| Address |
| 3010 SE Oxbow Pkwy, Gresham, OR 97080, USA (Gresham, Oregon)
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| Information |
Oxbow Regional Park, Oregon
This park is located inside the Sandy River Gorge, just outside Gresham, Oregon, and has recently popped up in such movies as A.I. Artificial Intelligence and the 2008 dark fantasy, Twilight. The park was founded and is maintained by the regional government, Metro, which serves the northern Oregon counties of Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington. It consists of around 1,200 acres of natural beauty, highlighted with over 180-acres of old-growth forests alone. It offers a wide-array of recreational activities and has become a popular stop for locals, as well as out-of-state tourists.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Oxbow Regional Park made its big-screen debut in the 2001 Steven Spielberg film, A.I. Artificial Intelligence. In the film, the forests of the park appear when the character of Monica Swinton (Frances O'Connor) opts to leave the android David (Haley Joel Osment) in the forest to live among other unregistered mechas (or androids), rather than take him back to the factory where he was built for destruction. The dense forest of Oxbow Regional Park offered a striking contrast to the futuristic cities, sets, and environment seen throughout the rest of the film and is one of the few exterior scenes in the film.
Twilight (2008)
More recently, Oxbow Regional Park played a memorable role in the 2008 film adaptation of the bestselling Stephenie Meyer novel, Twilight. In the film, the park served as the romantic backdrop to some of the forest sequences featuring the main characters of Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson). More prominently, it appears as though the park was used, at least partially, for the famed meadow scene. Oxbow Park reportedly appeared in the sequence where Bella reveals that she knows the truth about Edward being a vampire. The scene then jumped to the land behind the nearby Stone Cliff Inn (where Edward revealed his powers) and finally wrapped at the actual "meadow," which in reality was the Wilson Municipal Golf Course found at the famed Griffith Park in Los Angeles, California. Additional forest sequences were filmed at Silver Falls State Park near Salem (where the characters scaled trees - see Silver Falls State Park, Oregon) and the scenic viewpoints alongside the Columbia River Gorge.
Production on Twilight at Oxbow Regional Park took place in late-March 2008. Despite the rather notorious rainy conditions of the Portland-metropolitan area, the crew was faced with a much different challenge than usual - the sun. The unanticipated sunny day in the area presented a hurdle because the story is set in the very cloudy and rainy Olympic Peninsula of northwest Washington. To offset the bright conditions of the shoot, the crew was forced to generate their own dreary conditions with the aid of fog machines. Even that represented its own challenges as the man-made fog quickly dispersed in the open air and left little time for filming. Regardless, the scenes were ultimately pulled off and cemented Oxbow Regional Park's lasting legacy in Twilight lore.
The Park Today
Metro continues to operate Oxbow Regional Park to this day. In addition to the forests, clearings, canyon walls, and access to the Sandy River, tourists to the area can occupy themselves with such activities as fishing, camping, kayaking, or merely hiking the various trails throughout the park. The park even employs a naturalist year-round who offers a variety of both public and private programs. For over two decades, the park is the site of the annual Salmon Festival in the second weekend of October. The festival highlights the return of the Chinook salmon that return to spawn in the Sandy River. The event features various exhibits, nature walks, and other activities. For more information, please visit the site below. |
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| GPS Interface |
Save Waypoint to Garmin Device.
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| User Trips |
| There are no user trips associated with this location. |
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| Related Sites |
Metro: Oxbow Regional Park
Metro's official Web site of Oxbow Regional Park which appeared in such films as A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Twilight. |
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| Similar Destinations |
| Maritime Memorial Park, Astoria, OR |
| Torrance High School, Torrance, CA |
| Twilight (2008): Clackamas Community College |
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| See Also on TheCabinet.com |
| Blog: The Twilight Movie Location Travel Guide (03/20/09) |
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| Available from Amazon.com |
A.I. - Artificial Intelligence (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition) |
A.I. - Rolled Advance One-Sheet, Movie Poster |
Twilight (Two-Disc Special Edition) |
Twilight: The Complete Illustrated Movie Companion |
Twilight Collector's Edition (The Twilight Saga) |
The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide (Twilight Saga) |
The Twilight Saga: Slipcased |
Twilight Soundtrack |
Twilight: The Score |
Twilight People Poster Print, 24x36 |
Twilight Movie Poster Advance Group Artwork |
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