My Stephen King Roadtrip- Help!!!

[Aussieguy84]

Hi there all. I'm a 24 yr old Australian guy who is going to be doing some travelling in America and I am determined to partake in some Stephen King inspired tourism!

Does anyone have any suggestions? My itinerary is loose at the moment, but will definitley be detouring into Maine and other states to indulge in my almost shameful love of the man's work.

So, anyone know of any significant locations in any of his novels, or places that should be on the map, or maybe are not? I plan to take plenty of happy snaps and blog about it. I'm prowling the net and his books for street names in big cities (there are a couple from The Dark Tower books, which I'm excited about! and also researching about places where certain film adaptations were shot etc as well) etc... but any help would be appreciated.

And of course, if anyone wants to meet up in any of those places, bring it on!

[cunninghamair]

If you get out the Colorado way, check out the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park. Someone here can give more details, but I believe SK worked on the novel here and it was the exterior for the movie.

My family lives near here in Lyons, and we stumbled onto it by accident. Very strange to come around the corner and see it, even in the day time. It's a quaint town, and while you are there, definitely check out Rocky Mountain National Park.

Boulder is close by and a big college town. If you're young and hip, you might want to spend some time here also. Also a mecca for outdoorsmen, including running and cycling if you are so inclined.

Good thread. I travel a lot a I'm looking forward to what others mention :-)

[tillyn]

Well, Duma Key was written about the Florida region, could go there at least it's warm and you wouldn't freeze. (being from Australia you'll probably freeze everywhere you go.)
My sister lives in N.S.W. and when she comes home she can't get warm!

[tak113454]

Wow that is so cool!
You should go to the Quabbin Reservoir! (From Dreamcatcher)
I went there before I read the book because my ex-bf lived in Belchertown. It's actually really pretty!!

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/quabbin.htm

[sknut70]

you should of course go to bangor, and see the sites there including of course his house.

from there, the drive down 95 to boston is from the Road VIrus Heads north, and if you take the Mass pike west, you will be following the path of Dreamcatcher towards quabbin.

then NYC is full of Dark Tower places, or if you head south, Florida for Duma Key,

If you head west , there is the shawshank prison in Ohio, and colordo for The Stanley hotel.

so many many options for you really y

[Haunted]

There are some great suggestions here!! Your idea of keeping a blog while you travel is a terrific one too. I hope you will keep us all informed of your thoughts when you find and visit a Mr. King spot.:biggrin2:

[hipmamajen]

Yeah, if you're out here in Colorado you can check out the Stanley. Also, swing through Boulder and see where the Free Zone hung out in The Stand!

[sknut70]

what a great idea for a travel book! traveling around the us SK style. driving through king related placed and writing your thoughts.

hm... wish I had time to do such a thing

[TheHardcase]

Makes me wonder if Ogunquit, Maine benefited from the groundswell of interest when The Stand was released. Come to think of it, I wonder if that interest hasn't lasted until this day.

[Aussieguy84]

thanks guys- this advice is fantastic! I'll be taking lots of photos- my trip is still in the planning stages, but I'll be seeing as much as I can in the time I've got. I'll keep you all in the loop- thanks so much, what a warm welcome to the message boards! Keep in touch, cheers- Aussieguy84

[hipmamajen]

Will you be traveling by bus or train, or will you rent a car when you get here?

[LaurenJ]

Oddly enough, I came here looking for similar suggestions. A friend and I are picking up and doing a "spooky" trip this weekend, going from Salem northwards to Maine. Will definitely be stopping in Bangor, but was looking for some Boston/Maine area suggestions.

Thanks in advance!
LJD

[Matthew.Degnan]

man it would be fun to go on a roadtrip with SK!

[Sundrop]

man it would be fun to go on a roadtrip with SK!

That would be a blast!! Now, if he would only invite us.....:)

[Leighjavu]

Hello Down Under from Up Over. Here in Bangor area of Maine that is.
Pet Sematary was filmed in Orrington , not far from Bangor. You might find
crafts, like basketry, jewely by the Mic-Mac (Miq-Maq actually) tribe.
Bett's bookstore is not on the S.K. menu anymore! A store called
Book-Marc's sits accross from the Bangor public library, a major point of interest
in its own.The King's residence is about a mile from there.
A little shop called Needful Things is fun to visit. Loaded with baseball
collectibles.
On the other side of town on Birch st are the remains of New Franklin laundry
where the mangler story was inspired. Curve st. was in between but its
all been renewed. Too bad that WAS Deeply Creepy territory where Grey Matter
was . Then theres the sewers of Nightshift lore underneath Essex st. (just kidding!)
We Mainer's love to say: You can't get there from here!
He taught H.S. English in Hampden , neighboring Bangor. (Also at Hermon High
where my daughter attends, but the town treated our Sai with such dis
that He doesn't acknowledge them)(snobs)
There are other places, off the I-95 going South. Some get quite woodsy..
better bring lotsa bug-dope.Mosquitoes have been called the state bird by
some.
I have to check my map to confirm that there really is a Jerusalem' Corner (not Lot).
Castle Rock could be New Castle and I cant remember where Buxton is.
Anyhow, Enjoy your trip to the U.S.A!!

[EMARX]

Do you own a tour bus we could all pile into?

[Agincourt Concierge]

Oddly enough, I came here looking for similar suggestions. A friend and I are picking up and doing a "spooky" trip this weekend, going from Salem northwards to Maine. Will definitely be stopping in Bangor, but was looking for some Boston/Maine area suggestions.

Thanks in advance!
LJD

If you go to Salem...(I was born there)...make sure you go to the Old Burying Point Cemetery...creepy goodness..

House of Seven gables is cool.....I think they have a midnight tour in Salem too...

Let me think on it....lots of place to go there....and you must go to Bangor...

[BlackThorn]

In a few towns over from here, there's the home that was in the original "Salems Lot" movie. The deal King had worked, I believe, was that he didn't want the building torn down after the movie was made. It was a beautiful old building, that was... was it abandoned before the movie? I don't know. Either way, they fixed it up and painted it pink, with white trim. It's there though, and it's the official Marsten House in the movie, pink or not.

It's right on mainstreet, right after you get into town in North Berwick. If you're into a good scenic view of some winding backroads through Maine, you might want to follow Clay's route up from Boston, through Shapleigh and Newfield and up route 160 North. That's a fun ride, and once you get a bit out in that direction, all you can smell is the fresh air the trees are breathing out. Even here in the middle of a more southerly town, you don't get that quality to the air that you do there. Mind you, a few of the places King mentioned don't exist in this realm... I think they skipped over Berwick and instead went to some fictitious border town in Cell, but still, the basic route is still there. Take a ride, and pretend you're on the lamb from phoners. Might make for an interesting trip. =0)

Although if I was heading to Maine, I'd stop in Salem, NH, and visit the 3500 year old Stonehenge site that the Native American Indians called Mystery Hill, and avoided because they thought it was haunted. That's a fun site.

Then I'd be doing some mountain climbing. Maybe visit Acadia National Park, and smile a bit from being able to read the words on the Catmaran, the ferry that goes up to canada you can fit your car into, from the top of the Cadillac Mountain, that happens to be made of all beautiful red granite, that was pushed up from under the earth where it was cooked by the tectonic plate movement that also created the application mountains.

The views and natural wonders are soul fullfilling to be a part of. I'd be less interested in the King stuff than the nature stuff, myself.

Up on Shawnee Peak, a ski resort about an hour and a half north of the Southern tip of Maine, they have recently installed gondola rides, that have room for your mountain bikes behind them. So you can get a ride to the top, and then bike down it, if there's no snow.

I'd shoot for something like that as my priority, personally. =o)

[Aussieguy84]

This is all sounding fantastic! I can't wait to see all these places. I'm going to hire a car from somewhere within Bangor- so researching on that now- anybody know any reliable companies over there that are sturdy but not too expensive?

First stop on my SK road trip will be Crouch End in the UK, then working my across to the US. The hard thing about it is that I know there are lots of locations in his books that I can't remember the details of and my book collection is thousands of miles away- am currently in Turkey.

Also, for those interested- I'm going to try to indulge myself whilst travelling in equally nerdy ways- ie: tracking down Hannibal locations in Florence, going to Club Largo in LA and seeing Jon Brion perform, hopefully catching an Aimee Mann concert somewhere and going from obscure book shop to obscure bookshop in the hopes of finishing up my Robert Bloch and William Peter Blatty collections-among others.

Will keep you all up to date!

[Leighjavu]

Shame on Me!! I forgot to list Stephen King's Radio station, WKIT based on
Broadway, Bgr. you could call them when you get here (if you want). They
might pass on some info. Sure to be fun for both parties, you and them.
[Double Post]
Aghh, my message got sent unfinished. Wanted to end with letting you know
that taxi's are always at the Airport. Rickshaw Taxi, Bangor taxi, airport-river taxi
etc..

[billyboyoc]

I'd be very happy to show you to the Kansas Road in Bridgton that features in Song of Susannah. Keywaydin Pond is also not far from Bridgton. Bridgton itself always felt like Castle Rock to me, all hills, lakes and mountains. Send me a PM if you're interested.

[Damaris]

Bangor is a must, not only for the warm-weather King residence but for all the IT references, including the giant Paul Bunyan statue on Summer Street (lower Main Street, tucked between Buck and Dutton Streets) and the Thomas Hill standpipe (on Thomas Hill Road, off Ohio Street). And the Kenduskeag Stream, a staple in several of Mr. King's works, runs right through Bangor and empties into the Penobscot River, with a park at the convergence just off Broad Street. Downtown, there's a park on the Kenduskeag between Franklin and Hammond/State Streets and a trail leads upstream from it for several miles with some very nice scenery. If you go down to Acadia, you might take the opportunity to ferry out to the one of the Cranberry Islands or Swan's to get a small taste of island life (which was hit in Dolores Claiborne, Storm of the Century, The Reach, and others). If you want a better sampling, try Matinicus or Monhegan, both much more isolated islands (especially Monhegan) though occasionally overly touristy. Buxton (a la Shawshank) is almost straight west of Portland, near the intersection of highways 22, 202, and 4. Across the border into New Hampshire are the White Mountains, setting for The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (not to mention some really gorgeous scenery), and further south the beaches where Jack's journey in The Talisman began (also mentioned in The Tommyknockers, when Gard paid a visit). Shoot, it's been so long since I've read them I can't remember much of anything else that hasn't yet been mentioned. But there have been lots of great suggestions already so you'll probably have your hands full anyway. :wink2:

[Aussieguy84]

thanks everyone!!! the response has been amazing! I will be hiring a car from somewhere within bangor (I think) and will be treking around in it with my partner. I'm currently in Athens and am expecting to be in the US around June. I will blog online through a site called "Travel Blog", where I'm already posting about my current travels. Link to come soon guys and thanks so much!

[pandora]

Come on Aussie!!! Need an update! I can't afford a vacation right now and am living vicariously through yours! Where are you and tell me a little story about something "cool" that's happened on your road trip!!
Can't wait to hear from you!