk on them. The Cherokee Trail follows them for a stretch and is the legal way to get the picture.

NOTESweetwater Creek State Park west of the city is the other Hawkins forest, with a USD 10 state-park parking fee per vehicle and 15 miles of trails; the Mirkwood-style woods along the creek are the ones fans go for.

SC 12 · BOOK THE SCENE

Stranger Things tours from Atlanta, with ratings

One private three-hour drive with hotel pickup covers the East Point streets with the Wheeler, Sinclair and Henderson houses, the studio gates, the pool and the school site. Jackson is not included – the square has its own walking tour, booked direct at the fan shop. For everything else you need a car.

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

Stranger Things tours from Atlanta

There is one tour with a track record: the private three-hour 'Upside Down' drive by a local operator, with pickup in Midtown or Downtown Atlanta and a minimum of two people. It covers the East Point streets with the Wheeler, Sinclair and Henderson houses, the studio gates, the pool from season three, the school site and the steelworks, with a guide who knows which season shot what. Jackson is not on it – for the square, book the local walking tour direct at Hawkins Headquarters. Ignore the six-hour limousine product at over USD 1,000; it has no reviews.

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Private Stranger Things "The Upside Down" Film Locations Tour in Atlanta

★ 5.0 · 388 reviews

from$175Check availability

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

The locations sit in a 60-km ring around Atlanta with Jackson an hour south. Hire a car; the tours only cover the city end.
Jackson is the one place that still looks like Hawkins from every angle. Half a day there beats a day of driving past fences.
The houses on Piney Wood Lane and Coastline Road are homes. Photograph from the road, stay off the lawns, and do not ring the bell.
Three sites are gone or going: the school in Stockbridge is demolished, the lab on Briarcliff Road is being demolished, the mall in Duluth is shut. Adjust your list before you drive.
The two places you can actually go inside and spend money are the Piggly Wiggly in Palmetto and Tiffany's Kitchen in Lithia Springs. They are 20 minutes apart.
Georgia summers are hot and wet; the quarry park and Stone Mountain are outdoor stops best done before 11:00.

CONTINUITY ERRORS

What the internet gets wrong

~~Hawkins is a real town in Indiana~~Actually

It is invented. Nothing was filmed in Indiana; the town centre is Jackson, Georgia, and the rest is metro Atlanta.

~~You can tour Hawkins Lab~~Actually

The building was a derelict state hospital on Emory land, always closed to the public, and it is now being demolished for a retirement complex.

~~Starcourt Mall still exists~~Actually

The set was a temporary dressing inside a dying mall, removed in 2019. The mall itself closed in 2021.

~~The Byers house is a museum you can visit~~Actually

It is a private house that an investment company rents out on Airbnb. Nobody is admitted without a booking.

PRODUCTION LOG

Production notes

2015: Filming of season one starts in November in Jackson and around Atlanta, drawn by Georgia's film tax credit.
2016: Season one is released on 15 July; Piggly Wiggly in Palmetto starts getting visitors within weeks.
2017: Season two follows on 27 October, adding the Douglasville arcade and the Stone Mountain tracks.
2018: Gwinnett Place Mall is dressed as Starcourt for season three, released 4 July 2019; the set is removed the following summer.
2022: Season four is released in two volumes; Emory leases the Briarcliff hospital campus to a developer for demolition.
2024: Season five shoots from January to December; the Stockbridge school is demolished from September; the Byers house opens as an Airbnb.
2025: Season five is released from 26 November; the finale airs on 31 December, and several hundred fans hold a candlelit vigil at the Jackson courthouse on New Year's Day.