Maine has been a film location since at least 1930, and many of the places on screen are open to visitors. You can stand at the lighthouse where Forrest Gump ended his run, walk the streets of Camden where Peyton Place was filmed in 1957, or visit the Acadia beach and cliffs used in The Cider House Rules and Shutter Island.
The Maine Film Office’s list names more than 100 film and TV titles shot in Maine. We picked the ones where you can still visit a real place, and we say where our sources are thin.
Movie locations you can visit in Maine at a glance
- Forrest Gump (1994): Marshall Point Light, Port Clyde.
- Peyton Place (1957): Camden, with a filming-location map at the town library.
- The Cider House Rules (1999): Sand Beach in Acadia National Park and Thurston’s Lobster Pound in Bernard.
- Shutter Island (2010): Otter Cliffs, Acadia National Park.
- Snow Falling on Cedars (1999): Portland Head Light, Cape Elizabeth.
- Message in a Bottle (1999): Popham Beach, Phippsburg.
- Pet Sematary (1989): Ellsworth, Hancock and Bangor.
- Our source for the full list: the Maine Film Office’s Films Made in Maine page.
Midcoast Maine
Forrest Gump (1994): Marshall Point Light, Port Clyde
The Maine Film Office lists Port Clyde for Forrest Gump, and Wikipedia says Marshall Point Light appeared in the film. Marshall Point sits at the entrance to Port Clyde Harbor. The keeper’s house is now the Marshall Point Lighthouse Museum, which the St. George Historical Society started in 1986. We have not checked its current hours, so confirm before you drive down.
Peyton Place (1957): Camden
According to the Camden Public Library, 20th Century Fox chose Camden for Peyton Place and began filming in June 1957, with hundreds of local extras paid $10 a day. The library says about 90 percent of the filming took place in Camden. Locations it names include Main Street, the public landing, the Amphitheatre, Mirror Lake, the arch over Union Street and Mt. Battie.
The library’s Walsh History Center, at 55 Main Street, holds the Peyton Place Collection, including the original signed script, scrapbooks and filming photos, and the library posts a filming-location map as a PDF. The page does not say when the collection can be viewed, so call (207) 236-3440 first. See our Camden guide for the rest of the town.
In the Bedroom (2001): Rockland, Camden, Rockport, Belfast and more
The Maine Film Office lists Belfast, Camden, Old Orchard Beach, Owls Head, Rockland, Rockport, Trevett and Wiscasset for In the Bedroom. We did not find a source naming a specific visitor spot, so treat these as towns to wander rather than a trail. Rockland is a good base.
The Man Without a Face (1993): Brunswick and Bowdoin College
Visit Maine names Brunswick and Bowdoin College for this film. The Film Office list also shows Rockport, Deer Isle and Lincolnville. See our Brunswick guide.
Message in a Bottle (1999): Popham Beach, Phippsburg
Visit Maine names the Phippsburg peninsula and Popham Beach for this film. The Film Office list also shows Bath, Portland and Brunswick.
Portland and Cape Elizabeth
Snow Falling on Cedars (1999): Visit Maine and the Film Office both place it at Portland Head Light in Cape Elizabeth. More lighthouses are in our lighthouse guide.
Portland itself appears in many titles on the Film Office list, including The Preacher’s Wife, Reindeer Games and Mint Condition. We did not find a source tying those to one visitable address. See our Portland guide.
Acadia and Downeast Maine
The Cider House Rules (1999): Sand Beach and Bernard
Acadia Visitor names Sand Beach in Acadia National Park, Thurston’s Lobster Pound in Bernard and the village of Corea as places used for the film. Our Acadia guide covers visiting the park.
Shutter Island (2010): Otter Cliffs
Visit Maine and Acadia Visitor both name Otter Cliffs in Acadia National Park. Acadia Visitor says other scenes were shot on an island in Massachusetts, so Maine supplied only part of the film.
Pet Sematary (1989): Ellsworth and Hancock
The Bangor Daily News says the film was shot in and around Ellsworth and Bangor in late summer and fall 1988. The pet cemetery set was built on a lot behind the Colonial Inn in Ellsworth, and the Creed house was a real house in Hancock. We have not confirmed who owns that house now, and we have not confirmed that anything from the set remains, so please respect private property.
Sarah, Plain and Tall (1991) and Storm of the Century (1999)
Acadia Visitor lists Stonington for Sarah, Plain and Tall, and we cover the town in our Stonington guide. It lists Southwest Harbor for Storm of the Century, and says other scenes of that film were shot in San Francisco.
Islands
- Monhegan Island: the Film Office lists The Congressman (2016) and The Sounding (2017). See our Monhegan day trip guide.
- Vinalhaven: the Film Office lists Deep Waters (1948) and Nor’easter (2012).
- Cliff Island, Casco Bay: the Film Office and Maine Living both list The Whales of August.
Northern and western Maine
- Van Buren: Visit Maine places Beneath the Harvest Sky here and points to the blue potato fields.
- Skowhegan and Waterville: the Film Office lists both for the HBO mini-series Empire Falls, along with Kennebunkport and Ogunquit.
- Millinocket and East Millinocket: the Film Office lists Child of Grace and Bluebird.
- Bethel, Rumford and Mexico: the Film Office lists Blood and Money.
Stephen King movies shot around Bangor
The Film Office list ties several King adaptations to the Bangor area:
- The Langoliers (1994): Bangor International Airport.
- Graveyard Shift (1990): Bangor and Brewer.
- Creepshow 2 (1987): Bangor, Brewer and Dexter.
- Pet Sematary (1989): Ellsworth, Hancock, Bucksport and Bangor.
For places to see in town, use our Stephen King tour of Bangor. Our Castle Rock, Maine guide covers whether the fictional town is real and where it was filmed. The list also includes recent entries, such as Their Town (2026, Bangor) and a Bucksport documentary, Stories from The Kave (2026).
Movies filmed in Maine FAQ
What movies were filmed in Maine?
Well-known ones include Forrest Gump, The Cider House Rules, Shutter Island, Pet Sematary, Peyton Place and Snow Falling on Cedars, though several were only partly filmed here. The Maine Film Office keeps the full list.
Was The Shawshank Redemption filmed in Maine?
No. The story is set in Maine, but as far as we know it was filmed at the Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield, Ohio.
Where in Maine was Forrest Gump filmed?
The Film Office lists Port Clyde, and Wikipedia says Marshall Point Light appeared in the film.
Can you visit the locations?
Many of them, yes: the lighthouses, beaches and town centers are public. Some, like the Hancock house from Pet Sematary, are private property. Hours and seasons change, so check before you go.
Our details come from the Maine Film Office’s Films Made in Maine list, Visit Maine, Acadia Visitor, the Camden Public Library’s Peyton Place page, the Bangor Daily News, Wikipedia and Maine Living. Years are release years where we know them, and the Film Office sometimes lists the year of filming instead. Checked November 9, 2026. Not every scene in a film was shot where the sources say, so confirm details with the site before you travel.