Africana55 Radio 
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
When the iconic show Twin Peaks first erupted onto viewers’ screens in 1990, it quickly gained a cult following, along with a reputation for being a mystery/horror/drama/fantasy series like no other.
The question “Who killed Laura Palmer?” kept the world enthralled for weeks as viewers followed FBI Agent Cooper’s every move in investigating both the murder and the supernatural world within Twin Peaks – the eponymous town where the mystery unfolded.
Three decades on and David Lynch’s wonderfully bonkers masterpiece is no less groundbreaking, and still makes for compulsive viewing today.
As the show celebrates its 30-year anniversary, here are all the locations where Twin Peaks superfans can get a real-life taste of small-town drama.
Twin Peaks sign
The delightfully named town of Snoqualmie in Washington, around 28 miles east of Seattle, was one of the main filming locations for exterior shots of Twin Peaks. It’s home to Reining Road, which is where the footage of the famed “Welcome to Twin Peaks, Population: 51,201” sign in the pilot episode and opening credits was shot. The City of Snoqualmie installed a permanent version of the sign on the road in 2017, according to fan site welcometotwinpeaks.com.
Great Northern Hotel
Much of the show’s action takes place at the Great Northern Hotel, where many of the key characters live, work or stay. Agent Cooper holes up there for the duration of his investigation, commending the place’s “damn fine cup of coffee”. The exterior was shot at the real-life Salish Lodge and Spa in Snoqualmie. While the hotel wears its TP credentials lightly these days, guests can still order a Dale Cooper cocktail – gin, clove and cardamom, infused Salish honey, dry honey cider and lemon – in the Attic bar and restaurant.
The Falls
The opening credits also notably feature the falls next to the Great Northern, plus a shot of them is frequently used as a cutaway in the show. The Snoqualmie Falls served as this landmark, and visitors can get a closer look from the observation deck.
Double R Diner
The local diner, owned by Norma Jennings, plays host to numerous important rendezvouses between the town’s characters, and serves a mean slice of pie. Twede’s Cafe in North Bend, Washington, served as the real-world setting, and should be a key stop on any Twin Peaks tour: it still dishes up “Twin Peaks cherry pie” and ”A damn fine cup o’ coffee“ (even if they’re not served to you by Shelly Johnson).
The Roadhouse
The atmospheric bar where the town’s teens go to hang out and drink can be found in Fall City, Washington. The exterior shots were filmed at the Fall City Roadhouse and Inn (although the interior was filmed elsewhere). The real-life Roadhouse looks a lot more family-friendly than the Twin Peaks variant, offering “brunch” or “small plates over cocktails” in its “vintage style Inn”.
Created with Sketch.
Created with Sketch.
1/21 Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee)
Laura's murder is the mystery that sets off Twin Peaks and which brings Dale Cooper to the sleepy town drenched in mystery. Her soul still appears to be trapped in the Black Lodge, along with Cooper.
Photograph by Marc Hom
2/21 Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan)
The FBI Special Agent sent to Twin Peaks to investigate Laura's murder ended things in a perilous situation. The show's famous final scene sees him smashing his face into the mirror, as the killer BOB's reflection stares back out. Is he possessed? Or is this his evil doppelgänger, with the Good Dale still trapped in the Black Lodge?
Photograph by Marc Hom
3/21 Shelly Johnson (Mädchen Amick)
Shelly spent the series trapped in an abusive marriage to trucker Leo Johnson, whose fate was left uncertain at the end of the show, though her own secret affair with Bobby Briggs ended in a marriage proposal.
Photograph by Marc Hom
4/21 Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook)
Bobby found himself in a lot danger during his high school days thanks to his involvement in the local drug trade. Though formerly Laura's boyfriend, his secret romance with Shelly blossomed over the series and ended in a proposal.
Photograph by Marc Hom
5/21 Nadine Hurley (Wendy Robie)
Ed Hurley's eccentric wife, possessing both phenomenal strength and an obsession with drape runners, saw her attempted suicide trigger a bout of dementia-amnesia, where she still believed she was a teenager. After having a sandbag dropped on her head, however, Nadine's memory was restored.
Photograph by Marc Hom
6/21 Norma Jennings (Peggy Lipton)
The owner of the Double R Diner, she and Ed have been in love since high school, and the show saw them come very close to finally getting together during Nadine's bout of memory loss. Will they still be pining for each other?
Photograph by Marc Hom
7/21 Ed Hurley (Everett McGill)
With Nadine's memory returning at the end of the series, the implication is that Ed and Nadine's marriage has remained intact. Ed suffered tremendous guilt over the loss of Nadine's left eye in a hunting accident during their honeymoon, when it was struck by a piece of buckshot from his gun, which has made him feel like it was impossible to ever leave her.
Photograph by Marc Hom
8/21 Audrey Horne (Sherilyn Fenn)
A master manipulator whose teenage crush on Cooper faded when she met Billy Zane's rich charmer John Justice Wheeler, the show left things open as to whether she died in the explosion at the local bank, having chained herself to the vault door in protest. However, the book The Secret History of Twin Peaks confirms she survived and was taken to hospital in critical condition.
Photograph by Marc Hom
9/21 James Hurley (James Marshall)
Twin Peaks' biker with a soul was once Laura Palmer's secret love, though her death saw him realise his true feelings toward her best friend Donna (Lara Flynn Boyle). However, by the end of the series, James had left the town and was en route to Mexico.
Photograph by Marc Hom
10/21 Gordon Cole (David Lynch)
Cooper's boss supposedly has a fairly prominent role in the new series, though the show saw him fall head-over-heels for Shelly, upon discovering she's the only person the hard-of-hearing chief could understand with perfect clarity.
Photograph by Marc Hom
11/21 Ben Horne (Richard Beymer)
Audrey Horne's father seems to have changed little in our time away, as he's still apparently managing the Great Northern Lodge in Twin Peaks.
12/21 Lucy Brennan (Kimmy Robertson) and Andy Brennan (Harry Goaz)
Neither have Lucy or Andy, still in their respective jobs at the Twin Peaks Police Department, though it's nice to see their relationship has only blossomed with time.
13/21 Tommy "Hawk" Hill (Michael Horse)
Hawk is still part of the Police Department too, and it seems like he's been tasked with the mysterious mission of tracking down Agent Cooper.
14/21 The Log Lady (Catherine E. Coulson)
A task entrusted to him by the Log Lady, a bittersweet moment considering Coulson sadly passed away in 2015.
15/21 Denise Bryson (David Duchovny)
One individual who's definitely shot up the career path is Denise, now the chief of staff for the entire FBI.
16/21 Beverly Paige (Ashley Judd)
We don't know much about Ben Horne's assistant, but it's likely we'll see more of her soon.
17/21 William Hastings (Matthew Lillard)
Is the local high-school principal of Buckhorn, South Dakota really behind the murder of Ruth Davenport? Is this somehow connected to BOB, or Dale Cooper's doppelganger?
18/21 Wally Brando (Michael Cera)
Lucy and Andy's son really couldn't have turned out any other way.
19/21 Sam Colby (Ben Rosenfeld) and Tracey (Madeline Zima)
Sam's job to watch over the strange glass box in New York came to an abrupt end when both he and Tracey were consumed by a demon which burst outside of it.
20/21 Tammy Preston (Chrysta Bell)
A new partner for Gordon Cole, who's taken her on as a kind of protégé.
21/21 Janey-E Jones (Naomi Watts)
The wife to Dougie Jones, the strange other Cooper, with the pair having a son together.
1/21 Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee)
Laura's murder is the mystery that sets off Twin Peaks and which brings Dale Cooper to the sleepy town drenched in mystery. Her soul still appears to be trapped in the Black Lodge, along with Cooper.
Photograph by Marc Hom
2/21 Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan)
The FBI Special Agent sent to Twin Peaks to investigate Laura's murder ended things in a perilous situation. The show's famous final scene sees him smashing his face into the mirror, as the killer BOB's reflection stares back out. Is he possessed? Or is this his evil doppelgänger, with the Good Dale still trapped in the Black Lodge?
Photograph by Marc Hom
3/21 Shelly Johnson (Mädchen Amick)
Shelly spent the series trapped in an abusive marriage to trucker Leo Johnson, whose fate was left uncertain at the end of the show, though her own secret affair with Bobby Briggs ended in a marriage proposal.
Photograph by Marc Hom
4/21 Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook)
Bobby found himself in a lot danger during his high school days thanks to his involvement in the local drug trade. Though formerly Laura's boyfriend, his secret romance with Shelly blossomed over the series and ended in a proposal.
Photograph by Marc Hom
5/21 Nadine Hurley (Wendy Robie)
Ed Hurley's eccentric wife, possessing both phenomenal strength and an obsession with drape runners, saw her attempted suicide trigger a bout of dementia-amnesia, where she still believed she was a teenager. After having a sandbag dropped on her head, however, Nadine's memory was restored.
Photograph by Marc Hom
6/21 Norma Jennings (Peggy Lipton)
The owner of the Double R Diner, she and Ed have been in love since high school, and the show saw them come very close to finally getting together during Nadine's bout of memory loss. Will they still be pining for each other?
Photograph by Marc Hom
7/21 Ed Hurley (Everett McGill)
With Nadine's memory returning at the end of the series, the implication is that Ed and Nadine's marriage has remained intact. Ed suffered tremendous guilt over the loss of Nadine's left eye in a hunting accident during their honeymoon, when it was struck by a piece of buckshot from his gun, which has made him feel like it was impossible to ever leave her.
Photograph by Marc Hom
8/21 Audrey Horne (Sherilyn Fenn)
A master manipulator whose teenage crush on Cooper faded when she met Billy Zane's rich charmer John Justice Wheeler, the show left things open as to whether she died in the explosion at the local bank, having chained herself to the vault door in protest. However, the book The Secret History of Twin Peaks confirms she survived and was taken to hospital in critical condition.
Photograph by Marc Hom
9/21 James Hurley (James Marshall)
Twin Peaks' biker with a soul was once Laura Palmer's secret love, though her death saw him realise his true feelings toward her best friend Donna (Lara Flynn Boyle). However, by the end of the series, James had left the town and was en route to Mexico.
Photograph by Marc Hom
10/21 Gordon Cole (David Lynch)
Cooper's boss supposedly has a fairly prominent role in the new series, though the show saw him fall head-over-heels for Shelly, upon discovering she's the only person the hard-of-hearing chief could understand with perfect clarity.
Photograph by Marc Hom
11/21 Ben Horne (Richard Beymer)
Audrey Horne's father seems to have changed little in our time away, as he's still apparently managing the Great Northern Lodge in Twin Peaks.
12/21 Lucy Brennan (Kimmy Robertson) and Andy Brennan (Harry Goaz)
Neither have Lucy or Andy, still in their respective jobs at the Twin Peaks Police Department, though it's nice to see their relationship has only blossomed with time.
13/21 Tommy "Hawk" Hill (Michael Horse)
Hawk is still part of the Police Department too, and it seems like he's been tasked with the mysterious mission of tracking down Agent Cooper.
14/21 The Log Lady (Catherine E. Coulson)
A task entrusted to him by the Log Lady, a bittersweet moment considering Coulson sadly passed away in 2015.
15/21 Denise Bryson (David Duchovny)
One individual who's definitely shot up the career path is Denise, now the chief of staff for the entire FBI.
16/21 Beverly Paige (Ashley Judd)
We don't know much about Ben Horne's assistant, but it's likely we'll see more of her soon.
17/21 William Hastings (Matthew Lillard)
Is the local high-school principal of Buckhorn, South Dakota really behind the murder of Ruth Davenport? Is this somehow connected to BOB, or Dale Cooper's doppelganger?
18/21 Wally Brando (Michael Cera)
Lucy and Andy's son really couldn't have turned out any other way.
19/21 Sam Colby (Ben Rosenfeld) and Tracey (Madeline Zima)
Sam's job to watch over the strange glass box in New York came to an abrupt end when both he and Tracey were consumed by a demon which burst outside of it.
20/21 Tammy Preston (Chrysta Bell)
A new partner for Gordon Cole, who's taken her on as a kind of protégé.
21/21 Janey-E Jones (Naomi Watts)
The wife to Dougie Jones, the strange other Cooper, with the pair having a son together.
Sheriff’s Department
It may not be the most glamorous location, but stop by the DirtFish Rally School (a rally driving school in Snoqualmie) if you want to see the real-life setting for the Twin Peaks Sheriff’s Department, where Cooper and his team of local cops race against the clock to solve the mystery of Laura Palmer’s murder.
Laura’s Log
Weird as it may seem, one plucky inn in Poulsbo, Washington, has a giant piece of wood dedicated to where Laura Palmer’s body was found. Pete Martell finds it in the pilot episode, wrapped in plastic near a piece of driftwood. The scene was filmed in front of the Kiana Lodge, which commemorates the event with a plaque reading: “A pivotal scene in Twin Peaks’ pilot episode was filmed here in 1989. Laura Palmer was discovered right next to the immense log tethered before you.”
Black Lodge
Though not a filming location, this Twin Peaks-inspired restaurant in Vancouver takes its inspiration from the series’ mythical Black Lodge. Stop by for some poutine, deep-fried Oreos and a themed cocktail (the Laura Palmer, Donna, Lynch-burg Lemonade and Audrey’s Curiosity all sound good) and enjoy the décor of red curtains and black and white zig-zagged floors in the toilets.
Tribute toilet
If you find yourself in New York City, the Mission Chinese Food restaurant has an homage to Twin Peaks in the form of its toilets, according to Eater New York. Inside is the iconic snap of Laura Palmer when she was crowned Prom Queen, along with the show’s theme music, which plays on repeat…