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CheckpointBoston, Austin, Jackson, Seattlefilmed in Alberta and British ColumbiaHBO · 2023–

Bella Ramsey laughing and gesturing beside Pedro Pascal in a red jacket on a festival stage
Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal at SXSW in Austin, March 2025: the city Fort Macleod played in the first episode. Bea Phi · CC BY-SA 4.0

Travel permit · bearers: two · zone: Alberta and British Columbia

The end of the world was put there by hand, then taken away again. Stamp the permit to get through.

Somebody planted this

Cut it back.

In May 2024 the crew made Nanaimo’s historic downtown into a ruined American street, with grass growing up through the cracks and abandoned cars. In Calgary, the 4th Avenue flyover was closed for filming in October 2021 and turned into a decrepit overpass for the second episode. Everything under the green is still there.

Field notes
A wide, quiet main street lined with brick and sandstone shopfronts under a blue sky
Fort Macleod’s historic Main Street, July 2024. Kkiefuik · CC BY 4.0

Fort Macleod’s Main Street is under the growth. Sweep across it, or press the blade.

S1 · EP 1 · played Austin, Texas

Fort Macleod’s Main Street

Fort Macleod, southern Alberta

In the first episode Fort Macleod stood in for Austin, Texas, as the outbreak hits: Don’s Barber Shop became Lone Star Watch & Jewelry, and Johnny’s Restaurant and Main Street were used too. Main Street is a designated Provincial Historic Area. Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump, one of Alberta’s six UNESCO sites, is about 20 minutes west.

A working main street: walk it, and look for the barber’s shop that played a jeweller’s.

Field notes
Legislative Assembly of Alberta

Free tour of the Alberta Legislature

Edmonton · Free · Wed–Fri 3pm, Sat–Sun 11am–2pm (to 21 May 2027)

A guided tour of the building that played the Massachusetts State House. Arrive no earlier than 10 minutes before; the public entrance is on the west side.

Book a tour

On the road · episodes three to six

No pun
left behind.

Ellie’s answer to a long road is a terrible joke. These ones are new, written for this page: one for each place on the way to Jackson.

Page 1 of 5

Why won’t fish come on the hike to Bill’s?

Page 1: Why won’t fish come on the hike to Bill’s?

A shallow creek winding between tall summer grasses under a big sky
Fish Creek in Fish Creek Provincial Park, August 2015. Donkey puncht123 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Shannon Terrace, Fish Creek Provincial Park

Fish Creek Provincial Park, south Calgary

Joel and Ellie cross the Shannon Terrace bridge on their hike towards Bill’s in the third episode.

A provincial park inside the city: start at Shannon Terrace and walk to the bridge.

Field notes
Hotel Arts

Hotel Arts, Calgary

119 12 Avenue SW, Calgary · Rates on the hotel’s site

The Beltline hotel that played the Boston museum’s entrance in season one. Pictured: the hotel in 2007.

Check dates

Salt Lake City, in Calgary · season one, episode nine

She was real.

Hold out a hand and wait.

Part of the zoo was closed in spring 2022 to film the giraffe scene in the final episode, with one of the zoo’s own giraffes. The zoo has nearly 1,000 animals of 119 species.

Field notes
Glass-domed zoo buildings among bare trees and snow
Destination Africa at the Calgary Zoo, in winter. Tyson2k at English Wikipedia · Public domain

It opens 9am to 5:30pm (last entry 4:30pm) every day but 25 December; Destination Africa closes at 5:15pm. Buy tickets online: prices change by the day.

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Tours around Calgary and the Rockies

Calgary

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A long blue lake between steep forested mountains under scattered cloud
Upper Waterton Lake, Waterton Lakes National Park, June 2005. Bernd.Bast · CC BY-SA 3.0

Season one, episode eight

Nothing to cut back.

Waterton is all over the eighth episode. It is a UNESCO site, an international peace park, a dark-sky preserve and a biosphere reserve.

A national park with a village on Upper Waterton Lake. The Prince of Wales Hotel, built in 1927 on a bluff above the lake, opens from 10 May to 30 September in 2027.

Field notes
Glacier Park Collection

Prince of Wales Hotel, Waterton

Waterton Lakes National Park · Rates on the hotel’s site · $20/night amenities fee

Built in 1927 on a bluff above Upper Waterton Lake. Open until 12 October this year, then 10 May to 30 September in 2027; a $20 nightly amenities fee is paid at check-in.

Check dates

Season two · British Columbia

Seattle is
in Vancouver.

For season two the production crossed the Rockies. A concert hall, an alley in Gastown and a whole downtown on Vancouver Island became one ruined city.

A gilded theatre auditorium with red seats facing an ornate lit stage
The Orpheum’s auditorium and stage, Vancouver, 2011. MichaelThoeny · CC BY-SA 3.0

Curtain down. Ellie and Dina’s hideout is behind it.

The Orpheum

The Orpheum played the Pinnacle Theater, Ellie and Dina’s hideout in Seattle, in season two. Destination Vancouver’s free augmented-reality trail has a stop at its stage door on Seymour Street.

A working concert hall: buy a ticket to go in.

Field notes
A narrow cobbled alley between brick buildings in Gastown
An alley in Gastown, Vancouver, August 2019. Ymblanter · CC BY-SA 4.0

Le Magasin Alley, Gastown

Between Cambie Street and West Cordova, Gastown, Vancouver

In the seventh episode of season two, Jesse and Ellie make their way through overgrown Seattle streets filmed in Le Magasin Alley.

A public alley: look for the trail’s floor decal and start the scene on your phone.

Field notes
Downtown Nanaimo seen from above, a harbour of moored boats in front and hills behind
Downtown Nanaimo and its boat basin, December 2018. Gerry Thomasen from Nanaimo, Canada · CC BY 2.0

Downtown Nanaimo

Commercial Street and Diana Krall Plaza, Nanaimo

In May 2024 the crew made Nanaimo’s historic downtown into a ruined American street, with grass growing up through the cracks and abandoned cars. Commercial, Wharf and Skinner Streets were closed for the shoot, and Diana Krall Plaza was partly closed until 31 May 2024. It stood in for Seattle’s Capitol Hill.

Walk Commercial Street to Diana Krall Plaza.

Field notes
Destination Vancouver

Survive Vancouver

Downtown Vancouver · Free

A free, self-guided augmented-reality trail to four season-two locations: the Orpheum’s stage door, Chinatown, Le Magasin Alley in Gastown and Harbour Green Park. Find the floor decal and start the scene on your phone.

Get the trail

The people

Four who made it.

The two leads, and the two writers who made it a series, as themselves at SXSW in March 2025.

Pedro Pascal smiling in glasses and a red jacket
Pedro Pascal, SXSW, March 2025. Bea Phi · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pedro PascalJoel

Bella Ramsey smiling and looking to one side
Bella Ramsey, SXSW, March 2025. Bea Phi · CC BY-SA 4.0

Bella RamseyEllie

Craig Mazin, bearded, smiling on stage
Craig Mazin, SXSW, March 2025. Bea Phi · CC BY-SA 4.0

Craig MazinCo-creator

Neil Druckmann, bearded, smiling on stage
Neil Druckmann, SXSW, March 2025. Bea Phi · CC BY-SA 4.0

Neil DruckmannCo-creator; made the games

Season one, episode nine

Look for
the light.

A firefly in the dark. Follow it.

Barrier Lake was Joel and Ellie’s last hike, and the overlook above Jackson, in the final episode. It is a man-made lake in Kananaskis, with paddling in summer.

Paddle it in summer, or walk the hillside above it.

Field notes
A turquoise lake far below a pine-covered hillside, mountains beyond
Barrier Lake from the hillside, Kananaskis, March 2016. Thank you for visiting my page from Canada · CC BY 2.0

Where it is now

12 places you can visit, by area. Fort Macleod’s Main Street, Waterton Lakes National Park and Le Magasin Alley in Gastown are open to visit too, but have no exact pin.

Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working road: see it from Bridgeland or Tom Campbell’s Hill, not from the carriageway.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working hotel: book a room and walk through the museum’s front door.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A provincial park inside the city: start at Shannon Terrace and walk to the bridge.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working courthouse: look from the street, then walk to Devonian Gardens.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A living-history park: check its season before you go.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Being rebuilt as an open-air centre: what you can see depends on the works.

  • General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Buy tickets online: prices change by the day.

  1. A curving concrete overpass sweeping over a road towards Calgary’s towers
    The 4th Avenue flyover into downtown Calgary, 2014. Thank you for visiting my page from Canada · CC BY 2.0

    4th Avenue, downtown Calgary

    The 4th Avenue Flyover

    The flyover was closed for filming in October 2021 and turned into a decrepit overpass for the second episode.

    A working road: see it from Bridgeland or Tom Campbell’s Hill, not from the carriageway.

    Field notes
  2. A pale modern hotel tower against a deep blue sky
    Hotel Arts, Calgary, 2007. Brian Chow from Vancouver, Canada · CC BY 2.0

    119 12 Avenue SW, Beltline, Calgary

    Hotel Arts

    Hotel Arts was the entrance to the Boston museum in the second episode.

    A working hotel: book a room and walk through the museum’s front door.

    Field notes
  3. A shallow creek winding between tall summer grasses under a big sky
    Fish Creek in Fish Creek Provincial Park, August 2015. Donkey puncht123 · CC BY-SA 4.0

    Fish Creek Provincial Park, south Calgary

    Shannon Terrace, Fish Creek Provincial Park

    Joel and Ellie cross the Shannon Terrace bridge on their hike towards Bill’s in the third episode.

    A provincial park inside the city: start at Shannon Terrace and walk to the bridge.

    Field notes
  4. Green glass court towers rising behind an older sandstone courthouse and a lawn
    The Calgary Courts Centre, June 2013. Ultimateshot · CC BY-SA 3.0

    601 5 Street SW, downtown Calgary

    Calgary Courts Centre

    The Courts Centre doubled as the US Post Office where the uprising breaks out in the fifth episode.

    A working courthouse: look from the street, then walk to Devonian Gardens.

    Field notes
  5. A long two-storey frontier hotel with a balcony and flags on a dirt street, people strolling
    The Wainwright Hotel at Heritage Park, Calgary, May 2011. Jack Borno · CC BY-SA 3.0

    Heritage Park, 1900 Heritage Drive SW, Calgary

    The Wainwright Hotel, Heritage Park

    The saloon in the sixth episode is the Wainwright Hotel, a replica inside Heritage Park.

    A living-history park: check its season before you go.

    Field notes
  6. A faded mall entrance sign reading Northland Village above dark glass doors
    Northland Village Mall’s entrance after it closed, December 2022. CnekYT · CC BY-SA 4.0

    Brentwood, north-west Calgary

    Northland Village Mall

    Nearly all of the seventh episode was filmed here.

    Being rebuilt as an open-air centre: what you can see depends on the works.

    Field notes
  7. Glass-domed zoo buildings among bare trees and snow
    Destination Africa at the Calgary Zoo, in winter. Tyson2k at English Wikipedia · Public domain

    1300 Zoo Road NE, Calgary

    Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo

    Part of the zoo was closed in spring 2022 to film the giraffe scene in the final episode, with one of the zoo’s own giraffes.

    Buy tickets online: prices change by the day.

    Field notes

Stay

Sleep in the museum door.

The Calgary hotel that played Boston’s museum, and a lodge on Waterton’s lake.

Hotel Arts

Hotel Arts, Calgary

119 12 Avenue SW, Calgary · Rates on the hotel’s site

The Beltline hotel that played the Boston museum’s entrance in season one. Pictured: the hotel in 2007.

Check dates
Glacier Park Collection

Prince of Wales Hotel, Waterton

Waterton Lakes National Park · Rates on the hotel’s site · $20/night amenities fee

Built in 1927 on a bluff above Upper Waterton Lake. Open until 12 October this year, then 10 May to 30 September in 2027; a $20 nightly amenities fee is paid at check-in.

Check dates

Go there

Walk it, free.

A free tour of the State House stand-in, a free AR trail round Vancouver, and marketplace tours from Calgary.

Legislative Assembly of Alberta

Free tour of the Alberta Legislature

Edmonton · Free · Wed–Fri 3pm, Sat–Sun 11am–2pm (to 21 May 2027)

A guided tour of the building that played the Massachusetts State House. Arrive no earlier than 10 minutes before; the public entrance is on the west side.

Book a tour
Destination Vancouver

Survive Vancouver

Downtown Vancouver · Free

A free, self-guided augmented-reality trail to four season-two locations: the Orpheum’s stage door, Chinatown, Le Magasin Alley in Gastown and Harbour Green Park. Find the floor decal and start the scene on your phone.

Get the trail
Viator · Ad / affiliate

Tours around Calgary and the Rockies

Calgary

Live marketplace results for The Last of Us filming-location tours from Calgary. Check each itinerary. Pictured: the 4th Avenue flyover.

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What’s on

A night at the Pinnacle.

The Orpheum is still a concert hall.

Checking current event dates…

Take it home

Art, comics and score.

The art book and comic from the games, and Gustavo Santaolalla’s music.

Bookshop.org UK · Ad / affiliate

The Art of The Last of Us

Naughty Dog

The original game’s concept art, the world the series was drawn from.

Find the book
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The Last of Us: American Dreams

Neil Druckmann and Faith Erin Hicks

The comic of Ellie before she met Joel.

Find the book
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The Last of Us: Season 1

Gustavo Santaolalla & David Fleming · 2 × CD, Milan, 2023

The score for the first season.

Live marketplace search · listings and condition change

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The Last of Us (10th Anniversary)

Gustavo Santaolalla · 4 × LP, Sony Classical, 2024

The game score whose theme opens the series.

Live marketplace search · listings and condition change

Find a copy

Dates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.

Field notes

Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.

15 of 15 places · 15 of 15 Moments

  • Fort Macleod’s Main Street

    Fort Macleod, southern Alberta

    • Austin, the first day

      Fort Macleod’s Main Street plays Austin, Texas, as the outbreak hits.

  • The 4th Avenue Flyover

    4th Avenue, downtown Calgary

    • The overpass

      The flyover becomes a decrepit Boston overpass.

  • Alberta Legislature Building

    10800 97 Avenue NW, Edmonton

    • The State House

      The Legislature stands in for the Massachusetts State House.

  • Hotel Arts

    119 12 Avenue SW, Beltline, Calgary

    • The museum door

      Hotel Arts is the entrance to the Boston museum.

  • Shannon Terrace, Fish Creek Provincial Park

    Fish Creek Provincial Park, south Calgary

    • The hike to Bill’s

      Joel and Ellie cross the Shannon Terrace bridge on the way to Bill’s.

  • Calgary Courts Centre

    601 5 Street SW, downtown Calgary

    • The uprising

      The Courts Centre doubles as the post office where the uprising breaks out.

  • Canmore and the Engine Bridge

    Spur Line Trail, Canmore

    • Jackson

      Canmore becomes Jackson, Wyoming.

  • The Wainwright Hotel, Heritage Park

    Heritage Park, 1900 Heritage Drive SW, Calgary

    • The saloon

      The Wainwright Hotel replica is the saloon.

  • Northland Village Mall

    Brentwood, north-west Calgary

    • The mall

      Nearly all of the seventh episode is filmed in the closed mall.

  • Waterton Lakes National Park

    Waterton Lakes National Park, south-west Alberta

    • Winter

      Waterton carries the eighth episode.

  • Wilder Institute/Calgary Zoo

    1300 Zoo Road NE, Calgary

    • The giraffe

      One of the zoo’s own giraffes is filmed for the final episode.

  • Barrier Lake

    Bow Valley Provincial Park, Kananaskis

    • The overlook

      Joel and Ellie’s last hike, and the overlook above Jackson.

  • The Orpheum

    601 Smithe Street, Vancouver

    • The Pinnacle

      The Orpheum plays the Pinnacle Theater, Ellie and Dina’s hideout.

  • Le Magasin Alley, Gastown

    Between Cambie Street and West Cordova, Gastown, Vancouver

    • Overgrown Seattle

      Jesse and Ellie make their way through overgrown Seattle streets.

  • Downtown Nanaimo

    Commercial Street and Diana Krall Plaza, Nanaimo

    • Capitol Hill

      Downtown Nanaimo is dressed as a ruined Seattle, grass and all.

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