Forrest Gump Filming Locations in the Lowcountry and Savannah
When Hollywood came running
Story by Lance Hanlin
Few films are as beloved as Forrest Gump, but in the Lowcountry, the connection feels personal. Many of the movie’s most memorable scenes were filmed in Beaufort, on Lady’s Island and in Savannah, turning familiar bridges, marshes and historic squares into cinematic landmarks. From shrimp boats to sweeping run sequences, these real-world locations reveal how the Lowcountry helped bring Forrest Gump to life.
Key Forrest Gump Filming Locations in the Lowcountry and Savannah
BEAUFORT, SC:
Woods Memorial Bridge
Lucy Creek and Coosaw Island
Hunting Island State Park
Fripp Island
Lady’s Island
Sea Island Parkway
SAVANNAH, GA:
Chippewa Square
Wright Square
West Bay Street
Madison Square
Beaufort Filming Locations in Forrest Gump
Beaufort served as a central production hub, with familiar places transformed into cinematic stand-ins. The University of South Carolina Beaufort campus was digitally altered to appear as Gump Medical Center, while scenes of Forrest mowing the football field were filmed at the Basil Green Complex, a baseball field dressed for the role and enhanced with early CGI. Even the lawn mower had local roots. It was supplied by Beaufort hardware store owner Gene DeLoach, who proudly displayed it in his shop for years after the film’s release.
Several sets were built specifically for the production, then vanished once filming wrapped. A dock and boathouse on Coosaw Island at Coosaw Marine, owned by Stan and Marie Lawson, were transformed into the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. The Gump family home was constructed along the Combahee River near Yemassee, with Jenny’s childhood home rising nearby off Twickenham Plantation Road. Because neither structure was built to code, both were dismantled after filming, leaving behind little more than photographs, film stills and local lore.
Local involvement extended well beyond scenery. Residents filled scenes as extras, adding familiar faces and an unmistakable sense of place in the Deep South that no set dressing could replicate.
Even the film’s most quoted line came with a Lowcountry connection. The chocolates were supplied by the owners of The Chocolate Tree in Beaufort, which closed in 2025 after 45 years of satisfying the town’s sweet tooth. And despite what the line suggests, Tom Hanks knew exactly what he was going to get. He hand-selected his favorites for the box, and for years afterward, the shop sent him the same assortment annually, a small tradition born from a very big movie.
“Run, Forrest, Run”: Bridge and Road Scenes in the Lowcountry
Forrest’s cross-country run is one of the most quoted and parodied sequences in film history, and a surprising amount of it unfolds right here in the Lowcountry. The press interview scene was filmed atop the Woods Memorial Bridge, briefly transformed with a “Mississippi River” sign to sell the illusion. Local resident Juan Singleton, now with the City of Hardeeville, appeared as the “Hannibal Reporter,” delivering the line, “Are you running for the homeless?”
In an interview with TV station WJCL, Singleton recalled that the scene took eight hours to shoot. He flubbed the line once, drawing laughter from Tom Hanks. He had his own trailer with his name on it for the day and still receives residual checks decades later.
Additional running shots were captured along the Sea Island Parkway, the long, open stretch leading toward Hunting Island State Park, chosen for its wide horizons and cinematic sense of distance. To maintain continuity, the crew filmed multiple passes from different angles, occasionally closing lanes as Hanks ran the same stretch again and again.
On screen that jog becomes a three-year, two-month, 14-day and 16-hour trek across America, condensed into seven minutes. To speed up filming, Tom Hank’s younger brother, Jim, filled in for several long-distance running shots. In the movie Forrest runs through Varnville, across the Beaufort area, all the way to Santa Monica, then back east to Maine’s Marshall Point Lighthouse. Along the way, he passes a bend on U.S. Route 221 near Linville, North Carolina, overlooking Grandfather Mountain, now known as “Forrest Gump Curve.” He jogs through downtown Flagstaff, Arizona, and finally stops in Utah’s Monument Valley.
Forrest Gump’s Shrimp Boat and Waterfront Scenes
Water defined many of Forrest Gump’s most memorable moments, and the Lowcountry’s waterways were central to bringing them to life. The shrimp boat sequences, which many viewers assume were filmed in Alabama, were actually shot on Lucy Creek on Lady’s Island, where the marsh-fringed water and working docks stood in for Bayou La Batre. The dock and boathouse on the Coosaw Island side of the creek became the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company for the film, and local boats from Gay Fish Company appear on screen when Forrest names his trawler, Jenny.
For the dramatic hurricane sequence, the cast and crew moved to the Port Royal SC Ports Authority Terminal, which is no longer active. There, powerful jet engines were used to generate gale-force winds and pouring rain, transforming the industrial waterfront into the storm that would make Forrest a wealthy shrimp magnate.
So much shrimp was needed for the post-storm haul that Paramount purchased thousands of pounds from Gay Fish Company, and framed receipts from that purchase still hang at its St. Helena Island docks, a quirky piece of cinematic history rooted in real Lowcountry commerce.
Vietnam Scenes Filmed in the Lowcountry
The Lowcountry also stood in for Vietnam, providing the setting for some of the film’s most powerful scenes. Combat sequences were filmed on Hunting Island State Park and Fripp Island, where tidal creeks, dense maritime forest and marshland created a convincing jungle backdrop. On Fripp Island, areas near what is now the Ocean Creek Golf Course were used for filming, with additional mountains and foliage added later through visual effects.
Hunting Island’s lagoon appears in the unforgettable scene in which Forrest carries wounded soldiers to safety, its still water and overhanging greenery heightening the emotional weight of the moment. The location required little alteration, relying instead on the natural landscape to convey danger and isolation.
Other recognizable local sites appear throughout the film. Bubba’s home was filmed on Alston Road on Lady’s Island, while downtown Varnville stood in for the fictional town of Greenbow. The church scenes were shot at Stoney Creek Presbyterian Church in McPhersonville.
Savannah Filming Locations in Forrest Gump
Just down the road in Savannah, the film opens with a white feather drifting down over Madison Square, framed by St. John’s Episcopal Church and the Scottish Rite Building in the background. From there the feather floats onward, passing the steeple of Independent Presbyterian Church and the façade of First Baptist Church, before finally coming to rest at the feet of Forrest Gump on a bench beside a bus stop on the north side of Chippewa Square. Just behind him the monument to Georgia founder James Oglethorpe anchors the scene.
Although viewers see only fragments of Forrest’s narration, Tom Hanks performed the entire monologue while seated on the bench. Director Robert Zemeckis wanted the freedom to cut between the bench scenes and Forrest’s life story as needed, giving the sequence its fluid, reflective rhythm. To make the scene work visually, traffic around Chippewa Square was temporarily reversed so the bus doors would open toward the bench, not away from it.
Savannah’s role in the film extends beyond the square. Jenny’s diner scenes were filmed at the former Debi’s Restaurant on the northwest corner of nearby Wright Square. Additional shots were captured along West Bay Street, while scenes outside the city were filmed at Love’s Seafood Restaurant off U.S. Highway 17 near Richmond Hill, close to the bridge over the Ogeechee River.
Today the original bench used in filming is preserved at the Savannah History Museum, but Chippewa Square remains a destination in its own right. Stand in the right spot, and it is still easy to imagine a feather drifting down, a stranger taking a seat, and a story beginning again.
FAQs About Forrest Gump Filming Locations
Where was Forrest Gump filmed in South Carolina? Many scenes were filmed in Beaufort and surrounding areas, including Lady’s Island, Hunting Island State Park, Fripp Island and the Woods Memorial Bridge.
Can you visit Forrest Gump filming locations today? Yes. Many locations in Beaufort and Savannah are publicly accessible, though some sites are private property or protected areas.
Why did filmmakers choose Beaufort and Savannah? The Lowcountry’s historic architecture, coastal landscapes and preserved streetscapes made it an ideal stand-in for multiple settings in the film.
