SWFO in Death Valley National Park, California
Star Wars Shooting Locations for "A New Hope" & "Return of the Jedi"
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Throughout the Star Wars movies, all sorts of classic scenes take place in sunny, arid, sprawling, unforgiving desert environments. Until now, the only planet like this that we've seen in the Star Wars galaxy has been Tatooine. In the upcoming Prequel, "Attack of the Clones", we'll be introduced to a new dry, barren, rocky, sandy planet called Geonosis. Although not as much a desert planet in the traditional sense, this new world will certainly bear more of a resemblence to Tatooine thanany other Star Wars world.

When scouting shooting locations for "A New Hope" back in the mid-seventies, it was decided that many of the desert shots could be captured in an area that was essentially in Lucasfilm's backyard. Death Valley National Park, which comprises an astonishing 3.3 million acres of land in the State of California, was a perfect setting for many of the shots that Lucas desired for his new movie. In fact, not only were scenes filmed in Death Valley for "A New Hope", there was even a brief scene shot in the California desert region for "Return of the Jedi".

For John, Carl & I, a thorough exploration and documentation of all the Star Wars shooting locations in Death Valley was the ultimate goal. Due to our schedule during the Western Quest, we had but one day to capture all of our Death Valley shots and footage. Time was of the essence. As it turned out, we were successful beyond our wildest imaginations, and finished just in the nick of time. As a matter of fact, as we returned to our vehicle for the final time that day, having just shot in the seventh location, the sun had set, and darkness would be upon the desert until dawn the next day.

Our explorations and discoveries are documented in the photographs you'll find while exploring the links found below. Be assured, however, that these photographs really do not do any justice to the sights or the experience. If what you see inspires or interests you, we highly suggest that you do what we did. Get a group of friends together, do some research, ask some questions, get an itinerary together, and hit the road. You'll be amazed by what you find...