Vancouver visit - stargate tourist spots?!

[Ensiferra]

Hi all

I'm hoping to visit Vancouver next year, can you tell me if there are any sg1 tourist spots? Can you visit the set??

Thanks!

[hedwig]

There is no "set" left. It was dismantled and parts of it were sold off, while other parts have been used in other TV series. Some of the location sites no longer exist. You can look at RDA's website (rdanderson.com), which has a page that shows some of the sites used.

[Krisz]

As Hedwig said the sets have gone and the RDA website is still a good reference although some of the locations have since been demolished or renovated. There are however many locations that you can still visit.

I'm always happy to take fellow Stargate fans who visit Vancouver around to various locations used on the show, it's nice to reminisce with someone who loves Stargate. We used to do our own fan organised tours when the Creation cons were still going on here, always had a car load of fellow fans and it was always fun. I did this for someone who came to Vancouver just before they went to the Chicago Stargate Con in 2013.

I have taken people on a tour to various SG-1 sites that can reasonably reached within a day depending on Vancouver traffic. They can also be visited using transit but it would take a bit more time. I would suggest hiring a car if you want to see as many locations as you want as it also gives you a chance to see more of the areas around Vancouver. I would go to the area where 'Bordertown' is, it was used in 'A Hundred Days.' You can't get into Bordertown but going to that area you will recognise the scenery. Drive a little further towards the mountains gets you to to Pitt Lake which is the southern end of the Widgeon Creek area used for 'Paradise Lost'. It's a beautiful scenic area and although not quite the same spot as you have to paddle up the creek to get there it gives you an idea of how ideal an area it is to stand in for 'paradise.' Quite a few listed on the RDA website are in Vancouver itself and are easy to visit using transit.

So, Stargate SG-1 tourist spots that have always been popular with all who visit Vancouver and are still around and accessible.....

Bridge Studios - of course! You can't go in but it is nice to see the place where it all happened even if it is from the outside!
Accent Inn - opposite the studios used in 'Smoke and Mirrors'.
Jack's cabin - N.Vancouver
Sam's House- N.Vancouver
Tollana - Simon Fraser University. 'Between Two Fires'
Totem Poles - 'Upgrades' Burnaby Mountain Park - 'O'Malleys' from 'Upgrades' is the restaurant next to the totem poles but had a fire a few years back so the front and the interior no longer looks like it did in the show and on the RDA website. They have great food though!
Lynn Canyon Park, N.Vancouver- Has the 'Stargate' forest. SG-1, SGA and SGU episodes were filmed here.
Queen Elizabeth Park-Bloedel Conservatory- 'The Gamekeeper'.
McMillan Southam Observatory- '1969' - Only open during summer months. The McMillan Space Centre near it has a great planetarium and you may recognise it and the exterior from other shows filmed there.
Steveston- 'Night Walkers' and now 'Storybrooke' in Once Upon a Time. - This location is further out from Vancouver.

There other locations nearer to where I live which is further out from Vancouver that were used in SG-1, SGA and SGU. Depending on how much time you have and if you do hire a car it's worth wandering a bit further afield.

[Janet Fraiser]

Wow, just thinking about visiting some of those places is so exciting. I'd love to see "Tollana" and the conservatory used in the Gamekeeper. I was especially interested in where Nightwalkers took place, and I'm glad to see it on that list.

Vancouver looks so beautiful that I have reason enough to make a trip there, anyway.

[Krisz]

Wow, just thinking about visiting some of those places is so exciting. I'd love to see "Tollana" and the conservatory used in the Gamekeeper. I was especially interested in where Nightwalkers took place, and I'm glad to see it on that list.

Vancouver looks so beautiful that I have reason enough to make a trip there, anyway.

When I watched Stargate back when I still lived in the UK I was always thinking how beautiful some of the places looked on screen, especially where 'Paradise Lost' was filmed. I had to wonder if it was real, it is! Lol! Actually going to the places where they filmed for the first time was amazing, especially Jack's cabin. When we go for walks in the forests I'm always expecting to be ambushed by a Jaffa patrol!

The conservatory used in 'The Gamekeeper' is filled with amazing plants and exotic birds. I love going there, and the gardens are lovely in the summer, plus you get a wonderful view of the city with the mountains from there, if it's not raining of course!

It is a lovely place, with the mountains, lakes, forests and ocean. Just be warned, if you do come to Vancouver you will fall in love with the place, it seems to have a mysterious effect on people lol! We came on a family holiday from the UK 12 years ago to visit some of my husband's relatives. At the time I didn't even know that Stargate was filmed in Vancouver, only I thought the scenery looked very familiar! Two years later we emigrated as there were many more opportunities for the kids career wise than in the UK at the time, I haven't looked back!

Although the down side of living here now is that many shows I watch some of the locations are so familiar that it's hard to watch them when trying to believe that the place is standing in for a US city or another planet!

....and thank you for the Green!

[Janet Fraiser]

When I watched Stargate back when I still lived in the UK I was always thinking how beautiful some of the places looked on screen, especially where 'Paradise Lost' was filmed. I had to wonder if it was real, it is! Lol! Actually going to the places where they filmed for the first time was amazing, especially Jack's cabin. When we go for walks in the forests I'm always expecting to be ambushed by a Jaffa patrol!

The conservatory used in 'The Gamekeeper' is filled with amazing plants and exotic birds. I love going there, and the gardens are lovely in the summer, plus you get a wonderful view of the city with the mountains from there, if it's not raining of course!

It is a lovely place, with the mountains, lakes, forests and ocean. Just be warned, if you do come to Vancouver you will fall in love with the place, it seems to have a mysterious effect on people lol! We came on a family holiday from the UK 12 years ago to visit some of my husband's relatives. At the time I didn't even know that Stargate was filmed in Vancouver, only I thought the scenery looked very familiar! Two years later we emigrated as there were many more opportunities for the kids career wise than in the UK at the time, I haven't looked back!

Although the down side of living here now is that many shows I watch some of the locations are so familiar that it's hard to watch them when trying to believe that the place is standing in for a US city or another planet!

....and thank you for the Green!

This will probably sound silly, but I honestly feel a sort of emotional tug at the heartstrings at the thought of being there. It's not because of Stargate, although the show certainly shows off the area quite well; I've wanted to visit BC for many years. It just has everything that I could want in regard to scenery and location: coastal waters, lakes, islands, forests, snowcapped mountains, the works. I'm already used to rain, and I'm getting used to snow, so it shouldn't be that shocking for me.

The city itself sounds pretty great, too.

Visiting those shooting locations would be awesome, though. I just need to get someone interested in the show first so I can drag them around with me from place to place. I think it's funny that the locations for some shows are so recognizable for you. I guess that's the price to pay for living in such a beautiful place.

[hedwig]

For anyone visiting the B.C. area, be advised that it is considered to be very expensive to live, visit, or anything else there.

I'm lucky, because I live just south of Vancouver, B.C., in Washington State. I live on the Olympic Peninsula, which is about 30 miles south of Victoria, B.C., across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, so I know all about the beautiful scenery. I've lived my whole life amongst all this lovely scenery and don't much care to be anywhere else.

[hedwig]

Wow, just thinking about visiting some of those places is so exciting. I'd love to see "Tollana" and the conservatory used in the Gamekeeper. I was especially interested in where Nightwalkers took place, and I'm glad to see it on that list.

Vancouver looks so beautiful that I have reason enough to make a trip there, anyway.

I'm pretty sure the town where "Nightwalkers" was filmed is now the location for the TV series "Once Upon a Time"; which is about to go into it's 5th season. Occasionally, I see locations that look familiar in one or another of their episodes.

[Janet Fraiser]

For anyone visiting the B.C. area, be advised that it is considered to be very expensive to live, visit, or anything else there.

I'm lucky, because I live just south of Vancouver, B.C., in Washington State. I live on the Olympic Peninsula, which is about 30 miles south of Victoria, B.C., across the Strait of Juan de Fuca, so I know all about the beautiful scenery. I've lived my whole life amongst all this lovely scenery and don't much care to be anywhere else.

I'm only all too aware of how expensive it is, but I'm sure I can manage a visit. I do envy all of the actors and crew who get to work there. Teryl is always tweeting about how "hard" it is to have to work in such a gorgeous place, haha.

You're right, the whole of the Pacific Northwest is beautiful. Cedar Cove is filmed in Deep Cove, but it's supposed to take place in Washington. I don't imagine that the two cities are all that different.

I'm pretty sure the town where "Nightwalkers" was filmed is now the location for the TV series "Once Upon a Time"; which is about to go into it's 5th season. Occasionally, I see locations that look familiar in one or another of their episodes.

Yeah, I noticed that. Isn't the fictional town called Storybrooke or something? I don't watch the show, but the town must be nice enough for both shows to have filmed there.