Dirty Dancing Locations

Locations Manager(s): Jacob F. Conrad

Dirty Dancing Filming Locations:

The Dec 1988 edition of Playboy reported that the Mountain Lake Hotel, where exteriors were shot, had experienced a 25-30 percent increase in bookings since the film's release

The movie used the Fairfield Inn and the scenic areas of Lake Lure, North Carolina as well as the Mountain Lake Resort near Roanoke, Virginia, USA. [see links]

During the making of the movie, Patrick Swayze stayed in room 232 at Mountain Lake; Jennifer Grey and her family stayed in the Virginia cottage.

The lake "lifts" scene was filmed in the lake at Mountain Lake, VA. I've been to that exact spot and it's identical. The trees an mountains are exactly the same but the lake has unfortunately drained. [Thanks to Josh Saunders]

Many scenes were filmed in our Mountain Lake Hotel dining room and the gazebo by the lake where many weddings are held now in the summer. The scene when Baby finds Penny crying in the kitchen was also the kitchen here at Mountain Lake. When Johnny and Baby practiced lifts in our lake, it was autumn in Virginia and was very cold. Our lake is spring fed reaches a maximum of 72 degrees! [Thanks to Sherry Nicolai -Director of Sales at Mountain Lake Hotel]

The log scene was filmed in nearby Tryon, NC. It is not really known where exactly, but it was located there. The trees were spray-painted green as the outside shots were done in autumn and they even had to stick some leaves back on!! [Thanks to Debbie]

The stream where the log was is definitely in NC near Tryon and it is definitely not near a resort. I was there about 10 years ago. An old man owned a farm with this stream on his land. The farm was also the grassy scene location where Baby and Johnny practiced the lift, right before the lake lift in the water. [Thanks to Julian White]

Rumor has it that the balance log in "dirty dancing" was at the Highland Lake Inn resort in Flat Rock, NC, and the log is still there. [Thanks to Bob The Builder]

The cabins that the staff lived in at Kellermans were at the Lake Lure site in NC. Those were demolished not very long after the movie was released, but 'Johnny's' cabin remained at least until the summer of 1988.

The Lake Lure site was the former Camp Chimney Rock for Boys and Girls. It was a coed summer camp in which I was a counselor. They used the Gym for both the ballroom scenes and the staff "dirty dancing". They used the dining hall kitchen for dance instruction studio and where the old couple dropped the stolen wallets. The Boys Camp site is now being turned into a Development called Fire Fly Cove. [Thanks to Cheryl Smith]

The Boys CIT cabin was Patrick Swazye's cabin. The Lake by the boat house was where the overhead lift shot was filmed between Johnny and Baby. [Thanks to Jim Hunter]

Unfortunately, the ballroom used for both Kellermans and the alternate Sheldrake, (same location was used with different set dressings), burned several years ago. I had seen this also in 1988 and was NOTHING like it looked in the movie. It was very cavernous, like an old barn. They really made that place look good. [Thanks to Jeff]

Lake Lure is one of the most breathtaking places on earth and the friendliest. 7 yrs ago, we went to the old boys camp to look around. Part of the set was still there. An elderly woman had baught the camp and had already had the cabins torn down. Yes, the club house had burnt down but the ballroom which was the camp cafeteria and gym was still there although all was condemned. It was still all worth the trip. Several other movies were filmed at Lake Lure,Chimney Rock. We plan to go back. [Thanks to Clo-Ella Steele]

The bridge that Patrick Swayze taught Baby to dance on was located in Lake Lure, North Carolina. The bridge was there until several years ago when it was demolished by fans. I guess everyone wanted a "piece of the pie!" But, it is still interesting. The steps above the bridge are STILL THERE AFTER ALL THESE YEARS. I walked up them!! HOW COOL!! The light posts along the steps are gone, not surprising. That happened 5-10 years ago. Water still flows where the bridge was. I go there every chance I get and just stand back in awe of the whole place. It is a beautiful location. [Thanks to Wade]

The scenes with the "employee's/dancer's" small cabins were shot in the mountains of North Carolina next to a resort area. They were torn down after the filming. After the release and popularity of the film, people wanted to rent these "cabins" (especially Patrick's). They were angry to hear that the land and resort owner had them removed. Bet they lost some money! [Thanks to Holly Smith]

let's set the record straight!! The majority of the film was shot in Giles County Virginia at Mountain Lake... [Thanks to R Steweart]

I just came back from a visit to North Carolina and was able to take a tour of Lake Lure. Our tour guide advised us that the property on the lakefront where the cabins were (they are all gone now... nothing but land) is owned by Universal Studios and has a price tag of 6 million. A gentleman attempted to buy it several years ago because he was going to do a whole "Dirty Dancing" theme resort but the town said no more commerical property could be built on the lakefront and as such, whoever would purchase the property could only build a private residence... If they could afford it after plopping down 6 mil for the land. [Thanks to sandy]

Melissa Messer kindly wrote in with the following:

"I'm a lifelong resident of Lake Lure and was here when Dirty Dancing was filmed. The cast and crew (including Patrick Swayze & Jennifer Gray) stayed at the Historical 1927 Lake Lure Inn while filming here.

The main film location was at the Chimney Rock Camp for Boys which had been closed down for several years prior to the 1987 filming. All of the dancing scenes, including the final dance scene, was filmed inside the old gymnasium which was turned into a "dinner theatre" for filming.

This is also where Baby carried the watermelon, danced across the bridge and down the steps. For several years after the movie aired, this building was home to the "Dirty Dancing Revue" every weekend. People came from everywhere, including surrounding states to these performances by the "Dirty Dancing Revue Dancers" and the wonderful live band that accompanied them. At $15 per person, these shows were sold out Friday night, Saturday Night & Sunday afternoons for over 3 years. I was a bartender there the entire time and made more money than I've ever made. It was a wonderful "Time Of My Life"... now, 23 years later, I'm the Tourism Manager for the Chamber of Commerce in Lake Lure and 9 out of 10 people that come to our Visitor Center ask about Dirty Dancing and want to see where it was filmed.

Your information is partially correct; the cottages were torn down shortly after the movie was filmed, but the gymnasium and dining hall both burned about 22 years ago. Since that time the property has been purchased by a developer and there are now condominiums and townhomes on most of it. However, the steps are still there, and a portion of the rock foundation from the gymnasium are there. In September 2009, when Patrick died, we held a Memorial in his honor as a fundraiser for Pancreatic Cancer. Over 800 people came and stood in the pouring rain.

Can you help? Particularly with The locations in Lake Lure, the stream with the log for balance practise, the lake.? Please Update Us