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33° 44' 56.3892'' N 84° 23' 16.746'' W

Aaron McHugh| 4 minute read

Trip Report: Stranger Things From Our Eyes in Hawkins, Indiana

Description: In search of Stranger Things, we visited dozens of Stranger Things filming locations in fictional Hawkins, Indiana (actually filmed in the greater Atlanta, GA metro). But first, some backdrop to our adventure-seeking. We both love stories told through cinema. For me, it started in 1979 with Star Wars, A New Hope in a mountain town theater known for Mule Days. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the lost ark were a late-night showing for poor grad students on Mizzou’s college campus in middle school. After paying for an age-appropriate PG film for Stephen King’s Rated R Stand By Me in high school, I snuck in. 

For our cinematography college student daughter, a Middle-school obsession with the vanishing of Will Byers sparked the quest for us to explore Hawkins, IN. For the release of Stranger Things season 2, she hosted a binge-watching all-nighter fit with our transmission-ready Upside Down Christmas light alphabet keyboard.

Upside Down ready for transmission

Length: 3-4 days

Pro tip: We rented a Scamper Van in Atlanta and slept at RV Parks and one Walmart Parking lot. 

Scamper Van in the foreground of The Hawkins Laboratory. Photo credit @Averi McHugh

The rewards: After we finished walking the railroad tracks in Stone Mountain Park, where 11 throws off the boys’ compasses needles to prevent them from finding “the gate.” Averi connected to her film class over zoom from the Scamper Van mobile office. “Hey Averi, where are you?” What better learning for a film degree than to visit actual filming sites to appreciate the complexity, diversity, geographic expanse required to stitch together the fictional Hawkins, IN. 

We arrived at Hawkins Middle School to be greeted by a security guard. We bashfully mentioned why we were on campus in our not so cognito Scamper Van, “Have you ever heard of the show Stranger Things?” 

His response was, “well you guys need to leave.” 

“Oh, sorry, just wanted to look around.” 

“They are filming now (Season 4), and the cast is inside the school.” 

MINDBLOWN tears followed.

Onset of Stranger Things Season 4, Hawkins Middle School outside of Atlanta, GA

Locations we visited in Hawkins, IN: 

-Mike’s House (The Wheeler Family Home)

-Hawkins Lab

-The van flip location

-Railroad tracks

-Dustin’s House

-Luca’s House

-Downtown Hawkins

-Melvald’s General Store

-Hawk Theather

-Palace Arcade

-Hawkins Middle School 

-Benny’s Burgers

-Starcourt Mall

-Hawkins Community Pool

-Hawkins Town Hall

-Hawkins Woods

-Downtown Chicago

-Abandoned Mill

-Trick-or-Treating House

Season: Anytime

Resources:
Here’s the map that we used from Atlanta Magazine. Each location address is listed.

The Stranger Things Season 1, Episode 1 script

The railroad tracks where multiple scenes were shot from Stranger Things, emulating a classic scene from Stand By Me. Photo credit @Averi McHugh
The Hawkins Lab is as creepy in person as it is on screen, but with fewer satellite dishes on the roof. Photo credit @Averi McHugh
Mike Wheeler’s house the epicenter of the story developing of friendship and adolescent adventure.
Photo credit @Averi McHugh
The Palace Arcade appeared to still be an active set with games inside, neon lights and black trash bags covering the windows. Season Four? Photo credit @Averi McHugh
Season Three, The Mill Photo credit @Averi McHugh
Many of the context shots in Stranger Things are of simple landscapes to set tone, time and season. This field is adjacent to Mike’s house. Photo credit @Averi McHugh
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About the Author Aaron McHugh

Aaron McHugh is an executive transformation coach, enterprise agility consultant, writer, podcaster, adventurer, and author of Fire Your Boss: Discover Work You Love Without Quitting Your Job.

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