Most of Forrest Gump’s South Carolina scenes were shot around Beaufort, about an hour from Hilton Head. Here is what you can still see.
Forrest Gump was filmed from August to December 1993 in and around Beaufort, in the small town of Varnville, and in Savannah, Georgia. The South Carolina sites are the ones you can reach from Hilton Head in a day: the Woods Memorial Bridge, a college building in downtown Beaufort, and Hunting Island State Park are open to anyone. Others, like Fripp Island and the shrimp dock in the film, are gated or private. Each is marked below, with the drive from central Hilton Head.
Beaufort is about 40 miles from Hilton Head, roughly an hour with no traffic. The downtown sites are close enough to walk between, and the rest of the town makes a good half day. The football scenes were shot at the Basil Green Complex, a baseball field turned into a football field with computer effects. Our Beaufort day trip page has the rest.
The bridge over the Beaufort River where Forrest is shown running across the country. For the shoot a “Mississippi River” sign went up, and it was taken down afterward. You can drive across it and look back at the town from Lady’s Island.
About 40 miles, an hour from central Hilton Head.
805 Carteret Street, Beaufort
The building that stood in for the hospital in the film. It is a working arts center today, and the Beaufort International Film Festival screens films here.
About 40 miles, an hour.
The public road from Beaufort across Lady’s Island and out to St. Helena Island, used for road scenes. It is also the way to the Penn Center and Hunting Island.
About 40 miles to the start, an hour.
The Vietnam scenes were shot on two barrier islands. One is a state park you can walk, and the other is a gated resort community.
2555 Sea Island Parkway, Hunting Island
The park’s beach and lagoon appear in the Vietnam scenes. It is open to the public, with a lighthouse and trails. See our Hunting Island State Park guide.
About 55 miles, 1 hour 20 minutes.
More Vietnam scenes were filmed here, near the Ocean Creek golf course. Fripp Island is a gated community, so it is open to residents, renters and their guests rather than to sightseers.
About 60 miles, an hour and a half.
Several famous sets aren’t there to see. The Gump and Jenny houses were built near Yemassee and torn down after filming. The shrimp dock for Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. was on Coosaw Island, which is private, and the dock was rebuilt after Hurricane Matthew. Bubba’s house is a private residence. The tree in the film is on private land and its owners keep it closed. Please stay on public roads and don’t ask for directions to any of them.
Varnville, in Hampton County, played Greenbow, Alabama, Forrest’s hometown, and Wade Hampton High School there appears in the film. Stoney Creek Presbyterian Church in McPhersonville, was also used. Varnville is about 65 miles from Hilton Head, an hour and a half.
The bench scenes were shot in Savannah’s Chippewa Square, about 37 miles from Hilton Head, an hour. The bench was a prop, and the original is in the Savannah History Museum. Our Savannah day trip page covers the city.
The easy version is a day in Beaufort: cross the Woods Memorial Bridge, walk down to the Center for the Arts, then drive Sea Island Parkway out to Hunting Island for the beach and the lighthouse. Plan the drive on our Beaufort to Hilton Head page. Beaufort has more screen history than this one film, from The Great Santini to The Prince of Tides: see movies filmed in Beaufort, SC for the full list.
Movies filmed in Beaufort, SC and the Lowcountry: Forrest Gump, The Great Santini, The Prince of Tides and more, plus a day trip from Hilton Head.
Where The Great Santini was filmed in Beaufort, SC: the Meechum house on the Point, the air station, Pat Conroy's Beaufort and the drive from Hilton Head.
The Prince of Tides cast and who played whom, plus where the 1991 film was shot in Beaufort, SC, on Fripp and St. Helena, and the drive from Hilton Head.
Hilton Head to Beaufort is under an hour: the drive, the waterfront, carriage tours, Penn Center, Old Sheldon Church and Hunting Island.
Hunting Island State Park is about 70 minutes from Hilton Head: climb SC's only public lighthouse, walk Boneyard Beach, camp, plus hours and admission.
Mostly in the South Carolina Lowcountry and Savannah, Georgia, from August to December 1993. The South Carolina sites are in and around Beaufort, on Hunting Island and Fripp Island, and in Varnville. The bench scenes were shot in Savannah’s Chippewa Square.
None of the filming sites we could confirm are on Hilton Head Island. The nearest are in Beaufort, about 40 miles and an hour away, and in Savannah, about 37 miles away.
The Woods Memorial Bridge, the USC Beaufort Center for the Arts, Sea Island Parkway and Hunting Island State Park are open to the public. Fripp Island is gated, and the shrimp dock, Bubba’s house and the tree are on private land.
No. The houses built for the film near Yemassee were torn down, and the tree is on private land that its owners keep closed.
The bench in the film was a prop, placed in Chippewa Square in Savannah for the shoot. The original is displayed in the Savannah History Museum.
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