While the Netflix show Outer Banks is set in the fictional town of Kildare in North Carolina, much of the show was filmed in and around Charleston, South Carolina. Here are 20 Outer Banks filming locations in Charleston that you can visit—potentially all in a single day. We've also created an Outer Banks filming locations map that you can use to navigate the city.
As many Charleston residents well know, the Netflix show Outer Banks wasn’t filmed in North Carolina. Instead, much of the show was filmed in and around the Holy City. This is true of all three seasons that are on Netflix so far; and, with Season 4 looking like it will focus on the story of Blackbeard, we expect that this will be true for next season as well.
If you’re familiar with Charleston, some parts of the show can be a bit incongruous. For example, one minute, John B. and Big John are getting on a jet ski at Thomson Park on Sullivan’s Island, and the next they are passing by the Morris Island Lighthouse. Even so, Outer Banks is still highly entertaining; and, as a local, it’s neat to see so many familiar locations in all three seasons of the show.
Outer Banks Filming Locations in Charleston from Seasons 1, 2, and 3
We’ve compiled a list of 20 Outer Banks filming locations in Charleston you can visit by car! This includes filming locations from Seasons 1, 2, and 3 (and many locations feature repeatedly on the show). Note that we haven’t included filming locations on private property, such as John B.’s house (a.k.a., The Chateau). While you can find these Outer Banks filming locations online as well, there have been reports of complaints from the property owners, so we are choosing not to share them.
So, without further ado, here are 20 Outer Banks filming locations in Charleston that are either businesses you can patronize or that are found on (or, in a few instances, viewable from) public property. If you're interested in visiting, you can use our Outer Banks filming locations map below):
1. Bohicket Marina
Bohicket Marina is the location of the Camerons’ condo in Season 3. Sarah gets a call from her younger sister, Wheezie, asking her to meet her there. But, instead Sarah finds her father, who she hasn’t seen since he faked his death in an explosion on one of the family’s boats (this scene takes place in the Ashley River just off of the dock at Lowndes Grove).
Location: 1880 Andell Bluff Boulevard, Johns Island, SC
2. Bowen’s Island Restaurant
Bowen’s Island Restaurant features in several scenes of Outer Banks. In Season 3, it is the location where John B. and JJ meet Mike to ask for a plane ride to South America.
Location: 1870 Bowens Island Road, Charleston, SC
3. Charleston Maritime Center
The Charleston Maritime Center is used as the ferry port in Season 1 when John B. and Sarah make their trip to Chapel Hill. In reality, the stars of the show don’t visit Chapel Hill at all—instead, the scenes that take place here are filmed at various other locations in downtown Charleston.
Location: 10 Wharfside Street, Charleston, SC
4. Creekside Lands Inn
Creekside Lands Inn is a small roadside motel in West Ashley. It features in the very first episode of Outer Banks. When John B and JJ hide from the police on the side of a motel after finding a key in a boat they discover underwater, they are hanging onto temporary gutters and other props added to the real motel for the show.
Location: 2545 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC
5. Edmondston-Alston House
The Edmondston-Alston House is used as the home of Carla Limbrey in several episodes of Outer Banks. This is where Big John gives Carla the fake shroud in Season 3 when he and John B. visit Charleston in search of the artifact needed to find El Dorado.
Location: 21 East Battery, Charleston, SC
6. Gaillard Center
The Gaillard Center is used as the University of Chapel Hill law library in Season 1. The venue’s grand exterior features prominently in the show, and is publicly accessible in downtown Charleston. If you are staying in the Holy City on vacation, this is one of the easiest Outer Banks filming locations in Charleston to visit during your stay.
Location: 95 Calhoun Street, Charleston, SC
7. Geechie Seafood
Geechie Seafood on Shem Creek is used as the restaurant owned by Pope’s parents in all three seasons of Outer Banks. It is a restaurant in real-life that serves fresh, locally-caught shrimp, fish, and other Lowcountry dishes. Use our Outer Banks filming locations map (below) to visit the restaurant for a waterfront lunch or dinner!
Location: 248 Magwood Lane, Mount Pleasant, SC
8. Guerin’s Pharmacy in Summerville
Guerin’s Pharmacy in Summerville is the location of Pope’s great-grandmother’s former apartment in Season 2. The show includes several shots of the surrounding area of downtown Summerville as well.
Location: 140 South Main Street, Summerville, SC
9. Lowndes Grove
Lowndes Grove is used as Tanneyhill in all three seasons of Outer Banks—the home of the Camerons. In real-life, Lowndes Grove is an event venue located on the banks of the Ashley River on the Charleston peninsula. While Lowndes Grove is only minimally visible from the street, you can also see the grand structure and its dock (which also features prominently in the show) via boat.
Location: 266 St. Margaret Street, Charleston, SC
10. Morris Island Lighthouse
The Morris Island Lighthouse features in the background of several scenes of Outer Banks, and it is the lighthouse that Sarah and Topper visit after spending the night at The Boneyard in Season 3.
While you cannot go into the Morris Island Lighthouse (and the lighthouse is on a small island only accessible by kayak or boat--as you can see on our Outer Banks filming locations map below), you can get a good view of the lighthouse from the Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve at the north end of Folly Beach. Some scenes of The Boneyard appear to have been filmed at Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve as well.
Location: 1750 East Ashley Avenue, Folly Beach, SC
11. Mount Pleasant’s Old Village Historic District
Mount Pleasant’s Old Village Historic District also features prominently in several episodes of Outer Banks. Perhaps the most-recognizable building from the show is the police station, where Topper and his mother go to meet Sarah after pressing charges against John B. in Season 3. The police station features in the show’s earlier seasons as well.
Location: 281 Venning Street, Mount Pleasant, SC
12. Palmetto Islands County Park
In Episode 9 of Season 1 of Outer Banks, John B falls from an observation tower at the culmination of a fight with Topper. While the show makes the observation tower look like it is in the middle of nowhere, it is actually located in Palmetto Islands County Park in Mount Pleasant.
Location: 444 Needlerush Parkway, Mount Pleasant, SC
13. Pitt Street Bridge
The Pitt Street Bridge also features in several scenes of Outer Banks, including several establishing shots that show the southern end of Sullivan’s Island—which seems to be the location primarily used as Kildare. In Season 3, JJ rides his dirt bike to the end of the bridge.
Location: Pitt Street, Mount Pleasant, SC
14. Ravenel Bridge
Despite being a major giveaway to the show’s actual filming location in Charleston, the Ravenel Bridge features prominently in several scenes of Outer Banks. JJ boats under the bridge when seeking to reunite with John B in Season 1, and John B and Big John drive across the bridge in Season 3 on their way to The Charleston Museum (which is actually The Charleston Museum).
Not only can you drive across the Ravenel Bridge, but you can walk across it as well. The easiest way to do this is to park at Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park.
Location: 99 Harry M. Hallman, Jr. Boulevard, Mount Pleasant, SC
15. Shem Creek
Along with being the location of the restaurants owned by Pope’s and Kiara’s parents, Shem Creek features prominently in several establishing shots in all three seasons of Outer Banks. When scenes show shrimp boats lined up on the water, most of these were taken at Shem Creek (though some similar shots were taken on the water in McClellanville, SC). This is also one of the easier Outer Banks filming locations in Charleston to visit by car, as there is ample parking available. Plus, you can eat at the restaurants on Shem Creek that feature in the show!
Location: 1402 Shrimp Boat Lane, Mount Pleasant, SC
16. The Ben Silver Collection
When John B. and Sarah go shopping for clothes on their trip to Chapel Hill in Season 1, they visit The Ben Silver Collection—an actual high-end clothing store on King Street in downtown Charleston.
Location: 149 King Street, Charleston, SC
17. The Charleston Museum
When John B. and Big John visit The Charleston Museum in search of the artifact in Season 3, they visit the actual museum in downtown Charleston. The Charleston Museum is well worth visiting even aside from the fact that it was used as a filming location for Outer Banks.
Location: 360 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC
18. Thomson Park
Thomson Park appears in several scenes of Season 3 of Outer Banks. It is located at Breach Inlet—the waterway between Sullivan’s Island and Isle of Palms. Perhaps most notably, this is where Sheriff Shoupe gets the call that John B. is waiting to board the Camerons’ plane so that he can go to South America to save Big John.
Location: 3217 Middle Street, Sullivan’s Island, SC
19. Washington Square
When John B. and Sarah take a stroll through the park on their visit to Chapel Hill in Season 1 of Outer Banks, they are actually strolling through Washington Square on the Charleston peninsula. Washington Square is within walking distance of The Ben Silver Collection, Gaillard Center, and a few other of the Outer Banks filming locations in downtown Charleston.
Location: 80 Broad Street, Charleston, SC
20. Wreck of the Richard & Charlene
Wreck of the Richard & Charlene is a restaurant located at the mouth of Shem Creek. It offers Lowcountry-style fried seafood and sunset views of the Charleston harbor.
It is also used as the location of The Wreck—the restaurant owned by Kiara’s parents—in Outer Banks. It features prominently in several episodes, and is well worth a visit whether you are visiting Charleston on vacation or you are a full-time Charleston resident.
Location: 106 Haddrell Street, Mount Pleasant, SC
Outer Banks Filming Locations Map - Charleston, SC
If you are interested in visiting any of these Outer Banks filming locations in Charleston, you can use this Outer Banks filming locations map that we’ve created to find them:
How can you visit all of these Outer Banks filming locations in Charleston? We recommend using our Outer Banks filming locations map and starting at Palmetto Island County Park and working your way south. If you start here, you can work your way through Mount Pleasant, and then you can cross the Ravenel Bridge to get to downtown Charleston. You can find parking on the east side of the peninsula and walk to most of Outer Banks' downtown filming locations, though you'll want to drive to a few (like The Charleston Museum and Lowndes Grove) on your way out.
When you leave downtown Charleston, you will cross the Ashley River and head to James Island and Folly Beach. This is where you'll find Bowen's Island Restaurant and the Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve where you can view the Morris Island lighthouse. From here, you can head back the way you came to visit the Creekside Lands Inn from Season 1, and then make your way down to Bohicket Creek.
From here, you may have to decide between Hunting Island and Summerville. You can visit both--it will just make for a very long day. You could also easily break up the trip into two days, and this would allow you to spend some more time at each Outer Banks filming location. There are lots of places to stay in Charleston--whether you want to spend the night at the beach after viewing Morris Island lighthouse or get the full Charlestonian experience downtown. If you're interested a few charter and expedition companies in Charleston offer boating and kayaking tours in Shem Creek and a few other Outer Banks filming locations on the water in Charleston as well. These include Coastal Expeditions, which assisted with the show's filming.
Another option for using our Outer Banks filming locations map is to start at Bohicket Marina. This will get your longest drive out of the way first--and, if you start early, you'll still have almost the entire day to explore the filming locations in and around downtown Charleston. From Bohicket Marina, you can head to Bowen Island and Folly Island, then take the James Island Connector to get to the peninsula. Once you've explored the downtown locations on the Outer Banks filming locations map, you can then head over to Shem Creek, Mount Pleasant, and Isle of Palms before knocking out the last few locations on the list.
If you are planning to see any of these locations in real life, be sure to keep our Outer Banks filming locations map open on your phone--and, if you visit any of these filming locations from Seasons 1, 2, and 3 of the Outer Banks in Charleston, take a photo and let us know @life_charleston!
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