Isla Nublar is Hawaii, split between two islands. The bulk of Jurassic Park's location work — the waterfalls, the jungle interiors, the sweeping helicopter approach — was shot on Kauai, the oldest and greenest of the main Hawaiian islands. The single most recognisable landscape in the film, the broad grass valley where the gallimimus stampede past and the characters take cover behind a fallen log, is on Oahu, at Kualoa Ranch.
The Hawaiian shoot lasted about three weeks in 1992 and was interrupted by a Category 4 hurricane. That is not a colourful anecdote; it changed the film.
Kaʻaʻawa Valley and the stampede
Kualoa Ranch is a 4,000-acre private nature reserve and working cattle ranch on the windward side of Oahu, north of Kāneʻohe. Kaʻaʻawa Valley runs inland from the coast road, hemmed by the near-vertical green walls of the Koʻolau Range — the fluted, impossibly steep ridgelines that give the valley its prehistoric look.
The gallimimus stampede was filmed on the valley floor, with the fallen log the characters shelter behind placed for the shot. A log is still there today; it has been replaced at least once, and the ranch is candid that the current one is not necessarily the 1992 original.
The valley has been in constant demand since. Lost, Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla, Jumanji, Hawaii Five-0 and a long list of others have shot there, and the ranch now runs film-location tours specifically around the sites, which is a rare case of a location commercialising itself sensibly rather than being overrun.
Kauai supplied nearly everything else
The helicopter arrival that opens the park — the aerial swoop over ridgelines and a plunging waterfall — is Manawaiopuna Falls in the Hanapēpē Valley on Kauai, now widely known as Jurassic Falls. It is on private land and effectively only reachable by helicopter, which is how most people see it.
The main gate of Jurassic Park was built on Kauai's north shore. The Nā Pali coast, Hulēʻia River valley and the slopes below Mount Waiʻaleʻale supply much of the island's jungle and cliff scenery. The Waiʻaleʻale crater interior, one of the wettest places on earth, appears in the aerial footage.
The famous interiors — the visitor centre atrium, the kitchen with the velociraptors, the control room — were built as sets on Stage 24 at Universal Studios in California, not in Hawaii.
Hurricane Iniki
On 11 September 1992, with the Kauai shoot nearly complete, Hurricane Iniki made landfall directly on the island as the most powerful hurricane to strike Hawaii in recorded history. The cast and crew sheltered in a hotel ballroom in Līhuʻe; Spielberg has described riding it out with the production and the island losing power and communications for days.
Iniki destroyed a substantial amount of the island's infrastructure and killed six people. The production lost its remaining Kauai days and moved the outstanding work — including the stampede — to Oahu, which is part of why Kaʻaʻawa Valley ended up carrying so much of the film's identity.
Some of the storm footage was used. The scenes of the tropical storm hitting the island, with palms bent sideways, incorporate material shot during Iniki's approach.
Visiting the location
- Where
- Kualoa Ranch, 49-560 Kamehameha Highway, Kāneʻohe, Oahu, Hawaii. Manawaiopuna Falls is in the Hanapēpē Valley on Kauai.
- Getting there
- Kualoa is about 45 minutes north of Honolulu by car along the Kamehameha Highway. Manawaiopuna Falls is reached by helicopter tour from Līhuʻe.
- Access
- Kualoa Ranch is private; access to Kaʻaʻawa Valley is by booked tour only (film-site bus tours, ATV, horseback or e-bike). Manawaiopuna Falls is on private land and can only be visited by tour helicopters that land there under agreement.
- Book the Kualoa movie-site tour rather than a general ranch ticket if the valley is what you came for.
- The windward side is wetter than Waikiki. Mornings are usually clearer.
- Sit on the left of the tour bus going into the valley for the Koʻolau ridge views.
- On Kauai, only a helicopter tour that lands will actually put you at Jurassic Falls — most simply fly past it.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Jurassic Park valley?
Kaʻaʻawa Valley at Kualoa Ranch on the windward side of Oahu, Hawaii. It is where the gallimimus stampede sequence was filmed.
Can you visit the Jurassic Park filming locations?
Kualoa Ranch runs booked film-location tours of Kaʻaʻawa Valley by bus, ATV, horseback or e-bike. Manawaiopuna Falls on Kauai is private and reachable only by helicopter tour.
Is the fallen log from the stampede scene still there?
There is a log at the site and it features on the tour, but the ranch acknowledges it has been replaced and is not necessarily the original prop from 1992.
Did a hurricane hit during filming of Jurassic Park?
Yes. Hurricane Iniki struck Kauai on 11 September 1992 while the production was on the island. The crew sheltered in Līhuʻe, remaining scenes were relocated to Oahu, and some storm footage was used in the film.