The awe-inspiring natural beauty of the iconic Nāpali Coast on the northwest side of Kauaʻi has towering emerald cliffs, pristine beaches, hidden sea caves and crystal-clear turquoise waters. No wonder it has been a favorite backdrop over the years for blockbusters films like Jurassic Park and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.  

The memorable scenery featured in the movies can often be a major draw for those visiting the island, especially lovers of the dinosaur flicks.

The original 1993 Jurassic Park movie features dramatic aerial footage of the Nāpali coastline, as well as some on-the-ground filming along the famous Kalalau Trail. 

Like most films featuring Kauaʻi, the island often represents locations outside Hawaiʻi. In Jurassic Park, the Nāpali Coast is Isla Nublar, a fictional island 120 miles west of Costa Rica. 

Jurassic Park fans are likely interested in experiencing a tour from a helicopter, where they can see the views just like those featured in the movie. They haven’t changed much in three decades. 

“There are very adamant Jurassic Park fans,” said Sue Kanoho, the executive director of the Kauaʻi Visitors Bureau. 

Other filming locations in the original film include Manawaiopuna Falls in Hanapēpē Valley, the famous private waterfall that stands out for being used for the opening helicopter shot and introductory scenes. The film also features the historic Valley House, Mt. Wai’ale’ale, and the Wailua Homesteads.

When filming was nearly complete on Sept. 9, 1992, the cast and crew held a wrap party, when Kanoho said that while giving Steven Spielberg a gift to thank him for filming on Kauaʻi, she accidentally notified him of Hurricane Iniki. 

Kanoho told Spielberg: “Don’t worry about that hurricane. You guys are going to be gone by the time it hits us.” 

“He did not know about the hurricane,” she said. “I found out a year later that I was the one who told him about the hurricane because he hadn’t been told.” 

But Hurricane Iniki hit two days early, on Sept. 11, 1992, the final scheduled day of the 3-week on-location filming on the Garden Isle. 

The cast and crew took shelter at the Westin (now the Royal Sonesta Resort) in Lihuʻe, where they were staying at the time.  Some footage of the storm and its damages were incorporated into the landscape scenes. 

Three sequels to the original Jurassic Park, known as one of the biggest Hollywood films of all time, include The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997), Jurassic Park III (2001) and Jurassic World (2015), which also features the famous coastline. 

The filming locations on Kauaʻi for these films were mainly at other island locations, including Kipu Kai Beach, the Wailua River, Kīlauea and the Princeville Ranch. Following the release of Jurassic World in 2015, the Kaua’i Visitors Bureau made a video thanking Spielberg for filming on Kaua’i. 

Another famous Hollywood movie featuring the Nāpali Coast is Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011).

That film used Honopu Beach, one of the most beautiful and remote beaches on the Nāpali Coast, as one of its Kaua’i locations. 

Boat tours, one of the most popular ways to see these sights of the Na Pali Coast, will often highlight Honopu Beach. 

It was used to portray Shipwreck Cove, a pirate hideout for Jack Sparrow and his crew, in the 2011 film. Johnny Depp and the rest of the cast and crew were dropped off by helicopter on the remote beach to film the scenes in 2010. 

The famous Honopu Arch was one of the first locations used during Kaua’i location filming. Director Rob Marshall and producer Jerry Bruckheimer publicly outed their location on the first day of filming Kanoho said.

“So we did have girls try to sneak on the set when they heard that Johnny Depp was here,” she said. 

Another famous Nāpali location for the film was the “Blue Room,” located inside the Waikapola’e “Wet Cave” near Ha’ena. The entrance of the cave and its colorful pool was used as Fountain of Youth locations in the film, according to Chris Cook’s Kauaʻi Movie Book. 

Other locations featured in the film include the National Tropical Botanial Garden, Kipu Ranch, Grove Farm lands and Valley House in Upper Kealia Valley. 

Kanoho also pointed out that in Hobbs & Shaw, a 2019 buddy action comedy starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jason Statham, chase scenes were filmed with helicopter pilot Fred North over the Nāpali Coast.

Another film that features the coast is South Pacific (1958), which uses it as a backdrop by briefly including it in aerial opening shots to establish the landscape for the fictional island Bali Hai. It is also famously filmed at other North Shore locations including Princeville, Lumahai Beach and Makua Beach.  

There’s also The Descendants (2011), which uses the Nāpali Coast to serve as a backdrop in aerial and scenic shots to establish the location. The Oscar-winning film, starring George Clooney as a man struggling with family issues, is one of the few major Hollywood films to use Kaua’i as itself – rather than a fictional island or unnamed place. Its central setting is Hanalei, including the famous Tahiti Nui bar. 

Other film directors that shot scenes or scenery at the Nāpali Coast include the action-adventure films Six Days, Seven Nights (1998), King Kong (1976), George of the Jungle (1997) and Soul Surfer (2011). 

Kanoho also noted not being a fan of Perfect Getaway, a 2009 thriller about a brutal murder in the Kalalau Valley which resulted in some “negative pushback” for the Kaua’i tourism industry. 

Kanoho said she did not support the filmmakers in filming on Kaua’i because she was worried it would hurt Kaua’i’s reputation.

“People would not be able to separate the movie and reality,” she said. “I was afraid that we would have a negative impact from this movie. And sure enough, people started calling and saying, ‘I watched the movie. I heard there’s a murderer in Kalalau.’ And I said, ‘Okay, that was fiction.’”

Kanoho says the filmmakers did not get permission, but filmed pickup or backdrop shots from a helicopter. 

“It’s all fictional and they filmed in Puerto Rico,” she said. 

But isolated Kalalau Trail is known as one of the most dangerous hiking paths in the United States, with articles written about mysterious disappearances.  

And while Kauaʻi has been featured in major Hollywood films for decades, those planning a trip to the Garden Isle are unlikely to find any active movies or TV productions being filmed, largely due to a rise in the cost of productions in recent years.

“Some of the pricing, or some of the costs are a little high for the film industry right now,” Kanoho said. “But the bureau is supportive of productions returning.”

Kanoho also attributes the lack of film production to competition in Vancouver, Georgia and especially, O’ahu. 

“Because a lot of these places have now developed … they’ve got studios and so it’s become a whole industry in other places,” she said. 

Angela Wilson, who has worked as a location manager for movie productions on Kauaʻi for decades, also confirmed that the industry is currently nearly nonexistent on Kauaʻi.

“We’ve priced ourselves out of the market,” she said.

“First of all, all the billionaires that came in here to buy locations that we used to use, they shut them down. Or they start from $5,000 to $16,000 a day. And that’s ridiculous.”

Challenges also include the high cost of hotels and securing filming locations. But hope is not lost for film and media productions eventually returning to Kaua’i.

“It’s a very good industry for the islands because they pay well for everybody,” she said.

“That’s why I always say, you know, we should be fighting for the industry. We should be helping the industry because our industry is the one that pays livable wages.”

The lack of current film productions may concern those in the industry, but most visitors will be more excited about experiencing the natural beauty of the Nāpali Coast.

“It’s magical to be in there,” Wilson said.