Dashboards and Saddlebags the Destination Magazine™ Issue 022 January 2013 | Page 8

Photo by Ed Phillips - Burke County TDA

Lake James State Park
T
he list of film credits for Lake
James State Park, located in
the foothills near Morganton, is
short but A-list all the way. Film
junkies can explore the more
than 150 miles of shoreline and
visit the location of Fort William
Henry, the centerpiece setting for
The Last of the Mohicans. Though
little remains of the set today, the
beauty of the area is just as it was in
the film. Numerous devotees of the
movie still seek out the foundation
markings. Besides being the British
stronghold of Colonel Munro
(Maurice Roe’ves), this site was also
the location of the French camp.
Other memorable scenes filmed
here include the canoe escape led
by Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis)
and the sequence when Duncan
(Steven Waddington) falls during
the Massacre Valley scene. All of
the Mohicans locations are near
the Haney’s Island/White Creek
area of the park. If you’re lucky,
members of the park staff will
guide you to the spots used in the
film. Lake James also appears in the
Sean Connery/Alec Baldwin thriller

8

The Hunt for Red October, though
just barely. It seems the executive
producer was unhappy with the
film’s ending, and a location was
needed for quick reshoots. Lake
James had the right look, so a twoday shoot was done here between
Christmas and New Year’s Day.
The lake may have been a goodluck charm for the sound crews
of both films. Red October picked
up an Oscar ® for Best Sound
Effects, while Mohicans won for
Best Sound.
The park is located on N.C. 126
In Burke and McDowell counties
near Morganton and Marion It
opens at 8AM.
Film Credits: The Last of the Mohicans
(1992); The Hunt for Red October (1990)
From the Film Junkies Guide
to North Carolina by Connie
Nelson and Floyd Harris

Tourism is

Economic

Development

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