If you've watched Virgin River on Netflix then you've most likely noticed the stunning views in pretty much every episode.
The Netflix show starring Alexandra Breckenridge and Martin Henderson is back for Season 5 on September 7 and even though it's said to take place in a fictional town in the U.S., Virgin River was actually filmed in British Columbia.
That's right, the Netflix drama about a nurse practitioner (Breckenridge) who moves from Los Angeles to a remote Northern California town, was shot around Vancouver and many of the breathtaking places you see in the show, you can visit for yourself.
Alexandra Breckenridge as Mel Monroe and Martin Henderson as Jack Sheridan in Season 5 of Virgin River.Courtesy of Netflix.
The location manager and scout, W. Robert “Fluffy” Millar, for the show spoke to Netflix about what it's like to work on Virgin River, a show that has a lot of scenes shot outside.
"I’m always trying to one-up each episode, always trying to find a prettier, more stunning vista, or another easily accessible, dense forest, and it’s quite a blessing to be doing a show like this in British Columbia," he said.
"They want our locations team to provide the environment within which the actors can then feel a certain way. It’s not so much the trees as a style guide, it's just the pure, raw beauty — vistas or places where the background behind the actors could steal the attention away for a few seconds from the storyline. People go, 'Oh my god, where’s that waterfall?'"
The location scout also noted that the teams always coordinates with the Squamish Nation, because they do a lot of filming on First Nations land.
From Mel Monroe's cabin to Jack Sheridan's iconic bar, to the forests and mountains, here are the filming locations you can look forward to seeing more of in Season 5 of Virgin River.
Where in BC is Virgin River filmed?
Tim Matheson as Doc Mullins and Trevor Lerner as Bert in Virgin River.
Courtesy of Netflix.
Virgin River is filmed in British Columbia, Canada.
The locations range from Squamish to North Vancouver to Whistler and beyond.
We'll list out some of the most popular filming locations like Mel's Cabin, Jack's Bar and Vernon's practice below.
Murdo Frazer Park (Mel's Cabin)
Mel's cabin is a recurring location many viewers get to see in all seasons of the show.
The interior of the cabin is actually on a soundstage and Millar says the team uses photographic backdrops hanging from the ceiling. He further explained that when you're inside the cabin and look out the window, you're seeing high-resolution pictures taken of the area around the real cabin.
The cabin itself is located in North Vancouver in Murdo Frazer Park.
The filming crew said they were at risk of losing the cabin last year after they found out it was sinking.
"The foundation is actually sinking into the soft earth by the water table with the pond that's right beside it," Millar told Netflix.
"They [the District of North Vancouver] actually need to come in and do an actual house lifting, like those proper things you see on Discovery Channel where they lift a house up and jack it up."
The team had to get creative while filming Season 5 and got some establishing shots with a crane and drone to ensure they had what they needed before work on the cabin began.
The Watershed Grill (Jack's Bar)
Jack's Bar is probably one of the most iconic locations in Virgin River as so many scenes have been filmed in there.
If you want to visit it for yourself, you'll need to head to Squamish to a place called the Watershed Grill.
"It's a great destination — it’s near the largest concentration of bald eagles in the world, where they come to eat and feed and mate," Millar said about the location.
"And we always just shoot the exterior on the dike by the river at Jack's Bar.
Based on its online menu, the Watershed Grill offers lots of delicious options like crab cakes, fish and chips and a burger called the "river burger."
You'll also enjoy stunning views of the Squamish River while you eat.
New Westminster Mansion (Vernon's practice)
According to Conde Nast Traveller, Dr. Vernon Mullins, who is played by Tim Matheson, and Mel Monroe, played by Alexandra Breckenridge, work in a practice that is located in New Westminster.
The Queen Anne-style mansion was built in 1889 and was home to its own speakeasy in Prohibition times.
Grouse Mountain
It's unclear if Grouse Mountain will be seen in Season 5, but we thought it deserved an honourable mention as it was seen in the show in Season 3.
If you remember watching the episode with the Lumberjack Games, then that is what was shot on Grouse Mountain.
Millar told Netflix that those scenes were shot during COVID so the ski mountains were shut down to the public.
The team used gondolas to ship all the equipment up the mountains.
Other Virgin River filming locations
There are many more beautiful locations that have been featured in Virgin River throughout all of the show's soon to be five seasons.
Burnaby Fraser Foreshore Park is where scenes with Paige’s Bakeaway food truck was filmed, according to Conde Nast Traveller.
As for mayor Hope McCrea's home, that's located on Deer Lake Drive, which is near Deer Lake Park.
The filming crew also headed to In A Wink Boutique in Port Coquitlam to film scenes at what is meant to be Charmaine's salon.
What is the release date for Season 5 of Virgin River?
Season 5 of Virgin River will be released in two batches.
The first 10 episodes will debut on Netflix on September 7.
According to Netflix, those episodes will feature "surprising new relationships, a shocking break-up, a difficult court trial, a heartbreaking goodbye, and a wildfire that threatens the town."
For those who have watched Season 4, you'll know Mel Monroe is pregnant so she'll also be facing some issues around motherhood in Season 5 and have to make a "big decision" about her future at the clinic.
Jack Sheridan, played by Martin Henderson, will also be dealing with his own "demons" and confrontations with Charmaine in Season 5.
An additional two holiday-themed episodes will air on November 30.
If you need a refresher on everything that happened before getting started on the new season, Virgin River Seasons 1-4 are also available on Netflix.
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