I wouldn’t consider myself a full-blown set-jetter. More of an occasional one. But I have been known to curate trips that include visiting places where movies (horror or otherwise) were filmed. One place I’m curious to check out but haven’t made it to yet is Camp No-Be-Bo-Sco, the real-life Boy Scout camp where the original Friday the 13th movie was filmed. There are a couple of reasons for that.
One, it’s private property. Visitors are only allowed in during official Crystal Lake Tours tour dates and special events. Which leads to reason number two and the main one why I haven’t made it there yet. Tour dates are limited and tickets sell out fast.
There were a couple of times when the dates were ones that worked with my schedule, but tickets had already sold out. This year, tickets are available for the weekend of my birthday, but I can’t make it.
Sigh.
Well, I’ll keep trying. But if you want to make future plans to visit yourself, here’s what you need to know. (Unless you’ve already been. Then, by all means, I implore you to leave a comment and tell me all about it. Let me live vicariously through your experience!)
3 Types of Camp Crystal Lake Tours
The first thing you need to know is that there are three kinds of tours to choose from.
The Lakefront Tour is the shortest, lasting about an hour and a half. It takes you to “directly to the filming locations surrounding the heart of the set,” a.k.a. the lakefront.
The Extended Tour lasts three and a half hours and visits all of the locations in camp, “where over 80% of the movie was filmed.”
Then there’s the VIP Overnight Experience where you get to sleep in the camp where Friday the 13th was filmed. Not only that, but you get to bunk down in one of the cabins that was in the movie. Along with a tour of the filming locations, you also get to screen the movie (again, in the camp where it was made!), sit around a campfire, and it comes with dinner and breakfast.
Tour Dates
As you might imagine, most tours happen around Friday the 13th weekends, although they also usually offer something during October for the Halloween season too.
Tickets
As I said, tickets usually go fast once tour dates and events are announced. The best way to guarantee your chances of snagging a spot is to sign up for their mailing list. That informs you of future ticket announcements.
Boo-K It!
Visit Crystal Lake Tours for more info on scheduling a tour or booking an overnight stay.
Friday the 13th Dates
Visit the Weird Holidays & Observances page to see which days Friday the 13th falls on in upcoming years.
Check-In
Courtney Mroch is a globe-trotting restless spirit who’s both possessed by wanderlust and the spirit of adventure, and obsessed with true crime, horror, the paranormal, and weird days. Perhaps it has something to do with her genes? She is related to occult royalty, after all. Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo practitioner of New Orleans, is one of her ancestors. (Yes, really! As explained here.) That could also explain her infatuation with skeletons.
Speaking of mystical, to learn how Courtney channeled her battle with cancer to conjure up this site, check out HJ’s Origin Story.