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To Claytor Lake State Park to swim in the lake and tie June bugs onto string and fly them around in a circle like tiny model airplanes. Where it took us – in wonderful luxury and comfort – was to places like the Clover Creamery for ice cream cones. It sat long and white and stately, and dwarfed my grandfather’s 1950 Ford parked next to it.

to visit for the summer, the Olds was the first thing we saw there in the driveway at the corner of Fourth and Harvey streets. When I was a teenager and my mother, father, sister, brothers and I came down from Baltimore to Radford, Va. My grandmother’s ’63 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 was the fanciest, newest car I knew, and it took us to the very best places we ever went. The 'Dirty Dancing' Oldsmobile: It Still Carries A Family's Memories Scanland is also hoping, of course, that no one gets put in the corner – and whoever visits has the time of their life.

Dirty dancing location north carolina movie#

“Buzz” Scanlan, Jr., says, “We’re probably going to reproduce some signs from the movie – show where things were.” 16-17, with trivia games, food and dance lessons. This year, you can even find it on tours of the Mountain Lake property during “Dirty Dancing” weekends, held May 4-5, June 1-2, and Nov. That wooden gazebo actually starred in several scenes of “Dirty Dancing.” And it’s still standing. Laughing, Lilly showed me how Grey stepped on his foot in a segment filmed inside a gazebo at Mountain Lake. While also at Lake Lure, I met Edith Bond, a banker who fondly recalled how she – and other extras – danced in the movie’s final scene, filmed at the boys camp.Īnother movie extra, retired teacher Bob Lilly, welcomed me to his home at Narrows, Va., and he promptly cued up “Dirty Dancing” on a DVD. When I visited, I could find only ruins, surrounded by lush greenery.īut I did find a place at Lake Lure that still looked like a scene in the movie – on a golf course – at Hole No. Yet many of the camp’s stone buildings burned down a few years ago.

On the cove’s banks, he says, once stood a boys camp, where more scenes were shot. Berger tells guests that the water scenes of “Dirty Dancing” were filmed at Lake Lure and points to a secluded cove. There, I had met “Skipper” Steve Berger, who regularly gives tours of Lake Lure. Now, rewind to my summer cruise aboard a pontoon boat at Lake Lure, where the other half of “Dirty Dancing” was filmed. “It’s that scene where she jumps into Swayze’s arms.”

Dirty dancing location north carolina full#

“It was full when Jennifer Grey jumped in. Getting serious, Parker explains how the water level of Mountain Lake actually runs in cycles. “Jennifer Grey drank it,” retired biologist Bruce Parker says with a smile. Likewise, the tempting blue waters of Mountain Lake do not now kiss the sands of the small beach seen on screen. And the cottage’s stone steps – where Grey’s “Baby Houseman” character was seen skipping – have since been removed. That cottage has since been updated with new trim. But, at first glance, I could not easily recognize the resort’s Virginia Cottage, where the movie's Houseman family stayed. Today, much of the Mountain Lake Hotel remains the same – stately and stone. It's now been 20 years since Swayze and Grey starred in “Dirty Dancing,” a coming-of-age love story filmed on location at Lake Lure, N.C., and Mountain Lake near Pembroke, Va. I hiked behind Mountain Lake Hotel, just like Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze did in “Dirty Dancing.” And I drove through the hotel’s tiny tunnel – going the wrong way on a one-way street, just like the actors did in the movie. This year, visitors to the Virginia and North Carolina lakes where the movie was filmed might well find at least some of its cinematic remnants. Jennifer Grey, Patrick Swayze and a bunch of extras had the time of their life when “Dirty Dancing” was released two decades ago.