Linn County Historical Museum
Linn County Historical Museum
Brownsville · Call 541-466-3390 for hours
The railway-depot museum in Brownsville that runs Stand By Me Day and its walking tours of the locations.
Plan a visit
Brownsville, Oregon · Lake Britton, California · summer 1985
Stand by Me
Castle Rock is a real town with a penny in its main street. The line runs south past Cottage Grove. The bridge is in California, and the train is still running. Walk it, one sleeper at a time.
Where this comes from
Main Street at Park Avenue, Brownsville
Castle Rock
is Brownsville.
Vern stops dead in the road for a penny. The town put one there for him. Find it.
Ten white stripes. One of them has a penny under it.
Where this comes from
Main Street
Brownsville stood in for Castle Rock, the film’s fictional town. Rob Reiner filmed in Brownsville’s historic downtown, chosen for its bygone midcentury feel.
The Blue Point Diner’s door still sits in an alley, a stone’s throw from where it stood in the film.
A fan who came from England for the 40th anniversary said the town had hardly changed, so it is easy to see where each shot was taken.
Principal photography begins in Oregon on 17 June 1985 and lasts sixty days. The film is shot as The Body, after Stephen King’s novella, and renamed after Ben E. King’s song.
Walk it. The shops are working businesses, so keep doorways clear for customers.
Where this comes from
The museum in the depot
The museum hosts Brownsville’s Stand By Me Day on the fourth Saturday of July; the next one is listed for 24 July 2027. The day runs from 11am to 5pm at Library Park, 101 Park Avenue, with walking tours of the film’s locations, contests and activities.
The official Stand by Me Day began in 2007. For the 40th anniversary in July 2026, organisers counted more than 3,000 visitors in a town of under 2,000.
Where this comes from
Pioneer Park, Brownsville
The pie contest.
Five days under the tents.
Gordie’s campfire story was filmed for real, in the town park. Work through the tins.
6 blueberry pies. Eat one.
A town park, open to all. It is busiest on Stand By Me Day, when the pie contest comes back.
Where this comes from
Up the hill, above town
The tree is
bigger now.
The house that stood in for Gordie’s is green-trimmed and largely unchanged. The clubhouse tree is up a hill above town. The organiser of Stand By Me Day has the owner’s permission to visit it.
Chris’s last scene, where River Phoenix fades from view, was shot by this tree. Phoenix died seven years after the film came out.
Both are private property: named here, not mapped. Join the walking tours on Stand By Me Day instead.
Where this comes from
From Brownsville to the coast
Walk the ties.
Every sleeper is a real place.
The boys followed the railway. Follow the real one, sleeper by sleeper, from the museum on Park Avenue to the engine on the coast.
Sleeper 1 of 9: Linn County Historical Museum. Start walking.
0 km · 101 Park Avenue, Brownsville
Linn County Historical Museum
The museum hosts Brownsville’s Stand By Me Day on the fourth Saturday of July; the next one is listed for 24 July 2027.
The day runs from 11am to 5pm at Library Park, 101 Park Avenue, with walking tours of the film’s locations, contests and activities.
The museum keeps Stand by Me T-shirts in its lobby. In 2021 the day’s organiser, Linda McCormick, put the visitors at about 500 a year.
Call 541-466-3390 for opening times. Stand By Me Day is the fourth Saturday of July, 11am–5pm.
Where this comes from
Lake Britton, Shasta County, California
Hand on the rail.
Feel for the train.
Put your hand on the rail and hold it there.
Press and hold, or press it again and again.
306 American Avenue, Garibaldi, Oregon
The train is
still running.
No. 25 has steam up.
The film opens on 8 August 1986 in Los Angeles, New York and Toronto, and goes from sixteen theatres to 743 in its third week.
Trains leave from Garibaldi and Rockaway Beach. Any train may be pulled by steam or by diesel, so check before you book if you want No. 25.
Where this comes from
Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad
Fall Splendor Excursion
Rockaway Beach, Oregon · 2 Oct–15 Nov 2026 · adults $36 · children $27
A 2¼-hour round trip from Rockaway Beach to Wheeler behind a steam or diesel locomotive, with a layover in Wheeler. Steam cab rides on select weekends.
Book a rideThe end of the line.
Here is where it all is now.
Where it is now
9 places you can visit, from Brownsville’s Main Street to the coast at Garibaldi. Gordie’s house and the treehouse tree are private: named, not mapped. The Lake Britton trestle is fenced off: you look at it from the shore.
Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Call 541-466-3390 for opening times. Stand By Me Day is the fourth Saturday of July, 11am–5pm.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. It is in the middle of a working street. Look from the kerb, and cross only when the road is clear.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. Walk it. The shops are working businesses, so keep doorways clear for customers.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A town park, open to all. It is busiest on Stand By Me Day, when the pie contest comes back.
The Linn County Historical Museum, a railway depot with old freight cars beside it, 2014. Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives · CC BY 4.0 101 Park Avenue, Brownsville
Linn County Historical Museum
The museum hosts Brownsville’s Stand By Me Day on the fourth Saturday of July; the next one is listed for 24 July 2027.
Call 541-466-3390 for opening times. Stand By Me Day is the fourth Saturday of July, 11am–5pm.
Where this comes from
Carlson’s on Main Street, Brownsville, with the crosswalk in front, 2014. Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives · CC BY 4.0 Main Street at Park Avenue, Brownsville
Vern’s penny
This is where Vern picks up the penny. A penny is set into the middle of Main Street to mark the spot.
It is in the middle of a working street. Look from the kerb, and cross only when the road is clear.
Where this comes from
Main Street, Brownsville, 2014. Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives · CC BY 4.0 Main Street, Brownsville
Main Street, Brownsville (Castle Rock)
Brownsville stood in for Castle Rock, the film’s fictional town.
Walk it. The shops are working businesses, so keep doorways clear for customers.
Where this comes from
An events board in downtown Brownsville, announcing an Easter egg hunt in Pioneer Park, 2014. Gary Halvorson, Oregon State Archives · CC BY 4.0 Park Avenue, Brownsville
Pioneer Park
The blueberry-pie contest was shot here, with the crew working under tents.
A town park, open to all. It is busiest on Stand By Me Day, when the pie contest comes back.
Where this comes from
Stay
The crew’s hotel, and a campsite by the falls.
The former Hilton Eugene, now the Graduate, and camping at McArthur-Burney Falls near the trestle.
Graduate by Hilton
Graduate Eugene
Eugene · Rates on booking
The former Hilton Eugene at 66 East 6th Avenue, where Rob Reiner and the production stayed in the summer of 1985.
Check rooms
California State Parks
McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park
Burney, California · Camping $35 a night · day use $10 a vehicle
Camping by the 129-foot Burney Falls and Lake Britton, near the trestle. Pets are not allowed on the trails round the falls.
Plan a stayGo there
The depot, the line, the trail, the train.
The Linn County Historical Museum, the Row River Trail, the Great Shasta Rail Trail and a ride on the coast railroad.
Linn County Historical Museum
Linn County Historical Museum
Brownsville · Call 541-466-3390 for hours
The railway-depot museum in Brownsville that runs Stand By Me Day and its walking tours of the locations.
Plan a visit
Bureau of Land Management
Row River Trail
Cottage Grove · Free · dawn to dusk
Fourteen paved miles on the old Oregon Pacific & Eastern line out of Cottage Grove, past Harms Park and Dorena Lake. Dawn to dusk; bring water.
Trail details
Great Shasta Rail Trail Association
Great Shasta Rail Trail
Burney, California
The old McCloud line turned trail. Its section from Burney runs to the Lake Britton trestle, which you look at from the shore: crossing it is prohibited.
Trail newsOregon Coast Scenic Railroad
Fall Splendor Excursion
Rockaway Beach, Oregon · 2 Oct–15 Nov 2026 · adults $36 · children $27
A 2¼-hour round trip from Rockaway Beach to Wheeler behind a steam or diesel locomotive, with a layover in Wheeler. Steam cab rides on select weekends.
Book a ride
Viator · Ad / affiliate
Eugene and Willamette Valley tours
Eugene
Live marketplace results for tours around Eugene. None is a Stand by Me tour as such: check each itinerary.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursWhat’s on
A steam train and a pie contest.
The Halloween Coast Train this October, and Stand By Me Day in Brownsville on 24 July 2027.
Checking current event dates…
Take it home
The poster, the stories, the soundtrack.
An original 1986 one-sheet from our store’s archive, Stephen King’s Different Seasons, two memoirs from the cast and the soundtrack.
Printed Originals · Our poster store
Stand by Me — US one-sheet (1986)
An original 1986 US one-sheet, 27 x 40 in, rolled after being folded; very good condition.
Sold out · archive reference
View poster
Bookshop.org UK · Ad / affiliate
Different Seasons
Stephen King
King’s 1982 collection of four novellas, including The Body, the story the film was made from.
Find the book
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eBay · Ad / affiliate
Stand by Me: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
Various Artists · CD, Atlantic, 1986
The soundtrack album, released by Atlantic on 26 August 1986.
Live marketplace search · listings and condition change
Find a copyDates, 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.
Last one to Brownsville buys the pies.
Where this comes from
Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.
10 of 10 places · 19 of 19 Moments
Linn County Historical Museum
101 Park Avenue, Brownsville
Forty years on
More than 3,000 people come to Brownsville for the 40th Stand by Me Day.
Vern’s penny
Main Street at Park Avenue, Brownsville
Vern’s penny
Vern stops in the middle of Main Street to pick up a penny.
Main Street, Brownsville (Castle Rock)
Main Street, Brownsville
Castle Rock
Brownsville plays Castle Rock, the boys’ home town.
The first day
Principal photography begins in Oregon on 17 June 1985 and lasts sixty days.
The Body
The film is shot as The Body, after Stephen King’s novella, and renamed after Ben E. King’s song.
Opening day
The film opens on 8 August 1986 in Los Angeles, New York and Toronto, and goes from sixteen theatres to 743 in its third week.
Pioneer Park
Park Avenue, Brownsville
The pie contest
Gordie’s campfire story of Lardass Hogan and the blueberry-pie contest, shot over five days under tents in Pioneer Park.
Call them back
Reiner has the older Antelopes called back after they were sent home.
Gordie’s house and the treehouse tree
Brownsville (private property)
The clubhouse
The four boys’ clubhouse in a tree on a hill above town.
Chris walks away
Chris walks off and fades from view, by the clubhouse tree.
Graduate Eugene (the former Hilton Eugene)
66 East 6th Avenue, Eugene
Base camp
The production is based in Eugene, with Reiner and others at the Hilton Eugene.
The last day
Reiner, his producer and his writers stand on the hotel veranda and cry because it is over.
Rob Reiner
Rob Reiner dies in December 2025, aged 78. The Oregon crew planning the 40th anniversary had hoped to bring him back.
Row River Trail at Harms Park
Row River Trail, east of Cottage Grove
Along the line
The boys follow the railway: the Oregon Pacific & Eastern line east of Cottage Grove.
Dorena Lake
Row River Road, east of Cottage Grove
Round the reservoir
Filming around Dorena Reservoir, on the line that is now the Row River Trail.
The Lake Britton trestle
Off Eagle Mountain Lane, north of Burney, California
Train!
Gordie and Vern race the train across the trestle over Lake Britton.
The smashed lens
A new $50,000 lens is smashed when Reiner tries to film the train head-on.
The rails come up
The line is abandoned in 2007 and the tracks are taken off the trestle in 2008.
Oregon Coast Scenic Railroad
306 American Avenue, Garibaldi, Oregon
No. 25
McCloud River Railroad No. 25, the engine on the trestle, goes into service on the Oregon coast.