The final scene of the “Snoqualmie River” trilogy of film locations from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me is where Leland/Bob puts Laura Palmer into the river after murdering her in the train car. This scene was also shot in the same area as Cooper recording a note to Diane and Teresa Banks’ body floating in the river. Let’s return to the bank of the Snoqualmie River in Olallie State Park near North Bend, Washington one more time.
OLALLIE STATE PARK IN NORTH BEND, WASHINGTON
Olallie State Park is located at 51350 S.E. Homestead Valley Road in North Bend, Washington. Originally opened in the 1950 as Twin Falls State Park, the location is home to many scenes from Twin Peaks. In 1977, the park’s name was changed to Olallie, the Chinook Jargon word for ‘salmonberry,’ because of the abundance of salmonberries in the area.”
An affordable Discover Pass is required to visit the park. It’s used for vehicle access to state parks and recreation lands managed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), and the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR).
WHERE IS LELAND PALMER LOWERING LAURA PALMER INTO THE WATER LOCATED?
The scene was filmed pretty much next to where Agent Cooper records a memo to Diane at Wind River. The coordinates for this location are the same as the aforementioned scene – 47°26’12.0″N 121°39’14.7″W.
LELAND LOWERING LAURA INTO WATER
Both scripts for Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me describe the action exactly how it appears on screen. It’s supposed to be a different river than “Wind River” seen in the first half of the film.
227. EXT. WOODS/RIVER – NIGHT
Leland/Bob lowers the plastic shrouded Laura into the river.
Here is the same spot taken on September 17, 2019 and January 24, 2020.
I merged two images to create the haunting photo above.
LELAND PALMER BACKING AWAY FROM THE WATER
After depositing the body in the water, Leland backs away and shine the searchlight on Laura’s corpse.
This is about the same spot where the body was floating (couldn’t get a nighttime shot since the park closes at dusk).
The scene cuts to Killer Bob holding the powerful searchlight as he turns to walk away from the river. It’s difficult to tell but most likely the bushes and trees on the left side of the image above are in the background.
LELAND PALMER’S SEARCHLIGHT
Speaking of that searchlight…
We see Leland carrying the light after leaving the train car with Laura’s body wrapped in plastic.
It also appears to be the same light that Bobby Briggs uses when Laura and he make the drug-deal-gone-south in the woods. I never noticed the cables on the back of the searchlight before researching this scene. Who uses that kind of light in the woods? Was there a sale at the Twin Peaks General Store for these lamps? I mean, I know it gets dark in Twin Peaks, but what a strange coincidence.
More than likely, it’s a lamp the film crew used to ensure there was enough light to illuminate all of these dark scenes.
The handheld lights appear similar to Maxa Beam Searchlights by Peak Beam Systems. The one pictured above is the Maxa Beam Basic Package, which contains an “entry-level system featuring a 12,000,000 CandlePower Maxa Beam Searchlight. The Basic Package also includes one LiFePO4 battery, AC charger, and an 8 inch power cord.”
Granted, these scenes were shot in September / October 1991 so it wouldn’t be an exact match. The company was founded in the mid 1980s and by 1989, they were providing these high-powered searchlights to military organizations.
Despite the rather tragic depiction on screen, this area in Olallie State Park is rather peaceful. You can spot “Deer Meadow Mountain” in the background of the image above.
