Nobody famous lived here before 2005. Forks was a logging town, like 3,500 people, and it gets more rain than almost anywhere in the lower 48. The kind of town you drive through on the way to somewhere else.
Then Stephenie Meyer picked it off a map without ever going there. She wanted the rainiest cloudiest town in the country so Edward could exist without turning into a disco ball every time he walked outside. She found Forks online and wrote a whole world around it from her kitchen in Phoenix.
And y'all. She got it RIGHT. I don't know how she did it from a laptop in Arizona but when you're standing in that town in that rain with the forest coming in from every side, it's exactly what the books feel like. Exactly.
Over 80,000 people visit Forks every year now. Almost every shop has some little Twilight nod. The people are so sweet and they've been dealing with us for almost twenty years and still act happy to see you, which honestly, geez. And the town delivers in a way I honestly didn't expect until I was there.
First stop when you roll into town, no question. Grab the official Twilight map here, it marks every book location and you'll use it. There's a world map inside covered in pins from visitors showing where they came from and I'm not exaggerating when I say thousands of pins on every continent. People have flown from everywhere on earth to stand in this town. Putting your pin in is a moment.
And outside is Bella's truck. The actual red 1953 Chevy the town keeps as a permanent thing for fans. Get the photo. You know you want it and you should because it's BELLA'S TRUCK and you're standing in Forks and this is real life.
This isn't the school from the movie (that was Kalama for outside and Madison in Portland for inside). This is the real Forks High. The one Stephenie Meyer was picturing. Walking around it feels different than you'd think. You find yourself placing the parking lot scene and the cafeteria and biology in your head. None of it looks like the movie exactly. All of it feels like the book.
It's a real school so be respectful. Walk the grounds and get your photos and don't disrupt anything. The kids here have grown up with Twilight tourists as just a normal part of their town and they're so gracious about it.
Okay this one makes everybody smile and I love it so so much. Like a dumb amount.
Forks Community Hospital has a parking spot reserved for Dr. Carlisle Cullen. The sign is REAL. It says Reserved Parking, Dr. Cullen, green and white. The hospital fully leaned into the bit and it's one of the most delightful things on the whole trip.
Get the photo next to the sign. If there's a Carlisle girl in your group (there's always a Carlisle girl) this stop is for her. She's been waiting.
While you're over here look for the Edward Cullen Did Not Sleep Here sign at one of the hotels. It's accurate and it's hilarious and it belongs in a museum. The town of Forks has such a good sense of humor about all of this and that sign is the proof.
This is the most underrated stop on the whole trip and not enough people know it exists. Inside the Rainforest Arts Center downtown is the biggest collection of Twilight movie props and costumes in the world.
Actual outfits Bella and Edward and Jacob wore on screen. Stuff from the real production. Fan made pieces that are honestly incredible on their own. Photo spots all through it. I'm talking standing next to the actual costumes from scenes you've watched a hundred times. It's a LOT and I'm obsessed.
Free, but you need a reservation made in person at the box office. Do this first thing when you get to Forks before anything else. Open daily late May through September. Don't skip this. True fans have cried in this room and no shame.
On the road between Forks and La Push there's a sign that says No Vampires Beyond This Point. Under that a painted wolf howling. And the words Treaty Line.
It's not a filming location and it's not in the books like this. It's just Forks being Forks, a town that fully leaned into the story that changed everything for them and did it with a sense of humor I find so endearing.
Park nearby and walk over and get the group photo. This is the fun one and it's the biggest energy of the whole trip so don't overthink it.
Forks Outfitters is the main grocery and everything store in Forks. Hardware and sporting goods and clothes and a full grocery store. One stop for basically anything you'd need out here.
And it's in the books. Bella's after school job was written as being here.
But the real reason it matters is this. If you're staying at the Swan House (Chapter 5), this is where you buy the groceries for the steak dinner. Just like Bella did. You walk into this store in this town and buy the stuff for the meal that's in the book and then you drive to the house and make it in the yellow kitchen. The order of that matters. Start it here.
The Downtown Walk
Downtown Forks is small enough to walk in under an hour and worth every minute. Almost every business has found some way to nod to Twilight. Some are subtle, a little Edward figurine in a window or a knowing sign. Some go ALL in. The Native Store has a whole Twilight section with life size cutouts. The local bar has Vampire Bite cocktails. One hotel has the Edward Cullen Did Not Sleep Here sign. Good for all of them.
Walk slow and look in the windows and let yourself be a tourist about it. This town has been so good to Twilight fans for so long and the least you can do is buy something from a local shop and eat at a local place and mean it when you say you're glad you came. Because you will be.
Forever Twilight in Forks Festival
Four day festival every fall and it's exactly what it sounds like. Tours of the book locations and movie screenings and themed parties and panels and costume contests. And autographs and photos with actual cast members.
The guest list changes every year. Past festivals have had Ashley Greene and Jackson Rathbone and Kellan Lutz and Peter Facinelli and Gil Birmingham and Stephenie Meyer herself. September 13th is officially Stephenie Meyer Day in Forks.
Book lodging months ahead if you're going festival weekend. The whole town fills up completely. But if you can time it, this is the full experience. Nothing compares to being in this town in September in the rain with a bunch of other fans who flew in from everywhere.
forkswa.com for dates and this year's guests.
A Note About the Town
Some people show up in Forks expecting a theme park and find a real town instead. That adjustment takes about twenty minutes and then you realize the real town is better.
The people here are so real. They're proud of where they live and honestly not mainly because of Twilight (though they appreciate it). They live on the edge of one of the prettiest wild places in the whole country. Olympic National Park is RIGHT there. The rain forest and the coast and the rivers. They were here before the books and they'll be here long after.
Talk to people and eat at the local spots and slow down and look around. The forest comes right up to the edge of town and it's the actual forest Stephenie Meyer was picturing when she wrote all of this. That's not nothing. That's kind of everything.
"I loved Forks. I couldn't help it."
Bella Swan · Twilight