Friday the 13th
Friday the 13th (1980) was filmed at the small town of Blairstown and Camp NoBeBoSco, both located in northern New Jersey. I travelled to these locations in May of 2001, and the following photos are from that trip. Friday the 13th is one of my all-time favourite movies, and so visiting the town and camp was a dream come true. I even had lunch by the shores of Crystal Lake!
(click on photos to enlarge. All photos copyright © Brett McBean 2001)
Looking from the highway towards the main street of Blairstown, which stood in for the town of Crystal Lake in the movie
A wide-shot of the arches Annie walks through at the beginning of the movie
Close-up of the arches
A shot of the main street in Blairstown
Where Annie strolls down near the start of the movie
Reverse shot of the main street
The diner where Steve Christy had a bite to eat
Welcome to camp! The entrance to Camp NoBeBoSco, the real life Camp Crystal Lake.
The cabin the stalker stalks through at the very beginning of the movie. Also Alice’s cabin (where they killed the snake)
The barn where Barry and Claudette are killed at the start of the movie. In real life, the Quartermaster at Camp NoBeBoSco
The main cabin in Friday the 13th. In real life, the Van Dusen Lodge
Another shot of the main cabin (aka the strip Monopoly cabin)
Close-up of the main cabin and fireplace
Side-view of the main cabin in its lush surrounds
Close-up of the fireplace
This is where the pantry was located in the movie (the pantry was built-on especially for the movie, and was dismantled after filming)
The Waterfront Cabin at NoBeBoSco was a much-used cabin in Friday the 13th. Not only did it double for both Jack and Marcy’s cabin as well as Brenda’s, this cabin and its glowing windows were shown quite a few times throughout the movie
NoBeBoSco’s office, and possibly the same office used in the movie
The boat shed
Close-up of the boat shed
Looking down towards the lake. This was the path the motorcycle cop rode down after proclaiming: “We ain’t gonna stand for any weirdness out here”.
This is roughly where Steve Christy was standing when the kids arrived at the camp
Standing out the front of the main cabin, looking out at the lake
Price Lodge at NoBeBoSco. In the movie, this was the toilet block where Marcy was killed
Crystal Lake! Note the iconic sloping mountain in the distance
Another shot of Crystal Lake (real name Sand Pond)
Me in front of Crystal Lake. Dare I say it – a dream come true
For more information about the real-life Camp Crystal Lake, including a map of the camp, go here
brettmcbean.com 
Very cool pictures, Brett.
Did you put up more then you had before? Seems it.
John
September 10, 2010 at 11:59 pm
Thanks John.
Nope, all the same pics as before.
September 11, 2010 at 12:05 am
nice collection of pictures. did you have trouble entering camp nobebosco? because every site i’ve seen mentions that the camp owners don’t allow unauthorized visitors there(notably friday the 13th fans).
September 12, 2010 at 2:35 pm
Hi Steve,
I don’t want to give any false impressions, but no, I personally had no problems entering the camp. When I arrived, the gates were open and there was no one about. So, I simply drove in, parked near the lake and wandered around for the day. But, this was back in early 2001, pre 9/11 and before the location of the camp was widely reported on the internet (it was a lot harder for me to find the location back then than it is today).
September 12, 2010 at 11:32 pm
hello brett, friday the 13th is one of my favourite horror films of all time,these pictures are great,ive always wanted to visit blairstown myself and the camp,it would be a dream come true for me,i am hopefully visiting new york next year,is it much of a drive to the area blairstown.i live in the united kingdom,i think your books are excellent i have purchased all of them up to now,including the signed copies,they are a excellent read.keep up the great work brett,thanks.andrew.
September 13, 2010 at 7:36 pm
Hi Andrew,
Glad you liked the pictures. As for driving, I guess it depends on where you drove from (it’d take ages to get out of NY if you’re starting from there!). But, as a very rough estimate, maybe a couple of hours? It was a while ago I visited Blairstown.
Thanks for your support and enjoy the trip to the States.
Brett.
September 13, 2010 at 10:44 pm
Dear Mr. McBean,
I would like to express to you my admiration for these shots.They have been the clearest pictures of any horror movie I’ve ever seen on the web, especially they are about one of my favourite horror movies of all time.
These pictures make one feels as if he is living in the film. I think they should be saved to my computer.
Keep the good work.
December 10, 2010 at 8:52 am
Thanks Marwan. I think the photos turned out pretty well, especially since I took them with a cheap disposable camera. My main regret is that I didn’t take along a video camera and do some filming, too.
December 10, 2010 at 11:58 pm
Hi Brett,
I am from Germany and want to visit it in aug/Sept 2011 goin’ by car through the north/east of the states. we don’t wanna go via NY – is there a better way (airport) ???
cheers and thanx for the great impressions, Lars
December 28, 2010 at 10:23 am
Hi Lars,
Well I don’t live in the US, so I’m probably not the best person to give you advice on this matter – but there is an international aiport in New Jersey (Newark), which is the state the camp/town is in, so if you don’t want to go via NY, then perhaps that’s an option.
All the best,
Brett.
December 29, 2010 at 11:48 pm
thanx – i wrote to the camp manager and he said that there are no NOT-SCOUTS allowed in the hole camp-ground 😦
its only 60 miles from Newark – should we go or not ???
January 5, 2011 at 12:35 pm
Lars – I can’t make that decision for you. It’s up to you. Remember, even if you can’t get into the camp, you can still visit the town of Blairstown, which is where the start of the movie was filmed.
Best of luck.
January 13, 2011 at 1:27 am
Thanks for posting these pics of the camp and Blairstown. I am from NJ and had always heard that this place was somewhere in Jersey. Too bad they don’t allow visitors. Your books seem like really good reads. I honestly have never read any horror books before except some RL Stein stuff when I was a kid but I love horror films. I think that one of your books will be my first. Which one would you recommend?
June 25, 2011 at 6:41 pm
Hi, Jae
I’m glad you like the photos.
As for which of my books I’d recommend: well, the new edition of my first novel, THE LAST MOTEL, will be coming out soon, and that’s very Friday the 13th-esque. So perhaps that’s a good one to try (but it’s also quite bloody…). Otherwise, perhaps try my latest novel, TORMENT.
Best,
Brett.
June 25, 2011 at 11:40 pm
Awesome. I myself is a huge Friday the 13th fan, and I’m going to New York this march. I’m thinking about renting a car and going up there.
February 3, 2014 at 1:15 pm
Wow wish I could tour through there some day it would be my dream come true did you get to go in the cabins
August 30, 2016 at 6:40 am
No, unfortunately the cabins were locked up.
August 31, 2016 at 5:50 am