4 Idaho Towns Where Famous Movies Were Filmed
Idaho doesn't usually get top billing in film history, which is exactly why its resume surprises people. During Hollywood's golden age, the state pulled in a few major productions, including multiple Marilyn Monroe pictures. Even Clint Eastwood's westerns leaned into Idaho's wide-open terrain. Those weren't one-offs. Decades later, cameras repeatedly returned to Idaho. Boise's streets have been themselves or posed as larger American cities, while small towns like Preston quietly stepped into the spotlight with Napoleon Dynamite. From studio-era golden oldies to offbeat modern classics, Idaho's towns have been represented on screen more than most know and have left a lasting imprint.
Preston
Napoleon Dynamite made Preston a destination town in Idaho. The 2004 cult classic used Preston's streets, schools, and storefronts as the film's entire world. Pedro's house still stands on South 2nd East, Preston High School hosted the awkward assemblies and hallway scenes, and Big J's Burgers on North State Street doubled as the drive-in where Napoleon orders tots. Those locations sit within a few minutes of each other, framed by the open Bear River Valley near the Utah state line.
Away from the film, Preston Community Park centers daily life, with Oneida Stake Academy (built in 1890) still rising above the lawn. State Street remains the town's heart, especially during the Festival of Lights, a magical winter event that takes over the town. Summer brings the Preston Night Rodeo, a long-running local event that fills the fairground with crowds, lights, and noise. And golfers will always find something to do in Preston thanks to The Preston Golf & Country Club. But what really draws film lovers here is the Napoleon Dynamite legacy the town proudly wears on its sleeve, with several public references to the movie around town, including Pioneer Elementary's tetherball court.
Boise
Clint Eastwood brought his traveling Wild West show through town for 1980's Bronco Billy, filming around Boise's streets and river-adjacent neighborhoods that doubled as stops on the depicted troupe's struggling circuit. While the Clint Eastwood flick also featured the Idaho towns of Meridian, Eagle, and Garden City, it's Boise that really stood out. Eight years later, Boise showed up as itself in Moving, which starred acclaimed comedian and actor Richard Pryor. The film used Boise as the punchline destination of a cross-country relocation gone wrong, landing Pryor's family in real neighborhoods after two hours of chaos on the road. More recently, The To Do List, starring Aubrey Plaza and a host of other stars, used Boise as one of its locations.
One could argue that no film truly captured the beauty of the state's capital city. Boise has all of the commercial attractions one would expect of a place of its size, but what's really appealing about it is its natural attractions. The Boise River cuts directly through town, threading past Ann Morrison Park and into Julia Davis Park. Camel's Back Park pushes right up against the foothills; its sledding hill is a popular place each winter. Table Rock stands above the eastern edge of the city, close enough that the trailhead feels embedded in Boise itself rather than set apart. Downtown streets stay active well after dark, especially around the river crossings, where the city's outdoor reputation meets its most lived-in blocks.
Sun Valley
Sun Valley's world-renowned slopes were never just for skiers, as Hollywood recognized the town and ski resort area's potential for cinematic storytelling. Pale Rider (1985) brought Clint Eastwood to central Idaho, filming key scenes in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area and the nearby Boulder Mountains. Eastwood's preacher moves through remote alpine terrain, with Sun Valley's wintery backdrop standing in for a fictional mining town. The resort's snow-covered runs were already legendary by then, making Bald Mountain and nearby Dollar Mountain the perfect natural sets.
Long before that, A Woman's Face (1941) used Sun Valley for snowy exteriors, and the MGM musical Sun Valley Serenade (1941) captured the resort's apres-ski charm. How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) also filmed some outdoor sequences here, bringing Marilyn Monroe and her co-stars to the Idaho slopes. More recently, Mass (2021), with Jason Isaacs, included scenes shot in the area, which is dominated by Bald Mountain. It sits on the eastern skyline, with multiple chairlifts and varied runs for intermediate and expert skiers. Adams Gulch Trailhead starts right on the edge of the developed area, feeding hikers directly into alpine trails that feel as though they were taken straight from Eastwood's Pale Rider.
Wallace
Wallace's steep streets and historic downtown once doubled as movie sets for Hollywood's Western epics. Heaven's Gate (1980) transformed the town into the Wyoming of the Johnson County War, with Kris Kristofferson, Christopher Walken, and John Hurt navigating Wallace's buildings and Main Street as if they were 19th-century frontier settlers. Later, Dante's Peak (1997) captured Wallace for town exteriors, though the volcanic action in the Pierce Brosnan and Linda Hamilton flick mostly unfolded at Mount St. Helens in Washington state.
The town's silver-mining architecture, narrow streets, and hillside buildings gave filmmakers ready-made period backdrops. Due to the town's history of uncovering silver, it's no surprise that two of Wallace's biggest attractions pertain to it. That would be the Sierra Silver Mine Tour and the Oasis Bordello Museum, both of which reveal the town's very colorful past. Wallace's downtown streets host galleries, antique shops, and the quirky Center of the Universe manhole cover, all framed by the surrounding Bitterroot Mountains and Silver Valley. Cyclists and hikers follow the Route of the Hiawatha or the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes for multi-use adventures right from town limits.
Idaho has hosted a surprising variety of film productions, from Clint Eastwood's Bronco Billy in Boise to Pale Rider on Sun Valley's slopes, and from Napoleon Dynamite in Preston to Heaven's Gate and Dante's Peak in Wallace. These towns offered authentic streets, mountains, and river valleys that filmmakers relied on instead of studio backlots in Los Angeles. Today, visitors can trace these locations, explore local parks, ski resorts, historic streets, and mining tours, and see firsthand how the Gem State became a backdrop for both classic and modern cinema.
