Naman Shrestha
Since its premiere in September 2019, the ‘Virgin River’ has been successfully striking a balance between heartfelt and dramatic by showcasing the ups and downs in the lives of the residents of the charming titular town. Based on Robyn Carr’s ‘Virgin River’ book series and developed for the screen by Sue Tenney, the romantic drama series primarily centers upon the life of a nurse practitioner and midwife named Melinda Monroe AKA Mel, who uproots her life from the sprawling Southern Californian city of Los Angeles and relocates to Virgin River in Northern California, hoping to leave her past behind and start afresh. However, she soon realizes that things aren’t as idyllic as they seem.
In season 5, while Mel gets used to a different pace of life, Jack works hard to grow his business. Moreover, the titular town faces several new threats, including a wildfire, as some dark secrets emerge. Over five seasons, the show has managed to garner a solid fanbase owing to its endearing storyline, emotionally nuanced characters, compelling performances, and dreamy setting that complements the tone of the narrative and makes it a comfortable watch. Naturally, viewers must be eager to find out where the fifth iteration of the series was filmed.
Virgin River Season 5 Filming Locations
‘Virgin River’ season 5 was filmed in its entirety in British Columbia, particularly in Metro Vancouver and Squamish. According to reports, production on the fifth iteration got underway in July 2022 and wrapped up after four months or so, in November of the same year. Now, without further ado, let’s traverse through all the picturesque locations that the protagonists navigate in the Netflix show’s fifth season and get a detailed account of them all!
Metro Vancouver, British Columbia
A majority of ‘Virgin River’ season 5 was lensed in Metro Vancouver, a metropolitan area with the city of Vancouver being its urban center, which also served as one of the primary production locations. The picturesque terrains of Snug Cove of Bowen Island stood in for the fictional setting of the Virgin River, just like the previous seasons. In order to shoot the exterior of Doctor Mulligan’s clinic, the property at 122 First Street in New Westminster was utilized.
Moreover, the city of Burnaby is another one of the prominent filming sites that feature in the show’s fifth season. For instance, Burnaby Fraser Foreshore Park at 7751 Fraser Park Drive in Burnaby is the location where Paige’s Bakeaway truck scenes were recorded. This is where Lizzie works after Paige gets away from the town. The scenes of Virgin River’s Labor Day Carnival were taped in Burnaby’s Central Park at 3883 Imperial Street. During the shooting schedule, the filming unit was even spotted in and around the city of Port Coquitlam, taping important scenes for season 5.
One of the primary locations in the entire show, including in the fifth round, is Mel’s cabin, the interiors of which were shot on a sound stage while using big photographic backdrops hanging from the ceiling. The exterior scenes of the cabin had been shot in Murdo Frazer Park at 3092 Paisley Road in North Vancouver up until season 4. However, due to some technical difficulties and the fact that the real cabin was actually on the verge of sinking, they avoided shooting at the cabin for season 5.
The location manager and scout named W. Robert “Fluffy” Millar talked in detail about it in an early August 2023 interview with Tudum. He explained, “We’re not shooting at the cabin because it’s offline for this lifting to occur. But we actually thought we lost the cabin last year — they couldn’t get it done in time for the summer season. So (instead of it being a surprise) we went back knowing the (construction) was coming down the pike. We went back (last year) and did about a half a day’s worth of establishing shots with the techno crane and drone. We tried to mix and match as many day and night shots as we could, knowing there was a chance we wouldn’t be able to shoot there (for Season 5).”
Squamish, British Columbia
For shooting purposes, the production team of ‘Virgin River’ season 5 also traveled to the community and district municipality of Squamish situated at the north end of Howe Sound. For the fifth iteration, Watershed Grill at 41101 Government Road in Brackendale again stood in for the popular hangout spot, Jack’s Bar. In the meanwhile, Klahanie Campground at 36583 Darrell Bay Road in Squamish doubled for Fitches’ Bed & Breakfast in season 5. Moreover, the river that you might be able to spot in the backdrop of several scenes is none other than the Squamish River.
Read More: Is Virgin River Based on a True Story?
