Going to Jurassic Park!
| Steven Spielberg led me to Kaua’i.
His Jurassic Park is one of my favorite movies. If there
were a real Jurassic Park, I would have booked a vacation
package immediately after I left the movie theater.
Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, Jurassic Park is
fictional, but Mr. Spielberg and his crew filmed a good
portion of the movie in the real world. He created some of
the most memorable Jurassic Park scenes on Kaua’i, Hawai’i.
My friend and I traveled to Kaua’i and set out to see two of
the most famous filming locations: the site of the Jurassic
Park gates and Manawaiopuna Falls. The dinosaur-sized main gates of Jurassic Park were built deep inside a huge public park at the base of Mount Wai’ale’ale. Although the gates were removed after filming was completed, two tall poles still mark their place. Before our trip, I searched online and found directions to the gate site. When we landed in Kaua’i, we rented a 4WD truck and set out on our adventure. My directions told us to follow Kuamo’o Road (580) until it changed from paved to dirt. Then we were at the mercy of instructions like “after ½ mile there is a Y. Take the left fork.” There were a bunch of forks and branches in the rugged dirt “road," but no street signs or trail names. I began to wonder whether we’d actually find the gate. We bumped and bounced along, crossing puddles and streams until... The truck stalled. We tried the ignition again and again, but it just wouldn’t start. We got out to inspect the truck and found ourselves standing in what felt like the middle of nowhere. I wondered whether a tow truck would be able to find us there. After minutes that seemed like hours, my friend tried the ignition again. It started! Some water must have splashed up into the truck’s tailpipe or something during our last stream crossing. I hoped that it wouldn’t happen again. About half an hour after we’d started along the dirt road, twin tall concrete poles came into view. I jumped out and approached the Jurassic Park poles. Of course they had very little resemblance to the Jurassic Park gates I’d seen in the movie, but the view between them was unmistakable. My heart rate quickened as I walked past them. I almost expected to find dinosaurs, but of course there were just trees and the distant view of lush, wet Mount Wai’ale’ale. |
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| The other Jurassic Park filming location that I longed to
visit was the helicopter landing area on Jurassic Park’s Isla Nublar.
This was
filmed at Manawaiopuna Falls on Kaua’i, but the falls are
located on private property. The only way for us to see them
was by helicopter, so I booked an excursion with
Inter-Island Helicopters. I liked the fact that this company flew with the
helicopter doors off. I didn’t want any windows between me
and that beautiful waterfall. Our helicopter took off and traveled through Waimea Canyon, which reminded me of a much smaller, greener Grand Canyon. Next, we checked out the beautiful, verdant peaks of the Na Pali Coast. Then we passed over Hanalei Bay admiring the aqua blue ocean and the Poi fields. Someone had “written” EAT POI in one of the fields for the helicopter tourists’ benefit. |
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| Water drops pelted our windshield (although we stayed fairly dry) as we flew incredibly close to the vegetation covered walls of Mount Wai’ale’ale with their long, skinny waterfalls. |
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| Our pilot showed us waterfall after waterfall, but he saved the best for last. |
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| “That’s it!” I exclaimed as we approached a tall waterfall that widened into many fingers as it cascaded over its bulging, rocky path. It was Manawaiopuna Falls. The helicopter landing pad that had been built below it for the movie was long gone, but the waterfall itself looked exactly the same. While we were admiring the falls, a beautiful rainbow appeared across the base as if to say, “Welcome to Jurassic Park!” It was magical! |
I did this in 2003 in Kaua'i, Hawai'i, USA. |
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jen is also known as J.W. Lynne, a best selling author of eleven novels. Click on any of the titles below to see the book on Amazon! THE UNKNOWN: Eight kids learn the shocking reason why they were kidnapped. ABOVE THE SKY: A girl lives in a world where touching her soulmate is forbidden. THE DARKNESS OUTSIDE: A teen is locked in a bunker to take a simulated trip to the moon. KID DOCS: An experimental program turns kids into doctors. WILD ANIMAL SCHOOL: A girl falls in love with a boy at an exotic animal ranch. WHAT HE DIDN'T TELL ME: A traumatized girl meets a boy with a horrible secret. IF I TELL: A teen wonders if her father is a serial killer. Besides reading books and dreaming up stories to write, Jen's favorite activities are singing along to musical theater soundtracks and hiking in California's beautiful parks. **Jen's books are available on Kindle Unlimited.** |
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Directions to the Jurassic Park gate filming location: These are similar to the directions that we followed in 2003. Use them at your own risk. At the end of Kuamo'o Road (Highway 580), Kuamo'o Road becomes a dirt road. The road heads inland and eventually ends. At the end, bear right and continue for about 1/2 of a mile until you reach a Y. Here you will see a Hunting Unit C sign nailed to a tree asking people to not pick up "lost" hunting dogs. Take the left fork. At about 1 1/4 mile is a left branch. Do not take it. Go straight. At almost 1 1/2 miles is another Y. Take the left fork. At 1 8/10 miles is the gate used in Jurassic Park. |
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